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It’s voting time, Tucson. July 21 was Primary Election Day in Arizona. Polling locations opened at 6 am and closed at 7 pm, and AZPM will have wide-ranging, on-the-ground coverage of southern Arizona’s key races. This article will be updated with live coverage and election results. Make sure to check back periodically.
Live Blog:
- Read the latest stories and updates from the primary election
Southern Arizona Election Results:
- Arizona Governor and U.S. House of Representatives
- State Senate
- Marana
- Oro Valley
- South Tucson
- Nogales
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Arizona State Senate District 17 (Rep. Primary)
Arizona State Senate District 20 (Dem. Primary)
Marana Mayor (Primary)
Marana Town Council (Primary)
Oro Valley Mayor (Primary)
Oro Valley Town Council (Primary)
South Tucson City Council (Primary)
Nogales Mayor (Primary)
Liveblog
Marana council challengers lead incumbents, first ballot tabulation shows
Katya Mendoza, AZPM News
Marana candidates challenging incumbent council members Herb Kai, John Officer and Teri Murphy were in the lead after the first unofficial release of election results shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Dozens of supporters of “Marana for the People,” a slate of council member hopefuls including Jackie McGuire, Sue Ritz and Julie Prince, cheered at a local watch party after the initial results were released.
McGuire said she was feeling optimistic and excited after putting in a lot of work canvassing.
“The way people have come out to support us, I’m happy for them,” McGuire said.
The research analyst became the inadvertent face of the anti-data center movement in Marana shortly after a clip of her speaking during a Marana Planning and Zoning Commission meeting went viral.
“I think it’s been nice to be able to help try to help people understand that this is still very much a science experiment. We only have a handful of centers this size running around the country and we’re seeing some issues with them,” McGuire said.
The “Marana for the People” slate aims to be one more example of what’s happening in other parts of the country such as in St. Louis, Mo., in which anti-data center candidates ousted four council members who supported a $6 billion development.
Marana Town Council (Primary)
Republicans Anthony Dunham, Christopher King seek open Senate seat
Katya Mendoza, AZPM News
Republican voters in Legislative District 17 will choose between Anthony Dunham and Christopher King in the GOP primary race.
Both candidates are veterans who describe themselves as conservatives and believe in educational choice, limited government and cracking down on immigration, according to their campaign pages. Dunham served as a correctional officer in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for nearly 10 years and is endorsed by Turning Point Action.
King has served on the Vail Unified School District governing board since 2020, works as a substitute teacher in the district and is endorsed by several law enforcement unions.
During a debate hosted by the Arizona Clean Elections Committee, on the subject of a potential ICE detention facility coming to Marana, Dunham said he would support the facility. King suggested considering what the municipality wants. On the possibility of ending mail-in ballots, King suggested tightening up the timeframe for mail-in voting to occur whereas Dunham suggested a “Florida-style” voting system regarding voter ID verification in support of hand-counting ballots.
The historically competitive district consists of northeastern Pima County, including parts of Marana and Oro Valley, eastern Tucson and Vail. as well as southern Pinal County, which includes the retirement community of Saddlebrooke.
The winner of LD17 Republican Primary will take on Democratic candidate Edgar Soto in November for Republican state senator Vince Leach’s seat.
Voters in this district will elect one state senator and two representatives in November.
Leach, who was elected in 2024, sat on the Finance, Appropriations and Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency committees. He was first elected into the state Senate to serve LD11 in 2018, after serving four years in the Arizona House of Representatives, after being elected in 2014.
According to a report from the Arizona Capitol Times, Leach announced his plans for retirement from public office in September 2025.
Arizona State Senate District 17 (Rep. Primary)
As Nogales elections unfold, port renovations loom for border town
Angela Gervasi, AZPM News
Cross-border traffic is a historic issue for residents of Nogales, Ariz. — a border city that accommodates thousands of daily vehicle crossings through its international land ports. Major upgrades are slated for the federally operated DeConcini Port of Entry, where drivers often spend hours waiting to leave or enter the United States.
