A liberal Democrat is attempting to maintain her representation of a middle-of-the-road Phoenix-area legislative district for another term in office.
State Senator Eva Burch of Arizona Legislative District 9 is seeking to make a return to the chamber for the next term of office, running for reelection in the upcoming November General Election.
The incumbent Democrat proudly displays several endorsements from left-leaning organizations on her campaign website, including Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Save Our Schools Arizona, Moms Demand Action, Climate Cabinet PAC, Emily’s List, Human Rights Campaign in Arizona, Arizona List, End Citizens United, and Sierra Club.
Burch is staunchly in the camp of her open-borders colleagues in the legislature – as her voting record indicates. Last year (2023), Burch voted no on HCM 2007, which expressed the legislative desire that Congress enact the State Immigration Enforcement Act, which would allow states or political subdivisions of states, to enact, implement, and enforce criminal penalties that are prohibited in the criminal provisions of immigration laws.
This past legislative session (2024), Burch voted against SB 1231, which would have made it unlawful for a person who is an alien (unlawful immigrant) to enter Arizona from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry. She also opposed SCR 1042, which proclaimed the Legislature’s support for the people and governor of the state of Texas in its efforts to secure our nation’s southern border. Additionally, she voted no on HB 2157, which would have prohibited a court from using a defendant’s deportation as the sole reason for early termination of probation or intensive probation.
More recently, Burch refused to support a legislative effort to refer a border security measure to the ballot in this November’s General Election – HCR 2060, voting against the bill when it was considered by her chamber. The proposal, if passed by voters in the fall, would empower local law enforcement to better secure their communities from the increasing calamities from the border crisis. A recent poll from Noble Predictive Insights showed that over fifty percent of Democrat respondents support the measure.
The Democrat lawmaker has also established a clear voting record for opposing bills that seek to lower taxes and reduce burdensome red tape for Arizona businesses. In 2023, she voted no on SCR 1018, which was a resolution restricting counties, cities, towns, municipal corporations, and political subdivisions from imposing a tax, rule, or law based on vehicle miles traveled. Burch also voted against SB 1156 that year, which would have increased the amount of the individual income tax subtraction for unreimbursed adoption expenses.
In the 2024 legislative session, Burch returned to her anti-small government ways, voting against SB 1056, which would have prohibited city councils or county board of supervisors from increasing an assessment, tax or fee without a two-thirds vote. Also, she voted no on SB 1153, which would have prohibited a proposed rule from becoming effective if the proposed rule is estimated to increase regulatory costs by more than $500,000 within five years.
Burch is also a soft-on-crime legislator. Over the past two years, she has opposed several bills that would strengthen Arizona statutes against crime and increase penalties for lawbreakers and those who seek to perpetrate harm on innocent men, women, and children. In 2024, she voted no on SB 1414, which would require a person who is convicted of a third or subsequent organized retail theft offense to be sentenced as a category two repetitive offender. She also voted against HB 2591, which would have prohibited a public power entity or public service corporation from entering into a contract with a person or company that uses forced labor or oppressive child labor.
Last legislative session, Burch voted no on SB 1583, which would have mandated that a level one sex offender who commits specified sexual offenses is required to register on the internet sex offender website if the offender was sentenced for a dangerous crime against children. Additionally, she opposed SB 1323, which would have made an employee or independent contractor of a public school who refers students to or uses any sexually explicit material in violation of existing statute criminally liable for a class 5 felony.
Arizona Legislative District 9 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 2.6% vote spread between Democrats and Republicans over the past nine statewide elections, according to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Out of those nine contests, Democrats have won five compared to four for the Republicans.
Burch ran unopposed in the July 30 primary election. She is facing off against the winner of the Republican primary, Robert Scantlebury. In the 2022 General Election, Burch defeated Scantlebury by more than 3,000 votes to assume her seat.
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A Mesa-area legislative district match-up is set for the General Election in the state of Arizona.
Last week, Robert Scantlebury defeated Christopher Stapley in their primary election contest for the Republican nomination for Legislative District 9 Senate. According to unofficial results on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website, Scantlebury received 9,766 votes, compared to Stapley’s 5,323 votes (64.7-35.3%).
In a post to his social media accounts in the aftermath of Election Day, Scantlebury said, “One down and one to go! My focus is now on the General Election on November 5th. This win is the result of a lot of hard work. I am thankful for all the help from family, friends, supporters, volunteers, donors and conservative groups. I am honored that more than 9,747 people voted for me. I appreciate the thousands of people who visited with me at their homes. Many shared their concerns about the effects of crime (mental health, addiction, and homeless issues), our open border, and our struggle to afford housing and everyday expenses like food and gas. One of the most powerful topics was parents’ concerns for the future of our children in Arizona.”
