Explore the races, meet the candidates, and compare their priorities.
LD26 · 2-Year Term
Population
241,317
Registered Voters
80,863
District Lean
D+21.0
Voter Registration Breakdown
Debate recap
West Phoenix legislative candidates debate immigration, school vouchers “They're anti-immigrants, and the Trump administration has only allowed white immigrants into the United States while pushing out all the other immigrants,” Democratic Rep. Cesar Aguilar said.
Read the recap: LD26 debate recap (opens in a new tab)State Senate
Democrat · Senate
Flavio Bravo, a former educator and congressional staffer, won a state House seat in 2022 and was appointed to the Senate in May 2023 by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to replace Raquel Terán. He won a full term in 2024. At the Clean Elections debate he attacked the Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program, saying lobbyists call it "the most broken policy" at the Capitol and that parents already paying private tuition should not draw state money.
Prominent Endorsements
Republican · Senate
Jim Bishop is a junior high school math teacher who ran unopposed in the July 21 Republican primary. Ballotpedia lists no occupation, education, prior office or earlier candidacy for him, and he had reported $45 in contributions through June 30. At the Clean Elections debate he said the state's voucher program should be means-tested: "When government does a public good, you want to do it based on need."
State House
Democrat · House
Cesar Aguilar, a nonprofit executive who sat on the Balsz Elementary School District governing board from 2018 to 2021, has represented LD26 in the House since January 2023 and is seeking a third term. He was the top vote-getter in the 2024 general election and led the 2026 Democratic primary. At the Clean Elections debate he said his parents entered the country illegally and were legalized under the 1986 amnesty, and accused the Trump administration of admitting only white immigrants.
Prominent Endorsements
Democrat · House
Quantá Crews, a real estate appraiser and ordained minister, was appointed to the House in June 2023 by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to replace Flavio Bravo, and won a full term in 2024. She ran unsuccessfully for the Phoenix Elementary School District board in 2020. At the Clean Elections debate she backed rent control and said she would not support Phoenix police assisting federal immigration agents.
Prominent Endorsements
Green · House
Hector Gomez has almost nothing on the public record. He advanced from the Green Party primary on July 21 with 10 votes, the only candidate in it, and Ballotpedia lists no occupation, education, prior office or campaign finance for him. He declined the Clean Elections Commission's invitation to the LD26 House debate, so there is no record of his positions beyond his ballot status.
Republican · House
Jonathan McKenna advanced from the July 21 Republican primary, finishing second to Frank Roberts, and had reported $645 in contributions through June 30. He runs an addiction recovery business and argued at the Clean Elections debate that illegal immigration drives up housing costs and that rent caps are government overreach. On his campaign website he says his grandfather, uncle, brother and cousin all served as state representatives.
Republican · House
Frank Roberts is on the LD26 ballot for the third straight cycle. He won the 2022 Republican primary as a write-in with 335 votes but did not appear in that general election, then advanced from the 2024 primary and finished last of four in the general. He led the 2026 Republican primary. Roberts works in real estate and is a landlord; he told the Clean Elections debate he opposes rent control and would expand Section 8.