Arizona Republicans selected their nominees for several of the state’s highest-profile offices on Tuesday, with several races called later in the evening. Additional ballot counting continued Wednesday in closely divided legislative, congressional, and county races.
The Associated Press called Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ05) the winner of the four-way Republican primary for governor, setting up a November contest against Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs. The AP also called the Republican secretary of state primary for state Rep. Alexander Kolodin.
The attorney general primary race was subsequently called for State Senate President Warren Petersen shortly before midnight in Arizona. Petersen led attorney Rodney Glassman by 56.4 percent to 43.6 percent as of publication.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Warren Petersen wins Republican nomination for attorney general in Arizona. #APRaceCall at 2:58 a.m. EDT. https://t.co/TS3eIpQI5W
Republican Elijah Norton defeated Katherine Haley for the state treasurer nomination, leading 56.1 percent to 43.9 percent at the time of publication. Norton will now face Democrat nominee Nick Mansour.
Decision Desk HQ called State Treasurer Kimberly Yee the winner of the Republican primary for superintendent of public instruction. Yee led incumbent Superintendent Tom Horne 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent with approximately 89 percent of the expected vote counted in the highly competitive race. Former state lawmaker, Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz, had nearly 80 percent of the vote against Brett Newby and will advance to the general election.
Decision Desk HQ projects Kimberly Yee wins the AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican Primary#DecisionMade: 8:18 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/hCr78WcgTt
Commissioner Kevin Thompson secured one Republican nomination for the Arizona Corporation Commission, while former lawmaker Ralph Heap appeared set to secure the second after Commissioner Nick Myers conceded the race in a statement posted to X. Thompson led with 291,934 votes, or 35.89 percent. Heap followed with 267,085 votes, or 32.84 percent, while Myers had 254,321 votes, or 31.27 percent, leaving Heap ahead by 12,764 votes at the time of publication.
Congressional Primaries
Former state Rep. Amish Shah has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District against former television journalist Marlene Galán-Woods, 39.8 percent to 34.1 percent, according to the AP. Jonathan Treble held 17.62 percent, and Rick McCartney had 8.51 percent. Shah will face Thomas “Jay” Feely in one of Arizona’s most competitive congressional districts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amish Shah wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Arizona's 1st Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 10:07 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/TS3eIpQI5W
Rep. Greg Stanton held a commanding lead over progressive challenger Kai Newkirk in the Democratic primary for the Fourth Congressional District, 63.5 percent to 36.5 percent.
Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb won the Republican primary for Biggs’ open Fifth Congressional District seat, defeating Daniel Keenan 58.3 percent to 41.7 percent. The Associated Press also called the Democrat primary for Elizabeth Lee, who received 65.5 percent. Chris James received 21.2 percent, and Brian Hualde received 13.28 percent.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elizabeth Lee wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Arizona's 5th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 11:18 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/TS3eIpQI5W
Bernadette Greene-Placentia defeated Raymond Keeler approximately 65 percent to 35 percent in the Democratic primary for the Eighth Congressional District. She will challenge Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh in November.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernadette Greene-Placentia wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 11:20 p.m. EDT. https://t.co/TS3eIpQI5W
Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, giving several down-ballot primaries consequences extending well beyond the individual districts.
In Legislative District 2, Republican Sen. Shawnna Bolick led Timothy Ferrara 71.4 percent to 28.6 percent. Democrat Amelia Gallitano led Daniel Toporek 77.3 percent to 22.7 percent in the same district.
Republican Sen. John Kavanagh led Robert Wallace 85.2 percent to 14.8 percent in Legislative District 3.
In the Democratic primary for Legislative District 6, former Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai led Rep. Myron Tsosie 54.8 percent to 45.2 percent.
Sen. Lauren Kuby, a former Tempe city councilwoman, led Deborah Nardozzi 76 percent to 24 percent in the Legislative District 8 Democratic primary.
Christopher King led Anthony Dunham 63.2 percent to 36.8 percent in the Republican primary for Legislative District 17.
Rep. Alma Hernandez led Rocque Perez 53.8 percent to 46.2 percent in the Democratic primary for Legislative District 20.
The closest contested Senate primary was in Legislative District 27, where Republican Sen. Kevin Payne led former Sen. Anthony Kern with 8,368 votes to 8,096, a margin of only 272 votes.
State House Primaries
Arizona House districts elect two representatives, meaning the two leading candidates in each party primary generally advance to November.
