Explore the races, meet the candidates, and compare their priorities.
LD12 · 2-Year Term
Population
243,790
Registered Voters
147,849
District Lean
D+2.2
Voter Registration Breakdown
Debate recap
“Don’t Texas my Arizona,” Democratic House candidate tells Republican “And when I spoke to a colleague, they said, ‘We knew it was going to be more, we didn't care, we just wanted to ram this through anyway,’” Democratic Rep. Stacey Travers said. “So they knew it was going to cost up to a billion dollars, and they lied to the public about it.”
Read the recap: LD12 debate recap (opens in a new tab)State Senate
Democrat · Senate
Patricia Contreras, who worked for the City of Phoenix in its parks and recreation and human services departments, has served two terms in the state House. She is now running for a Senate seat a retiring Democrat is vacating, and was unopposed in the primary. She sat for a Clean Elections question-and-answer session after her opponent declined to debate.
Prominent Endorsements
No Labels · Senate
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Anthony Ramirez is an attorney and former police officer who also owns a business. He earned a bachelor's degree from Ottawa University in 2003 and a law degree from Arizona Summit Law School in 2015. He advanced from the No Labels Party primary with 444 votes in his first run for office, and he declined the Clean Elections Commission's invitation to debate. He has said he would not commit to either party and would vote bill by bill.
State House
Democrat · House
Stacey Travers was born in Athens, Greece, served in the U.S. Army as a Russian intelligence interceptor and worked as a BBC radio producer. She is seeking a third term after winning in 2022 and 2024, and she narrowly led this year's Democratic primary. At the Clean Elections debate she blamed homebuilders for sitting on supply, warned against loosening building codes and told her Republican opponent, "Don't Texas my Arizona."
Prominent Endorsements
Democrat · House
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Armando Montero was elected to the Tempe Union High School District governing board in 2020 at 19, the youngest person ever to win that seat, and was reelected in 2024. He earned a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 2023 and works there as a senior planning analyst. At the Clean Elections debate he argued against state housing mandates on cities, favoring local control.
Prominent Endorsements
Republican · House
David Richardson is a business owner who has worked on drug discovery and diagnostic tools, including a company that processed COVID-19 test kits early in the pandemic. He holds bachelor's and graduate degrees from Arizona State University. He lost this district's 2022 Senate race to the Democratic incumbent and was unopposed in this year's House primary. At the Clean Elections debate he defended school vouchers and called for faster building permits.
Prominent Endorsements