Legislative Elections
The District DeskLegislative District 9
Debate availableLD9 · 2-Year Term
Population
236,406
Registered Voters
111,490
District Lean
R+3.1
Voter Registration Breakdown
General Election Debate
Legislative District 9 General Election Debate
State Senate
Kiana Sears
Democrat · Senate
Kiana Sears was appointed to the Senate on March 31, 2025, to finish Eva Burch's term. She served on the Mesa Public Schools governing board from 2016 to 2025, staffed the Arizona Senate as a researcher, consulted for the Corporation Commission and ran unsuccessfully for a seat on it in 2018. She introduced no bills in 2025 and two in 2026, neither reaching a final vote. She demanded a Capitol caterer remake 240 pieces of chicken for an event she had not organized.
Prominent Endorsements
Bridget Fitzgibbons
Republican · Senate
Bridget Fitzgibbons is a naturopathic physician who serves on the Senate Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, sits on the board of the Arizona Naturopathic Medical Association and completed a Flinn-Brown Fellowship in 2024. She has not held elected office, though she is is a precinct committeeman. Her medical license lapsed for about six weeks this year after she missed the renewal deadline; she applied April 10 and the board approved it. A spokeswoman said Fitzgibbons had trouble submitting fingerprints and did not practice during the lapse.
Prominent Endorsements
State House
Lorena Austin
Democrat · House
Lorena Austin has held a House seat since 2023. None of Austin's bills has received a committee hearing; proposals have included $40 million for college affordability, a "middle housing" mandate for cities and insurance coverage for contraceptives. Austin, who worked at Maricopa County Community College District and Mesa Community College, announced on the House floor in 2023 that they are nonbinary during debate on a school pronoun bill.
Prominent Endorsements
Jacob Martinez
Democrat · House
Jacob Martinez, 24, is a recent law school graduate and a member of the Navy Reserve who has not held elected office. He finished third of seven candidates for two Mesa Public Schools governing board seats in 2022. He came to the Democratic Party from Republican politics: he chaired the Arizona Teenage Republicans and volunteered for Kelli Ward's 2016 U.S. Senate campaign before joining high school demonstrators at the Capitol to press for gun control.
Prominent Endorsements
Bradley Bettencourt
Republican · House
Completed the Agenda's candidate questionnaire
Bradley Bettencourt manages real estate for himself and for investors, and earlier worked as a credit analyst and credit officer at banks in Yuma and Nogales. He has not held public office. He testified for Kari Lake at the trial over her 2022 loss to Katie Hobbs, describing how tabulators rejected ballots during his stint as a temporary Maricopa County elections worker. He joined a failed recall of Dobson Ranch Homeowners Association board members, then won a board seat in 2024 and now leads it.
Prominent Endorsements