In Legislative District 1, Republican Reps. Selina Bliss and Quang Nguyen held the two qualifying positions. Bliss led with 42.45 percent, Nguyen followed with 42.04 percent, and Shawn Wildman trailed with 15.51 percent.
George Khalaf led the four-candidate Republican contest in Legislative District 3 with 33.69 percent. Cody Reim held the second nomination position with 27.12 percent, only 612 votes ahead of Jay Schlum, who received 26.21 percent. Thomas Walsh held 12.8 percent.
Republican Rep. Matt Gress led Legislative District 4 with 45.28 percent, while Pamela Carter held the second position with 33.67 percent. Sandra Christensen trailed with 21.05 percent.
In Legislative District 6, Democratic Rep. Mae Peshlakai led with 42.5 percent. Ian Teller held the second qualifying position with 29.76 percent, followed by Angela Maloney with 27.73 percent.
Rep. Walt Blackman led the Legislative District 7 Republican primary with 34.73 percent. Rep. David Cook held second with 27.25 percent, followed by Andrew Costanzo with 21.34 percent and Barby Ingle with 16.67 percent.
Brian Garcia and Janeen Connolly held the two Democratic nomination positions in Legislative District 8 with 42 percent and 32 percent, respectively. Claudia Kline trailed with 26 percent.
Rep. Justin Olson, a former corporation commissioner, led the Republican primary in Legislative District 10 with 43.82 percent. James Rogers held second with 34.41 percent, followed by Ciara Anderson with 21.77 percent.
Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke led the Legislative District 13 Republican primary with 43.31 percent. Janet Weninger held the second nomination position with 34.62 percent, while Debra Schinke trailed with 22.07 percent.
In Legislative District 14, Tyler Farnsworth led with 41.63 percent, and Rep. Laurin Hendrix followed with 38.29 percent. Jed Lyons received 20.08 percent.
Sen. David Gowan, a former Senate president, led the Legislative District 19 Republican House primary with 43.98 percent. Rep. Lupe Diaz held the second position with 32.09 percent, followed by Cheryl Caswell with 23.93 percent.
On the Democrat side, Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales led the Legislative District 20 House primary with 33.37 percent. Rep. Betty Villegas, a former Pima County supervisor, held second with 31.81 percent, followed by Genoveva Diaz with 19.41 percent and Ben Koehler with 15.42 percent.
Rep. Consuelo Hernandez led the four-way Democrat primary in Legislative District 21 with 30.21 percent. Miranda Lopez held the second nomination position with 24.92 percent, ahead of Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton at 24.24 percent. Maritza Higuera held 20.63 percent.
Rep. Elda Luna-Nájera led the five-candidate Democratic primary in Legislative District 22 with 29.36 percent. Betsy Munoz held second with 27.60 percent, followed by Veronica Bejarano-Malone with 24.78 percent, Steve Chapman with 9.86 percent, and Gwen Johnston with 8.4 percent.
Rep. Mariana Sandoval led the Legislative District 23 Democratic primary with 38.35 percent. Emilia Cortez held the second nomination position with 25.49 percent, followed by Juan Manuel Guerrero at 18.3 percent and Naomi Miguel at 18.19 percent.
In Legislative District 24, Alberto Flores and Lisbeth Arescurenaga held the two qualifying positions with 39.87 percent and 37.02 percent. Democratic Rep. Lydia Hernandez trailed with 14.34 percent, followed by Rosa Cantu with 8.77 percent.
Republican Reps. Beverly Pingerelli and David Livingston led the Legislative District 28 contest with 41.72 percent and 38.98 percent, respectively. Heather Rooks received 19.30 percent.
Mike Gannuscio led the five-candidate Republican primary in Legislative District 30 with 33.97 percent. David Rose held the second nomination position with 29.16 percent, followed by Grace Hecht with 19.89 percent, Catherine Lopez-Rajaniemi with 10.68 percent, and Caroline Strecker with 6.29 percent.
County Races
Most countywide offices on Tuesday’s ballot had only one candidate seeking each party’s nomination. Contested county and local races included the Apache County clerk of the Superior Court primary, the Santa Cruz County school superintendent primary, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors District 2 primary, and the Yuma County clerk of the Superior Court primary.
In Apache County, Samceita Begay led Wendy Shepherd in the Democratic primary for clerk of the Superior Court. Begay received 5,653 votes to Shepherd’s 4,195 at the time of publication.
In Santa Cruz County, incumbent County School Superintendent Maya Donnelly led Sonia Sanchez by 2,545 votes to 2,222 in the Democratic primary. Miguel López also led Adriana Olaiz by 2,754 votes to 2,066 in the Democratic primary for justice of the peace at the time of publication.
