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Endorses Anderson

The race

Queen Creek Unified School District voters elect two members to four-year terms on November 3, 2026. Vote for up to two. Four candidates are running, including both incumbents. The district sits in Maricopa and Pinal counties; its filings run through Maricopa.

The certified roster is: Kelli Anderson (incumbent), Samantha Davis (incumbent), Michael Romero, and Sarah Purcell.

The candidates

Kelli Anderson (incumbent). Anderson says families deserve transparency and open communication and that she is committed to keeping parents informed and empowered to make decisions for their children, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She says the priority should remain academics — reading, writing, math, science, critical thinking and practical life skills — that great schools begin with great teachers, and that strong teacher retention and a culture of respect lead to stronger classrooms and better outcomes.

Pros: A published platform in our order of things: parents empowered, core academics and practical life skills first, teachers retained and respected. Cons: No specific board votes from her term were sourced in this pass; the platform is the record available.

Samantha Davis (incumbent). Davis has served eight years on this board, is the parent of two district students, and says she is passionate about ensuring every student gets a high-quality education in a safe, supportive and engaging environment, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She says she is guided by her conservative values and Christian faith and is committed to helping students discover their passions, build lifelong friendships and develop the skills to succeed in life.

Pros: Eight years of service and an orientation stated without hedging — conservative values and Christian faith, in her own words, with safety and quality education as the program. Cons: No specific board votes from those eight years were sourced in this pass.

Michael Romero. Romero is a former high school teacher who says he believes in the power of education to change lives, as reported by The Arizona Republic. He says his classroom experience gave him insight into the challenges students and teachers face and the importance of strong leadership, accountability and support at the board level, and that as a parent he understands families want safe schools, high academic standards and students prepared for real-world success.

Pros: Classroom experience joined to a stated standard — safe schools, high academic standards, real-world preparation, accountability. Cons: Unproven in elected office, and his platform overlaps the incumbents' without their governing history behind it.

Sarah Purcell. Purcell has spent over a decade teaching in this district, where all three of her children graduated, and helped open the district's Gateway Polytechnic Academy, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She has volunteered with youth sports, community events and her local church. She says she believes in smaller classes, supported teachers, transparent curriculum and honest budgeting, and that strong schools start with trust and stability.

Pros: A decade teaching in these schools and a platform that names transparent curriculum and honest budgeting — two of this board's core duties, in her own words. Cons: Unproven in elected office; smaller classes is a spending commitment offered alongside the honest-budgeting promise, and voters get no math for either in this pass.

OUR CALL

Our call: Vote for up to two — we endorse Kelli Anderson and Samantha Davis. The basis is their published platforms as incumbents: Anderson on parent empowerment, transparency and core academics; Davis on eight years of service guided, in her own stated words, by conservative values and Christian faith, aimed at safe schools and high-quality education. Romero and Purcell are both credible teacher-candidates whose platforms rhyme with the incumbents'; rhyme is not a reason to change a board whose stated direction already matches.

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

Election result — November 4, 2026

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.

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