| Elections in Arizona | 
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Elections to the 48th Arizona Legislature were held on November 7, 2006. Primary elections to determine political party nominees were held on September 12, 2006. The two candidates with the highest vote count in each primary advanced to the November election.
The Legislature is composed of 30 legislative districts, each electing two Representatives (to the Arizona House of Representatives) and one Senator (to the Arizona Senate). No person may serve more than four consecutive terms in either body. Members of the Republican Party currently hold a majority of seats in both the House and Senate.
State House of Representatives
| District | Incumbents | Party | Status | Candidates | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucy Mason  Tom O'Halleran  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running for State Senate  | 
Andy Tobin (R)  Wesley Edmonds (D) George Seaman (I)  | 
| 2 | Ann Kirkpatrick  Albert Tom  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running  Running  | 
Preston J. Korn (R) | 
| 3 | Trish Groe  Nancy McLain  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Luis Lopez (D) | 
| 4 | Tom Boone  Judy Burges  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Debra Boehlke (D)  Sue Dolphin (D)  | 
| 5 | Jack Brown  Bill Konopnicki  | 
Democratic  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
|
| 6 | Ted Carpenter  Pamela Gorman  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running for State Senate  Running for State Senate  | 
Doug Clark (R)  Sam Crump (R)  | 
| 7 | Ray Barnes  Nancy K. Barto  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Marilyn Fox (D)  Jeanne Lunn (D) Jim Iannuzo (L)  | 
| 8 | Michele Reagan  Colette Rosati  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Retiring  | 
John Kavanagh (R)  Stephanie Rimmer (D) H. William Sandburg (D)  | 
| 9 | Rick Murphy  Bob Stump  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Sheri van Horsen (D) | 
| 10 | Doug Quelland  James P. Weiers  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Lamont Lovejoy (D)  Jackie Thrasher (D)  | 
| 11 | John Allen  Stephen Tully  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Retiring  Retiring  | 
Adam Driggs (R)  Don Hesselbrock (R) Mark Anthony DeSimone (D)  | 
| 12 | John Nelson  Jerry Weiers  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
None | 
| 13 | Steve Gallardo  Martha Garcia  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running  Running  | 
None | 
| 14 | Debbie McCune-Davis  Robert Meza  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running for State Senate  Running  | 
Chad Campbell (D)  John Stevens (R) Mike Renzulli (L)  | 
| 15 | David Lujan  Kyrsten Sinema  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running  Running  | 
Robert Gear (R)  William Wheat (R) (write-in) Richard Buck (L)  | 
| 16 | Leah Landrum Taylor  Ben Miranda  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running for State Senate  Running  | 
Cloves Campbell, Jr. (D)  Daniel Coleman (R)  | 
| 17 | Meg Burton Cahill  Laura Knaperek  | 
Democratic  Republican  | 
Running for State Senate  Running  | 
Ed Ableser (D)  David Schapira (D) Dale Despain (R)  | 
| 18 | Mark Anderson  Russell Pearce  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Tammie Pursley (D) | 
| 19 | Kirk Adams  Gary Pierce  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running for Arizona Corporation Commission  | 
Rich Crandall (R)  Lara Wibeto (D)  | 
| 20 | John McComish  Bob Robson  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Jack Heald (L) | 
| 21 | Warde Nichols  Steve Yarbrough  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Phil Hettmansperger (D) | 
| 22 | Andy Biggs  Eddie Farnsworth  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Edward Schwebel (L) | 
| 23 | Cheryl Chase  Pete Rios  | 
Republican  Democratic  | 
Running for State Senate  Running  | 
John Fillmore (R)  Frank Pratt (R) Barbara McGuire (D)  | 
| 24 | Amanda Aguirre  Russell Jones  | 
Democratic  Republican  | 
Running for State Senate  Running for State Senate  | 
Joseph "Mel" Melchione (R)  Ken Rosevar (R) Lynne Pancrazi (D) Theresa Ulmer (D) Martin Rodney (I)  | 
| 25 | Manuel Alvarez  Jennifer Burns  | 
Democratic  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Patricia Fleming (D)  Gail Griffin (R)  | 
