LD12

Gov. Janet Napolitano will appear at an evening rally at Friendship Park in Avondale Monday, the Arizona Democratic Party announced.

Napolitano will appear alongside state Senate candidate Angela Cotera and state House candidates Eve Nuñez and David Scanlon, all three of whom are running in Legislative District 12. According to the release, the event is intended to rally volunteers in advance of the Election Day get-out-the-vote effort.

The rally begins at at 5:45 p.m.

Legislative preview, House districts 11-15
LD11This is the most likely pickup for the Republicans this year. Democrat Mark DeSimone resigned his seat this summer after his wife accused him of physically abusing her. The district has historically been a Republican district and Republicans will be making a hard push to assure both seats are returned to the caucus.

GOODYEAR -- Legislative District 12 candidates for the Arizona House and Senate met Tuesday night for a debate that was dominated by concerns regarding education, development and the faltering economy.

A clash of ideologies was on display as the Republicans, led by state Senate candidate and current state Rep. John Nelson (R-Goodyear), proposed a program of spending cuts to balance the state budget and lower taxes. The Democrats

LD12 is currently dominated by Republicans, represented in the Senate by Robert Blendu (R-Litchfield Park) and in the House by John Nelson (R-Goodyear) and Jerry Weiers (R-Glendale). Blendu planned to run for the state House, but was defeated in the Sept. 2 primary by Weiers and newcomer Steve Montenegro.

The Arizona chapter of the AFL-CIO, the country's largest federation of unions, released its list of endorsements in congressional and state races late Thursday night. It is a list that heavily favors Democratic candidates.

While some Democrats were left out - such as state House candidates Lamont Lovejoy in Legislative District 10 and Eve Nuñez in LD12 - only one Republican made it onto the list: Jon Altmann, running for state representative in LD11.

All eight Democratic congressional candidates in the state, plus the three Democrats running for Arizona Corporation Commission, were endorsed by the Arizona AFL-CIO as well.

UPDATE, 10:30 p.m.: 

Republicans Jerry Weiers and Steve Montenegro have survived the LD12 Republican primary in the House and will move on to the general election.  Robert Blendu came in a close third. 

Thayer Verschoor has held off a late charge by Eddie Farnsworth in the LD22 senate race and will hold onto his seat and will likely have the inside edge to become the next senate president. 

Incumbent Barbara McGuire survived her House primary in LD23 and will be joined in the general election by Ernest Bustamante.  Both defeated Dorian Bond,Krista Pacion and Emily Verdugo-Aldrichin the primary. 

Arizona Sen. Jim Waring (R-Phoenix) and Democratic LD12 candidate Eve Nunez, who have both turned in the maximum number of signatures allowable to Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer. Waring raked in 1,316, maxing out for a Republican in LD7, and Nunez's 1,132 signatures are the most allowed to be recorded for a Democrat in LD12.

Though filing only opened at the beginning of the month, a steady stream of filings have been presented to Brewer's office, and already some races are starting to take shape, in particular the House races for LDs 18 and 30.