By Daniel Stefanski |
Some swing-district Arizona Democrats received an eye-raising endorsement for their reelection bids.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Working Families Party issued its endorsements for state legislative races, giving support to Democrats across the state. Two of the candidates the party endorsed, Mariana Sandoval (LD 23) and Lorena Austin (LD 9), are from competitive districts in the state.
According to its website, the Working Families Party boasts of “building our own party on top of the two-party system in the United States – and it’s working. We organize outside the two parties, and then we recruit and train people-powered candidates up and down the ballot and run them to win.”
The website adds, “Sometimes we run candidates through Democratic Party primaries, and other times we run candidates on our own. We take on elections from city council to U.S. Senate — wherever there’s a path to win, and where winning will advance a people’s agenda, elevate visionary candidates, and help build the multiracial movement we need to win the America we deserve.”
State Representative Lorena Austin is running for reelection in Arizona Legislative District 9, which covers the city of Mesa. According to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the district is likely one of the most competitive in the state, with a 2.6% vote spread in the Commission’s nine focus elections. Democrats are slightly favored in the district, having won in five of those nine focus elections.
Despite her district being more moderate in its political makeup, Austin has demonstrated a propensity to become one of the most extreme leftist members of the Arizona Legislature on almost every issue.
Mariana Sandoval is running for reelection to the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 23. According to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Legislative District 23 has a competitive vote spread of 16.9% between Democrats and Republicans over the past nine state elections. Out of those elections, Democrats have won all nine contests.
The full list of Arizona endorsements from the Arizona Working Families Party are as follows:
| Sarah Ligouri | Arizona State House, District 5 |
| Brian Garcia | Arizona State House, District 8 |
| Juan Mendez | Arizona State House, District 8 |
| Junelle Cavero | Arizona State House, District 11 |
| Oscar De Los Santos | Arizona State House, District 11 |
| Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton | Arizona State House, District 21 |
| Mariana Sandoval | Arizona State House, District 23 |
| Cesar Aguilar | Arizona State House, District 26 |
| Quanta Crews | Arizona State House, District 26 |
| Lauren Kuby | Arizona State Senate, District 8 |
| Analise Ortiz | Arizona State Senate, District 24 |
| Jennifer Allen | Pima County Supervisor, District 3 |
| Raquel Terán | U.S. House, State of Arizona, District 3 |
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