| 26 | Pete Hershberger  Steve Huffman  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Retiring  | 
David Jorgenson (R)  Lena Saradnik (D)  | 
| 27 | Olivia Cajero Bedford  Phil Lopes  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running  Running  | 
Gene Chewning (R) | 
| 28 | David Bradley  Ted Downing  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running  Retiring  | 
Steve Farley (D)  Bill Phillips (R)  | 
| 29 | Linda Lopez  Tom Prezelski  | 
Democratic  Democratic  | 
Running  Running  | 
Bruce Murchison (R) | 
| 30 | Marian McClure  Jonathan Paton  | 
Republican  Republican  | 
Running  Running  | 
Clarence Boykins (D) | 
State Senate
| District | Incumbent | Party | Status | Candidates | Winner | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Bennett | Republican | Retiring | Tom O'Halleran (R)  Josephine Kelleher (D) Terry Dunn (L)  | 
Tom O'Halleran (R) | 
| 2 | Albert Hale | Democratic | Running | Royce Jenkins (R)  Mark Haughwout (I)  | 
Albert Hale (D) | 
| 3 | Ron Gould | Republican | Running | Noah Harris (D) | Ron Gould (R) | 
| 4 | Jack Harper | Republican | Running | Ed Gogek (D) | Jack Harper (R) | 
| 5 | Jake Flake | Republican | Running | Phil Cobb (D) | Jake Flake (R) | 
| 6 | Dean Martin | Republican | Running for State Treasurer | Pamela Gorman (R)  Jim Larson (D)  | |
| 7 | Jim Waring | Republican | Running | Lisa Black (D) | |
| 8 | Carolyn Allen | Republican | Running | Dan Oseran (D) | |
| 9 | Bob Burns | Republican | Running | Steve Poe (D) | |
| 10 | Linda Gray | Republican | Running | Martin Monroe (D)  Dan Poland (L)  | |
| 11 | Barbara Leff | Republican | Running | Ann Wallack (D) | |
| 12 | Robert Blendu | Republican | Running | None | |
| 13 | Richard Miranda | Democratic | Running | None | |
| 14 | Bill Brotherton | Democratic | Retiring | Debbie McCune-Davis (D) | |
| 15 | Ken Cheuvront | Democratic | Running | Andrew Smigielski (R) | |
| 16 | Linda Aguirre | Democratic | Retiring | Leah Landrum (D)  Daniel Veres (R)  | |
| 17 | Ed Ableser | Democratic | Running for State House | Meg Burton Cahill (D)  Rose Crutcher (R)  | |
| 18 | Karen Johnson | Republican | Running | Rachel Kielsky (L) | |
| 19 | Chuck Gray | Republican | Running | Steven Zachary (D) | |
| 20 | John Huppenthal | Republican | Running | Donna Gratehouse (D) | |
| 21 | Jay Tibshraeny | Republican | Running | None | |
| 22 | Thayer Verschoor | Republican | Running | Glenn A. Ray (D) | |
| 23 | Rebecca Rios | Democratic | Running | Cheryl Chase (R) | |
| 24 | Robert Cannell | Democratic | Retiring | Amanda Aguirre (D)  Russell Jones (R) Stanley Lenihan (I)  | |
| 25 | Marsha Arzberger | Democratic | Running | Mary Ann Black (R) | |
| 26 | Toni Hellon | Republican | Defeated in Primary | Al Melvin (R)  Charlene Pesquiera (D)  | |
| 27 | Jorge Luis Garcia | Democratic | Running | None | |
| 28 | Paula Aboud | Democratic | Running | Michael J. Steimer (I, Write-In) | |
| 29 | Victor Soltero | Democratic | Running | None | |
| 30 | Tim Bee | Republican | Running | Jeffrey Chimene (D) | |
R=Republican, D=Democratic, L=Libertarian, I=Independent/No Affiliation
Analysis
Five incumbents—three Democrats and two Republicans— retired and didn't seek another elective office. Eleven State House members ran for the State Senate, and one State Senator ran for a seat in the State House; switching between chambers, especially when a term limit has been reached in one chamber, is a common occurrence in the Arizona Legislature.[1] Two members of the State Legislature sought statewide offices, and one sought election to the United States House of Representatives.
There were 14 races in which an incumbent Senator or both the incumbent Representatives are sought reelection and faced a primary challenge for the nomination(s) of their respective parties. Out of the 90 state legislative races, there are only six in which there are candidates ran without opposition.
The Republican Party needed to pick up one seat in the State House and two in the State Senate and lose none of their own in either chamber to gain a legislature that could override a Governor's veto. The Democratic Party needed to pick up nine seats in the State House without losing any of their own to form a House majority, and pick up three in the State Senate without losing any of their own to form a Senate majority.
See also
References
- ↑ Although in this case the State Senator doing so did not term out, see Ed Ableser's biography
 