Camp Verde Mayor Marie Moore led Wiley Cline in the Republican primary for the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat. Moore received 3,633 votes, approximately 57 percent, while Cline received 2,746 votes or approximately 43 percent.
In Yuma County, Chief Deputy Clerk Bobbie Jo Daily led Malba Alvarez by 6,801 votes to 2,530, or 72.9 percent to 27.1 percent, in the Republican primary for clerk of the Superior Court. The Arizona Secretary of State’s county-results portal continued to list Yuma County’s results as pending Wednesday afternoon, although the county had opened its separate online results system.
Additional Ballots Remain
The results remained unofficial on Wednesday as county election officials continued processing ballots. The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office estimated that voters deposited 93,368 early ballots at polling locations on Election Day. That figure represents Election Day ballot drop-offs and does not represent the number of ballots remaining to be counted. The Secretary of State’s Office reports outstanding ballots separately through its ballot-progress reports.
The early results demonstrated President Donald Trump’s continued influence in Arizona’s Republican statewide and congressional primaries. The legislative contests followed a more localized pattern, with incumbency, district organizations, and candidate-specific disputes producing several close races beneath a decisive statewide result.
Margins of only a few hundred votes in several legislative primaries could shape the composition of Arizona’s Republican and Democrat legislative caucuses as the parties prepare for the larger fight over control of the House and Senate in November. The statewide canvass is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Vote totals and percentages are current as of 8 p.m. MST on July 22.
State Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-LD20) spoke out against top Democrats for endorsing her primary opponent for the state senate seat, Rocque Perez.
Hernandez said Perez’s history of posting pornography and violent rhetoric online were antithetical to the values of the Democratic Party following an announcement that Rep. Adelita Grijalva and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero had endorsed Perez.
“I have proudly delivered for my district for the last eight years. If these women want to support a flawed candidate who posted his porn and violent political rhetoric online[…] good luck explaining that to voters,” said Hernandez. “I have won four terms without their support and will continue to do so!”
I have proudly delivered for my district for the last 8 years. If these women want to support a flawed candidate who posted his porn & violent political rhetoric online. Good luck explaining that to voters. I have won 4 terms without their support and will continue to do so! https://t.co/0K6xBhRlne
— (((Rep.Alma Hernandez))) (@almaforarizona) June 17, 2026
As reported previously, Perez advocated for the murder of conservatives and Republicans in posts to one of his accounts on X (at the time, Twitter). Perez advised a friend to “kill” her family members as her “duty,” and called on the public to “throw [Ivanka Trump] off the capitol building roof.”
In reference to a classmate: “This vapid white girl is defending Trump[’s] response to COVID in my Zoom public relations class, do I end her or do I end her.”
In reference to assaulting President Donald Trump: “Honestly I would take one for the team and knock him out if I could.”
In reference to conservative activist and pundit Kaitlin Bennett: “How has she not gotten beat yet? Like… hath no one the bravery to literally hurt her cause…?”
In reference to the 2020 election: “Roses are red, violets are blue, vote for Joe Biden, or I’ll cut you.”
On another X account around the same time, @localanthony, pornographic videos were posted publicly which allegedly featured Perez promoting a similarly-named OnlyFans account, That Local Boy. The profile picture for that account appeared to be a mirror selfie of Perez.
Perez denied to media outlets that he posted the pornographic content, but refused to confirm or deny whether the content belonged to him.
One post that appeared to have come from Perez on the pornographic X account claimed engagement in sexual activities with an unnamed professor and later being solicited by that professor’s husband.
In another post from March 2021, the account owner claimed to have masturbated while at work at the University of Arizona. Perez was employed as the University of Arizona’s marketing and communications strategist at the time.
“Guys I’m so horny I might jerk off somewhere at work, stay tuned,” posted Perez. “Update: loads of bro butter at work.”
At least one minor engaged with this pornographic account allegedly belonging to Perez, the California Globereported.
Following widespread reporting, the porn-focused account apparently associated with Perez has been excluded from the web archiving services where it was previously available to the public.
It appears Grijalva and Romero chose to endorse Perez over Hernandez based on their past ties with him.
Perez was the executive director for Grijalva’s nonprofit, the Metropolitan Education Commission, which makes recommendations for Pima County’s K-12 education.
Last year, Perez served for six months as an appointed member of the Tucson City Council representing Ward 5.
Other Democrats have spurned Hernandez for her shows of bipartisanship in the legislature.