This month, the U.S. General Services Administration released an environmental impact statement describing plans to dramatically expand the port, including up to 22 new inbound vehicle lanes and eight new outbound vehicle lanes.
Those recently released plans — and their possible implications — were on voter Cristina Lebario’s mind Tuesday afternoon.
A map released by the GSA indicates that the port renovation project area would stretch several blocks northward into Nogales, though it’s not yet clear how the expansion would affect local businesses and properties in that zone.
Lebario said she understood a need for port expansion, but voiced concerns that the renovation plans would displace local residents.
“My concern is for the elderly. I know that the government can come in and pay top dollar for their properties, but you know, there's a lot of historic buildings down there,” she said.
Standing in front of one of the city’s voting centers, Lebario chatted and laughed with fellow supporters of mayoral candidate Arturo Garino. Explaining her support for Garino, she noted that his previous experience as mayor would allow him to advocate for the city concerning the port project, along with other issues.
“I think [Garino] will be knowledgeable and experienced enough to fight for us in Washington or whoever he needs to go up against,” she said.
Nogales Mayor (Primary)
In South Tucson, eight city council candidates vie for three spots
Thatcher Warrick Hess, AZPM News
Eight candidates are competing for three seats on the South Tucson City Council.
Three incumbents are seeking reelection: Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela, Brian Flagg and Cesar Aguirre.
Former South Tucson Mayor and current council member Paul Diaz has endorsed challengers Eduardo Baca, Christopher Dodson and Diana Moreno-Sears. Diaz says South Tucson needs to attract more businesses following the closure of its only grocery store, Food City, last year. Candidates Debbie Federico and Zeke Cook are also running as a slate, saying they want to revitalize businesses in the 1.0 square mile city.
The race has been shaped by last year's failed recall effort against Valenzuela. Dodson and Baca ran as write-in candidates in the special election and are now challenging the incumbents once again.
The three members with the most votes will be brought in as the new council following the general election in November. The City of South Tucson board will then select a new mayor at that time.
South Tucson City Council (Primary)
Competitive races highlight local ballot in Cochise County
L.M. Boyd, AZPM News
To prepare for today’s vote, the Cochise County Elections Department completed a public logic and accuracy test in June, confirming that voting equipment accurately records and tabulates ballots.
The county also underwent an independent federal review via the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s Field Services Program to ensure election procedures meet national standards.
In Legislative District 19, Republican incumbents Lupe Diaz and David Gowan face a challenge from Cheryl Caswell.
In the Legislative District 21 Democratic primary for state representative, incumbents Stephanie Stahl Hamilton and Consuelo Hernandez are vying to defend their seats against Maritza Higuera and Miranda Lopez.
The Superior Court Judge Division 2 race between Republicans Ruth Faulkner and Deana Champagne is functionally the general election, as no Democratic candidate is on the ballot.
In Nogales, three candidates face off for mayor. That includes two familiar competitors
Angela Gervasi, AZPM News
Nogales voters will choose a mayor in today’s primary elections. Incumbent Mayor Jorge Maldonado, a longtime employee in the produce industry and former councilman, is running for a second term in the city’s nonpartisan race.
Also returning to the race is Arturo Garino — who served two previous terms as Nogales mayor. His most recent term ended in 2022. Garino also previously served as the city’s public works director.
The 2026 election marks another contest between the two candidates, who faced off in a contentious race four years prior. At the time — when Garino was still mayor — his administration attempted to pursue criminal charges against his opponent, then-candidate Maldonado, for several years’ worth of unpaid utility bills. At the time, Maldonado accused Garino of pursuing the charges for political reasons, the Nogales International reported.
Ultimately, Maldonado won the 2022 race, though his incumbency will be tested in today’s primary.
A third candidate is in the running for Nogales mayor: David Ruiz, a retired Department of Homeland Security employee.
Nogales Mayor (Primary)
Oro Valley to elect mayor and three council members
Laura Holanszky, AZPM News
Oro Valley residents will elect a new mayor and three new town council members tonight.
