Legislative Elections
The District DeskLegislative District 1
Debate availableLD1 · 2-Year Term
Population
246,671
Registered Voters
176,224
District Lean
R+33.6
Voter Registration Breakdown
General Election Debate
Legislative District 1 General Election Debate
State Senate
Mark Finchem
Republican · Senate
Mark Finchem has held the Legislative District 1 Senate seat since 2025 and served in the House from 2015 to 2023. He lost the 2022 secretary of state race to Adrian Fontes. In 2024, he beat former lawmaker Ken Bennett in the GOP primary after moving to northern Arizona from Marana. He is a member of the far-right militia group Oath Keepers, and one of Arizona’s most fervent election deniers.
Prominent Endorsements
Christine Dargon
Democrat · Senate
Completed the Agenda's candidate questionnaire
Christine Dargon ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and has not previously held elected office. She holds a doctorate in counseling psychology from Seton Hall University, master's degrees from Fordham University and Grand Canyon University, and a bachelor's from the University of Connecticut, and she has run a wellness practice since 2017. She says she backs full public school funding, rural broadband and tighter limits on who can buy guns.
Prominent Endorsements
State House
Quang Nguyen
Republican · House
Quang Nguyen has represented Legislative District 1 in the House since 2021 and has chaired the Judiciary Committee since 2023. He founded Caddis Advertising and previously worked for Northrop. Laws he sponsored include enhanced sentences for fentanyl dealers and a ban on child-like sex dolls. In 2023 he blocked a bill requiring clergy to report suspected child abuse, citing the seal of confession. This year, he sponsored HCR2053 to strip lawmakers' immunity from traffic tickets.
Prominent Endorsements
Selina Bliss
Republican · House
Selina Bliss, a registered nurse with master's and doctoral degrees in nursing, has represented Legislative District 1 in the House since 2023 and chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. Her recurring project is short-term rental regulation: this year's version, backed by both Airbnb and the cities' lobby, passed the House but died in the Senate without a hearing.
Prominent Endorsements
Sandy Zalecki
Democrat · House
Completed the Agenda's candidate questionnaire
Sandy Zalecki was unopposed in the Democratic primary and has not held elected office. She served four years in the Air Force at missile silos in Grand Forks, North Dakota, later worked in chemical cleanup for Motorola and ran a horse boarding business in New Mexico before moving to Prescott in 2017. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster and describes herself as a "non-MAGA Christian."
Prominent Endorsements