LD20 Democrats issued a public statement condemning Hernandez, though they stopped short of censoring her.
Perez was also on the board of directors of the now-defunct Tucson Pride, once the state’s oldest pride organization.
Perez platforms himself as both a fourth-generation Arizonan and the son of an undocumented woman from Mexico.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Tucson Democratic State Senate candidate Rocque Perez is facing renewed scrutiny following resurfaced social media posts containing violent rhetoric and new attention to earlier allegations involving disputed online activity and deleted social media accounts.
The controversy comes as Perez seeks the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s Legislative District 20 Senate seat, where he faces state Rep. Alma Hernandez in a July primary.
Archived posts tied to Perez’s X account included violent political rhetoric dating back to 2020. The posts reportedly included statements such as “So kill them, do your duty baby girl” in response to complaints about conservative family members and “Someone throw this b—- off the capitol building roof please” in response to a post by Ivanka Trump. Other archived messages reportedly encouraged violence toward political opponents and referenced harming individuals in online settings.
The posts were first published by the California Globe in October and later independently corroborated through Archive.org.
Perez, now 27, told the Arizona Republic he was aware prior to entering politics that his past online activity would likely face public scrutiny and argued that the posts originated when he was 20 and 21 years old. At the time, he worked as a student employee at the University of Arizona in multicultural advancement and research communications roles, according to university employment records cited by the Republic.
“You wouldn’t be asking me these questions if this was any other 19, 20-year-old at the time,” Perez told the Republic.
Hernandez sharply criticized the rhetoric and rejected Perez’s explanation.
“To brush it off and say you were young and dumb, that’s not an excuse,” Hernandez told the Arizona Republic, calling the posts “unacceptable for anyone seeking public office.”
The resurfaced posts have also revived attention to earlier reporting involving Perez’s online presence.
Alleged Sex Worker Tied to Adelita Grijalva Scrubs Social Media Accounts.
In February, the California Globe reported that social media accounts allegedly connected to Perez and others tied to Tucson-area political circles had been deleted or scrubbed following scrutiny. The publication later published screenshots from an X account it alleged Perez used to promote an OnlyFans account known as “ThatLocalBoy,” citing material supplied by a source. According to the report, the account included photographs of Perez and sexually explicit promotional content linked to OnlyFans activity.
Another Gay Activist With Ties to Rep-Elect Adelita Grijalva Scrubs Social Media.
Perez denied those allegations when questioned by the Republic and said he never operated an OnlyFans account.
“Not at any point did I put out anything like this,” Perez told the newspaper.
The Republic reported it could not independently confirm Perez operated the alleged OnlyFans account and noted that the account in question no longer exists. Perez further declined to specifically confirm or deny whether photographs and sexually oriented posts associated with the account belonged to him, telling the paper he was “not going to relegate what was me or not me.”
Perez graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 with a degree in political science. He previously served briefly as an appointed Tucson City Council member, and currently serves as the executive director of the Southern Arizona Education Council, formerly known as the Metropolitan Education Commission.
The Tucson Pride organization will be shutting down after nearly 50 years of existence.
The organization maintained the third-oldest Pride entity in the country, and the first and oldest one in Arizona.
The announcement comes exactly a month before the organization was slated to have its annual pride festival.
The Tucson Pride Board of Directors said in an announcement that it would refund all funds received for this year’s festival within 30 to 90 days.
“This decision was not made lightly. We recognize the deep importance Tucson Pride has held in our community since 1977, serving as a space of visibility, advocacy, celebration, and resilience for nearly five decades,” stated the organization on its Facebook page and website. “We are profoundly grateful to every volunteer, sponsor, artist, activist, and community member who has supported Tucson Pride throughout its history.”
Tucson Pride was founded following the murder of Richard Heakin in 1976 outside Stonewall Tavern.
The organization’s nonprofit status (Tucson Lesbian and Gay Alliance) was jeopardized in the recent past for failing to file on time. The IRS automatically revoked their nonprofit status in May 2024 for failing to file their tax returns for three consecutive years.
Tucson Pride said one of their prior board members “missed” the 2021 and 2022 tax filings. They did not name the prior board member allegedly responsible for the missing filings.
According to their latest available filing from 2020, the board of directors at the time included Rocque Perez.
Perez is a state senate candidate and a formerly appointed member of the Tucson City Council. AZ Free Newsreported on the recent discovery of Perez’s deletion of his pornographic and violent social media accounts.
