← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Arizona
Our call — see the breakdown
The race
Decided earlier — Surprise's three 2026 council races (Districts 1, 5, and 6) each had exactly one candidate, all incumbents, and were settled at the July 21, 2026 primary; the city's elections page lists a November 3 general election only "if needed," and it was not needed. Nick Haney (District 1), Jack Hastings (District 5), and Chris Judd (District 6) were each the sole candidate for their seat. The Maricopa County tally records Haney at 5,621 votes (99.26%) — the opposition in all three districts consisted of write-ins only.
The candidates
Nick Haney — District 1, re-elected. The incumbent and sole filer. His county tally (5,621 votes) is the hardest number in this race; the sources worked in this pass do not add a contested record, because there was no contest.
Jack Hastings — District 5, re-elected. Elected in 2020 to a partial term and re-elected in 2022, per azcentral; a Surprise resident for more than 20 years; a former civics teacher at Valley Vista High School and an assistant principal at Cimarron Springs Middle School; he sits on the council's tourism-fund and education subcommittees. Readers of our community-college coverage will meet Hastings again: he is also a candidate for the Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board in District 4 on the November 3 ballot — a fact stated in both articles, since holding one office while seeking a second is a legitimate voter consideration, priced there.
Chris Judd — District 6, re-elected. First elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, per azcentral; a Surprise resident for roughly 30 years; a local business owner and manager; an instructor at West-MEC who is expanding its Water Systems program; a White Tank Mountains Conservancy board member and former Rotary Club of Surprise president.
Pros and cons
- Haney — Pro: Sole-candidate continuity in District 1. Con: No challenger, no campaign, no test — the thinnest file of the three, and we say so rather than dress it up.
- Hastings — Pro: An educator's record (civics teacher, assistant principal) applied to education-subcommittee work — subject-matter alignment that is genuinely rare at this level. Con: He is simultaneously asking November voters for a second board seat (MCCCD District 4); two part-time public jobs is a capacity question voters in the college district should weigh, and we weigh it in that article.
- Judd — Pro: The district's longest-serving profile of the three (since 2018) with a workforce-education specialty (West-MEC water systems) that matches a desert city's core problem. Con: Unopposed — untested this cycle.
OUR CALL
Our call: no November call — decided at the July 2026 primary; we record the outcome. Haney, Hastings, and Judd are re-elected. Three incumbents, zero challengers: Surprise's 2026 council story is the absence of a contest, and it is recorded as such.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website. Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same. --- Sources
- City of Surprise, Elections page — 2026 districts up: 1, 5, 6; sole candidates Nick Haney (D1), Jack Hastings (D5), Chris Judd (D6); general election listed for November 3, 2026 "if needed" — https://www.surpriseaz.gov/150/Elections
- Maricopa County Elections, 2026 primary results — District 1: Haney 5,621 votes, 99.26% — https://elections.maricopa.gov/
- azcentral, "Who serves on the Surprise City Council in 2026?" — Hastings (elected 2020 partial term, re-elected 2022; 20+ year resident; former Valley Vista civics teacher; Cimarron Springs assistant principal; tourism and education subcommittees) and Judd (first elected 2018, re-elected 2022; ~30-year resident; business owner/manager; West-MEC Water Systems instructor; conservancy board; former Rotary president) — https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2026/05/07/surprise-city-council-2026/89160128007/
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.