Scantlebury added, “We need a State Senator who looks at issues from the perspective of citizens. We only have a one seat Republican advantage in the State Senate; it is critical to maintaining and improving our way of life to elect more representatives like me who share our values. With your help, I can win back our seat in Legislative District 9.”
Gene Klund, a longtime Republican activist in the east valley, responded to Scantlebury’s victory lap, writing, “Thank you for all your hard work over the years….to make this happen. You will be a great addition to our State Senate and I know you will always try to [do] what is best for all of the taxpayers. Keep up all your hard work for the General Election….”
The Republican candidate for state Senate had obtained a number of key endorsements leading up to his victory on July 30. On July 17, Scantlebury boasted of his endorsement from the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona and from Stand for Health Freedom. Previously, Scantlebury had received endorsements from the Mesa Police Association, the Latinos United for Conservative Action, the Arizona Republican Assembly, and the East Valley Young Republicans.
Out of all the endorsements for his campaign, Scantlebury most appreciated the support from his Republican district. In sharing the endorsement from the Legislative District 9 Republican Committee, Scantlebury stated, “This is the most important endorsement. I am happy to have the full endorsement of the precinct committeemen and committeewomen of Legislative District 9. These are the most involved and informed voters.”
The Legislative District 9 Republicans had issued a press release on June 4 announcing their support of Scantlebury’s candidacy for office against his primary election opponent. The communication revealed that the endorsement had originated from its May 30th meeting with a resolution agreed upon by a majority of the attendees. That resolution made the case that Scantlebury deserved the nod in LD 9 because he “narrowly lost the General race to the Democrat candidate that was supported by almost $1.5M in large donations (mostly from out of state) to push the Democratic competitor,” and because he “announced his candidacy to run again in the 2024 race well before ANY competitor announced a run and has consistently attended our LD 9 meetings, acted as our Sargent at Arms and has been involved with our grassroots efforts…as a Precinct Committeeman.”
The Republican Committee also wrote that “the recent competitor to enter into the Primary for the LD9 Senate seat has yet to even reach out to Robert Scantlebury to discuss their campaign and qualifications for the 2024 race WHEREAS Robert Scantlebury has literally done all the legwork to get to know the constituents of LD9 over the past 3 years and pledged his commitment to represent WE THE PEOPLE.”
The document resolved “that the Body of the LD9 GOP do hereby FULLY ENDORSE Robert Scantlebury as our Candidate for LD9 Senator and believe he is the BEST candidate to ONCE AGAIN defeat the incumbent LD9 Senator!”
Scantlebury will face off against incumbent Senator Eva Burch, who was unopposed in her Democrat primary election. Burch received 11,015 votes, according to unofficial numbers.
The Mesa law enforcement officer veteran entered the political realm in 2018, when he unsuccessfully ran for Mesa City Council in District 4, finishing third. However, Scantlebury just barely missed the bar to move on to the November 6 election, falling 39 votes short of second place. He then challenged incumbent State Senator Tyler Pace in the August 2022 Primary Election, garnering more than double the votes for a shocking victory. Robert couldn’t defeat his Democrat opponent, though, losing to incumbent Eva Burch by five percent (just over three thousand votes).
According to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Legislative District 9 is likely one of the most competitive in the state, with a 2.6% vote spread between Republicans and Democrats over the past nine statewide elections. Democrats are slightly favored in the district, having won the district in five of those nine elections.
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The balance of Arizona’s Legislature may hinge on Republicans being able to pick up seats in districts under Democrats’ control in the upcoming election. Robert Scantlebury, who is running for state senate in Legislative District 9 in Mesa, may be one of those candidates for the Republicans in November 2024.
Robert has lived in Mesa since 1992, when he joined the City of Mesa Police Department as an officer after graduating from California State University with his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. He started his career with Mesa in its holding facility before serving as a police officer, special investigations detective, patrol sergeant, school intelligence detective, and a detective sergeant. After this distinguished body of work for the Department, Scantlebury retired in 2018, completing 25 years with the city.
Retirement couldn’t keep Robert from the persistent itch of public service. He served as a volunteer Reserve Police Officer until 2020, when the Mesa Police Department ended the program. In this role, he worked as a School Resource Officer and School Intelligence Detective. As Scantlebury reflected on this period of his life, he said that “I loved my job and have always felt I had a calling to protect and stand up for others.”
When his tenure at the Department came to an end after the sunset of the reserve program, Scantlebury followed in the footsteps of his parents, creating his own small business, Little American Tractor Service. He also serves as a school board member for Step-up School, which is a nonprofit school in his community.