Other directors per that last 2020 filing included Samantha Cloud (president), Jeff Myers-Fulgham (vice president), Stephen R. Myers-Fulgham (treasurer), and Matthew Taylor (secretary).
Tax filings revealed the Tucson Lesbian and Gay Alliance had a significant dropoff in revenue between its 2019 and 2020 filings. The 2020 reported revenue ($18,400) was $28,800 lower than its lowest revenue over the past decade of available reports, dating back to 2010.
Prior to 2020, the organization had reported a steady rise in revenue from 2015 to 2019, having a reported revenue high of $171,000 before the 2020 decline.
The organization had a steady rise in revenue from 2016 to 2019.
Last October, Tucson Pride leadership delayed its Pride festival due to financial problems and political pressures. The organization reported having over $50,000 in debt following a slash to ticket sales and donations after 2024.
“Nationwide, LGBTQIA+ nonprofits have seen donations and corporate sponsorships decline due to shifting politics and increased hostility toward queer causes,” said the board. “Tucson Pride has felt this squeeze firsthand, making local fundraising more challenging than in past years.”
A 2024 financial overview provided by Tucson Pride reflected that gross earnings totaled over $110,000, but their expenses totaled nearly $156,000: $37,000 on entertainment; $7,000 on food, beverage, and ice; $50,000 on infrastructure; $5,000 on logistics; $2,000 on marketing; $7,000 on permitting; $27,000 on public safety; $5,000 on tech; $1,000 on a Tihan donation; and $13,000 on supplies.
Cash sponsorships totaled just over $54,000, and festival sales totaled $63,000.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
A former Tucson councilman’s pornographic and violent past has resurfaced again amid his newly launched state senate race.
Tucson Councilman Rocque Perez advocated for the harm and murder of his political opponents and promoted pornography in the years immediately leading up to his foray into politics. Perez has since deleted all of the incriminating posts.
AZ Free Newscovered Perez’s rhetoric in October. These posts were made in 2020, around the time that Perez was a student body senator for the University of Arizona.
Perez advised his friend to murder conservative family members:
“So kill them, do your duty baby girl,” posted Perez.
Perez threatened to murder a classmate defending President Donald Trump:
“This vapid white girl is defending Trump[’s] response to COVID in my Zoom public relations class, do I end her or do I end her,” posted Perez.
Perez called for the assassination of Ivanka Trump:
“Someone throw this b***h off the capitol building roof please,” posted Perez.
Perez threatened to assault Trump if given the opportunity.
“Honestly I would take one for the team and knock him out if I could,” posted Perez.
Perez also wished for Trump to die from COVID-19, in multiple posts.
Perez called for the assault of conservative activist and pundit Kaitlin Bennett:
“How has she not gotten beat yet? Like… hath no one the bravery to literally hurt her cause…?” posted Perez.
Perez threatened to stab Trump voters:
“Roses are red, violets are blue, vote for Joe Biden, or I’ll cut you,” posted Perez.
Although Perez has ceased posting the caliber of violent rhetoric of his past, his actions indicate that he still holds the sentiments that inspired those deleted posts.
On Friday, Perez participated in a vigil for Renée Nicole Good, the Minnesota woman and anti-ICE activist fatally shot by law enforcement after driving her car in the direction of an ICE agent.
Along with advocating for assault and murder, Perez posted pornographic videos and pictures to promote his OnlyFans account.
In one of the posts, Perez claimed he engaged in sexual activities with an unnamed male professor and was later solicited by the professor’s husband.
In another post made in March 2021, Perez claimed to have masturbated while at work at the University of Arizona.
“Guys I’m so horny I might jerk off somewhere at work, stay tuned,” posted Perez. “Update: loads of bro butter at work.”
Both Perez’s personal and porn accounts were public. As a result, at least one minor engaged with Perez’s work. The California Globeuncovered in a report that one minor at the time, now a staffer for Tucson Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, engaged with Perez’s porn account.
What is going on with AZ Senate candidate Rocque Perez? Why is he working with children if he’s been known to share pornographic material with minors? What is this education commission he has been affiliated with? Why are their events only for people of voting age? Is taxpayer… https://t.co/JwlAwuFkHe
— AZ Representative Rachel (Jones) Keshel (@RJ4arizona) January 9, 2026
Although his pornography was public and clearly visible to minors, Perez would go on to become executive director for a nonprofit directly involved with minors: the Metropolitan Education Commission (MEC), created by Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva. MEC advises and makes recommendations on K-12 education for all of Pima County.
Perez launched his state senate campaign in December, around when his six-month appointment to the Tucson City Council came to an end.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
