We’re highlighting key decision points on this year’s ballot to help you to make the most of your vote. To learn about more pro-LGBTQ+ candidates and the policies they support, explore the list of signatories to our open policy platform. The recommendations in this publication should not be considered endorsements of every action, belief, or affiliation of a political candidate. No person or politician is perfect, but the people on this list – if they win enough votes in November – will be positioned to make real change for the LGBTQ+ community here in Arizona and across the country.
From the top to the bottom of the ballot,1 Equality Arizona recommends the following candidates.
Federal Elections
U.S. Senate: Mark Kelly
U.S. Congressional District 1: Jevin Hodge
U.S. Congressional District 2: Tom O'Halleran
U.S. Congressional District 3: Ruben Gallego
U.S. Congressional District 4: Greg Stanton
U.S. Congressional District 5: Clint Smith
U.S. Congressional District 6: Kirsten Engel
U.S. Congressional District 7: Raúl Grijalva
State Elections
Governor: Katie Hobbs
Secretary of State: Adrian Fontes
Attorney General: Kris Mayes
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Kathy Hoffman
State Treasurer: Martin Quezada
Corporation Commission: Lauren Kuby and Sandra Kennedy
State Supreme Court
Justice Ann Timmer – yes, retain
Justice James Beene – no, do not retain
Justice Bill Montgomery – no, do not retain
For more about how we determined these recommendations, head to the footnotes2
State Legislature
Legislative District 2
Senate: Jeanne Casteen
House: Judy Schwiebert + leave second blank3
Legislative District 4
Senate: Christine Marsh
House: Laura Terech + Matt Gress
Legislative District 9
Senate: Eva Burch
House: Lorena Austin + Seth Blattman
Legislative District 12
Senate: Mitzi Epstein
House: Patty Contreras + Stacey Travers
Legislative District 16
Senate: Taylor Kerby
House: Keith Seaman + leave second blank
Legislative District 22
Senate: Write in Evangeline Diaz4
Legislative District 27
Senate: Write in Brittani Barraza
Maricopa County Elections
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, District 2: Tom Galvin
Maricopa County Attorney: Julie Gunnigle
Maricopa County Community College Governing Board at-large: Kelli Butler
Central AZ Water Conservation District Board
Arboleda, Aguilar, Graff, Pederson + leave fifth blank
City Council Elections
Mesa City Council District 4: Jenn Duff
Phoenix City Council District 6: Mark Moeremans
Curious about this year’s 10 ballot measures? Visit our voter guide for more recommendations.
We’ve made our judicial retention recommendations based on a review of state Supreme Court cases from the past few years, starting in 2019 with the critical LGBTQ+ rights case, Brush & Nib et al v. City of Phoenix. As relatively new appointees to the court, neither Justice Beene nor Montgomery were involved in the decision, but Justice Timmer authored a critical dissent, writing “Because the interest in preventing discrimination is compelling, equality prevails when we are dealing with public accommodations such as businesses serving the public.” In 2021, Timmer authored another important dissent in State v. Mixton, arguing that “the private affairs clause of article 2, section 8 of the Arizona Constitution […] has no analogue in the federal constitution and was clearly intended to provide additional and forceful protections to Arizonans against government intrusions into their private affairs” in comparison to “the less protective Fourth Amendment as construed by the United States Supreme Court.” In the context of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, this distinction will be key to the future of reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ equality in Arizona. Justices Beene and Montgomery joined the majority opinion in Mixton, and a general survey of their dissents uncovered nothing of substance to the matter of LGBTQ+ rights.
In the absence of any other pro-LGBTQ+ candidates, we’re recommending voters cast fewer votes than the maximum allotted in certain races, in order to increase the chances of victory for the pro-LGBTQ+ candidates in those races.
While former state representative Diego Espinoza has formally withdrawn from the senate race for Legislative District 22, his name will remain the only choice on the ballot. All votes for Espinoza will go uncounted, leaving the race completely open to write-in candidates. We’re recommending the Democratic candidate, Dr. Evangeline Diaz, who will be critical to winning a pro-LGBTQ+ majority in the state Senate.