The Mesa law enforcement officer veteran entered the political realm in 2018, when he unsuccessfully ran for Mesa City Council in District 4, finishing third. However, Scantlebury just barely missed the bar to move on to the November 6 election, falling 39 votes short of second place. He then challenged incumbent State Senator Tyler Pace in the August 2022 Primary Election, garnering more than double the votes for a shocking victory. Robert couldn’t defeat his Democrat opponent, though, losing to incumbent Eva Burch by five percent (just over three thousand votes).
Scantlebury decided to run again for Legislative District 9 in the 2024 cycle. In August 2023, he wrote that “people have asked why I’m going to run for office again when it is so hard to do,” answering that he has “always done hard things to do my part to make things better and stop bad people from hurting others.”
On March 29 of this year, Scantlebury turned in 920 signatures of qualified voters to make the ballot for the primary election. That number was almost three times the minimum he was required to submit to the Arizona Secretary of State. In a Facebook post, he thanked “all the people who talked with me at their front door and all the supporters who visited their neighbors and advocated for me.”
His three top priorities for public office at the state legislature are public safety, lower cost of living, and supporting parents and students. On his campaign website, Robert writes that his “thirty years in law enforcement have made it clear to me that we need our state government to do more. I will be a voice to empower local law enforcement, address serious mental illness appropriately, and work to stop human trafficking and the flow of drugs coming across our border.”
Scantlebury goes on to address his economic priority, stating that “we should be able to afford groceries, gas, electricity, and rent or buy a home in a safe neighborhood. But today, we’re paying more to buy less and our kids can’t envision ever affording a house. That’s the opposite of the American dream.” He promises to “defend our flat tax, oppose new taxes, stand up to radical environmental policies that raise the cost of our gas and electricity, and balance community needs with individual property rights.”
In addressing his priority of supporting parents and students in Arizona schools, Robert asserts that “one size doesn’t fit all and families should be able to access what works for their child, regardless of where they live or how much money they make.” He assures voters that “I am going to protect this for any family that needs it.” He adds that he “want[s] schools to focus first on the basics of education like reading, writing and math” and “schools that are responsive to students’ and parents’ needs.”
The Republican lists endorsements from the Mesa Police Association, the Arizona Republican Assemply, LUCA-Latino United, East Valley Young Republicans, and Arizona State Representative Barbara Parker on his website.
Robert has been married to his wife, Heather, for 23 years, and they have two daughters, Ryley and Robyn.
In July’s Primary Election, Scantlebury faces off against fellow Republican Christopher Stapley. The winner of the contest will be pitted against the entrenched Democrat incumbent, Eva Burch, for the November General Election.
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In the final six days before Election Day, young pro-life activists are deploying in Mesa and Scottsdale to mobilize voters.
That impacts State Senate Districts 4 and 9, both swing districts. District 4 candidates are Republican Nancy Barto and Democrat Christine Marsh. District 9 candidates are Republican Robert Scantlebury and Democrat Eva Burch.
Behind the grassroots activists is Students for Life Action (SFLA), the political action committee (PAC) arm of the Students for Life (SFL) nonprofit. SFLA stated in a press release that their goal in Arizona is to inform voters about the abortion lobby’s endorsed candidates and Senator Mark Kelly’s record on abortion.
SFLA comes into play weeks after it was revealed that Kelly campaign staffers were likely telling voters that the senator is pro-life for months. Kelly supports abortion.
SFLA also deployed groups into 10 other states: Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Washington. Notably, one SFLA captain, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Ruch, is the Republican candidate for the Montana House.
Groups in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, & Virginia took part in the Overpass Outreach campaign. Check out some displays and a few exciting updates on which candidates across the country are #TooExtreme4Me:https://t.co/XyQnQvdwda
Arizona won’t enforce its ban on abortion until next year. In response to the agreement with Attorney General Mark Brnovich last week, Planned Parenthood resumed abortion services throughout the state (with the exception of a Tucson clinic, which continued operations prior to the agreement).
Even if the state’s abortion ban goes into effect, there’s no guarantee of uniform enforcement. The cities of Tucson and Phoenix both passed resolutions effectively decriminalizing abortions. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover also pledged to not prosecute violations of abortion law.
The upcoming election will further determine the fate of the state’s abortion law. Democratic Maricopa County Attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle pledged to disregard state bans and restrictions on abortion.
“I will #NotNowNotEver prosecute people or their providers for performing abortions or undergoing an abortion procedure,” tweeted Gunnigle last month.
Our stance has been clear from day one. I will #NotNowNotEver prosecute people or their providers for performing abortions or undergoing an abortion procedure.https://t.co/Znv012OYBe
Hobbs told CNN on Wednesday that she would veto any new legislation further restricting abortion in the state.
Meet Katie Hobbs; a PPAA champion who will fight to restore reproductive rights and against abortion bans. We will not stand for anti-abortion politicians.
