Explore the races, meet the candidates, and compare their priorities.
LD19 · 2-Year Term
Population
233,949
Registered Voters
153,795
District Lean
R+20.1
Voter Registration Breakdown
Debate recap
Democrat brands Griffin a “professional politician” on term limits “Gail Griffin refused to debate,” Democratic candidate Bob Karp said. “The Republicans have never participated in any of the three prior debates that I have been at. I believe that elected officials need to meet their constituents.”
Read the recap: LD19 debate recap (opens in a new tab)State Senate
Republican · Senate
Gail Griffin has served in the Legislature on and off since 1997, moving between the House and Senate as term limits forced her out of one chamber; she is now in her tenth term and is seeking the Senate seat David Gowan is leaving. As chair of the House natural resources, energy and water committee, she has for years declined to hear rural groundwater bills, again in 2026. An associate broker at Sierra Vista Realty since 1975, she declined the Clean Elections debate.
Prominent Endorsements
Democrat · Senate
Bob Karp, a retired Sierra Vista real estate agent, is making his fourth run for the Legislature. He lost a four-way House race in 2018, then lost Senate races to David Gowan in 2020 and 2024. He reached this year's ballot as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary, drawing 2,145 votes. He led the Southeast Arizona Association of Realtors in 2015 and served on Sierra Vista's planning and zoning commission.
State House
Republican · House
David Gowan served in the House from 2009 to 2017, the last two as speaker, and has been a state senator since 2019. In 2016 he repaid the state more than $12,000 for mileage he claimed on trips taken in state vehicles and per diem for days he did not work, and he abandoned a congressional bid that year. He is now running for the House seat Gail Griffin is vacating and led the Republican primary. He skipped the Clean Elections debate.
Prominent Endorsements
Republican · House
Lupe Diaz, an ordained minister at Grace Chapel in Benson and the son of a Bisbee miner, was appointed to the House in November 2021 to replace Becky Nutt and has won two elections since. He chairs the land, agriculture and rural affairs committee and also sits on appropriations, commerce and rules. In this year's Republican primary he placed second, behind state Sen. David Gowan. He did not attend the Clean Elections debate.
Prominent Endorsements
Democrat · House
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Jackie Anderson is a retired registered nurse who spent more than 40 years in health care, including 19 at Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales, and finished her career in risk and quality management. She lives in Amado and has not run for office before. She narrowly led the Democratic primary, 24 votes ahead of Aiden Swallow. At the Clean Elections debate she opposed data centers over their water use, and she says health care and water are her priorities.
Prominent Endorsements
Democrat · House
Aiden Swallow served 19 years in the Army; she says she worked as a human intelligence collector in Iraq and Afghanistan, then as a counterintelligence special agent, finishing as an instructor at Fort Huachuca. She entered the 2026 cycle running for Congress against Juan Ciscomani, withdrew in July 2025 without having raised money, and switched to this House race. At the debate she said she has no issue breaking caucus.
Prominent Endorsements