The two candidates for mayor are current vice mayor Melanie Barrett and former Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier. Current Mayor Joe Winfield, whose term expires in November 2026, said in a June Facebook post that he is supporting Barrett to take his position in the fall.
Apart from the mayoral race, five candidates are running for three available town council members seats: Rosa Dailey, Chris DeSimone, Jacob Herrington, Rhonda Pina and Matt Wood.
Common priorities include public safety, including a staffed and responsive police department. The experience of candidates range across the board from former town council member Pina to DeSimone, a long-time local government podcast show host. Mayor Winfield wrote in a Facebook post that he is endorsing both Dailey and Wood for council.
Residents can cast their votes in any Pima County locations, including nine in Oro Valley, before polls close at 7 pm tonight.
Oro Valley Mayor (Primary)
Oro Valley Town Council (Primary)
Voters decide high-stakes Democratic contest
L.M. Boyd, AZPM News
Candidates for Arizona’s Legislative District 20 will conclude a contentious race Tuesday once polls close at 7 p.m.
The district is located entirely within Pima County and covers the southern and eastern portions of the Tucson metro area.
The senate race has highlighted sharp divisions within the party.
Rep. Alma Hernandez has emphasized her effectiveness, noting she has passed 11 laws—a 40-year record for an Arizona House Democrat. But she enters Election Day following a recent "Statement of Concern" from the LD20 Democratic Committee, which rebuked her for frequently voting with Republicans and supporting a national constitutional convention.
Perez has seized on these differences, positioning himself as a defender of environmental resources by opposing data centers that Hernandez supports for their union job potential.
Both candidates describe the race as a referendum on which kind of lawmaker best represents Tucson midway through the second Trump administration.
Arizona State Senate District 20 (Dem. Primary)
Arizona primaries set the stage for contested fall races in a swing state
Saige Miller, NPR National Politics Reporter
Arizona is the one state holding primaries Tuesday and offers a look at voter sentiment in a swing state, where Republicans narrowly outnumber independents and Democrats. The state went for President Trump in 2024 but elected a Democratic governor two years before that.
Republicans will be trying to flip the governor's office this fall while Democrats hope to pick up a couple of seats in the U.S. House, which could determine whether the party can wrest control from the GOP.
Republicans hold the House by just a few seats, and the party in the White House usually loses seats in the midterms.
Some of the key races could come down to who has the support of Trump or Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by the late Charlie Kirk, who lived in Arizona.
Read the full article here.
Marana campaign finance reports show one filing still pending on Election Day
Katya Mendoza, AZPM News
A Marana council member seeking re-election has not filed his second quarter campaign finance report before Election Day.
As of Monday, July 20, the Town Clerk’s Office said it had not received the 2020 Second Quarter Campaign Finance Report for Kai 4 Marana, incumbent Herb Kai’s candidate committee.
Incumbent council member John Officer also missed the July 15th deadline for his John Officer for Marana Town Council candidate committee, but submitted his second quarter report at 4 p.m. on Monday.
The Town Clerk’s Office – which serves as the filing officer – notified both council members that they were out of compliance on July 16.
According to Arizona law, the penalty for filing late is $10 per day for the first 15 days after the filing deadline and $25 thereafter.
If a complete report isn’t filed 30 days after the deadline, the Town Clerk could refer the matter to the Town Attorney’s Office which serves as the enforcement officer for town elections.
The town did confirm to AZPM that Officer paid $50 in late fees.
AZPM reached out to both campaigns for comment but did not hear back.
Three incumbent council members are running for re-election to serve four-year terms in Marana’s Town and Council race: Herb Kai, John Officer and Teri Murphy.
Mayor Jon Post is also seeking re-election, to serve a two-year term to complete the remainder of late Mayor Ed Honea’s term after he died in November 2024.
Jackie Craig is a write-in candidate who served on the Marana Town Council from 2020 to 2024.
Challengers Jackie McGuire, Julie Prince and Sue Ritz are running together as the “Marana for the People" slate, which includes mayoral candidate, Greg Johnsen.
Marana Mayor (Primary)
Marana Town Council (Primary)