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No endorsement

The district

Legislative District 12 covers Ahwatukee, Chandler, and Tempe. Its partisan baseline is Democratic +15.9 in the 2024 presidential vote. Three seats are at stake: one state Senate seat and two state House seats, with voters choosing two House members on a vote-for-two ballot.

The Senate seat is open: incumbent Mitzi Epstein (D) is retiring. There is no Republican Senate nominee. In the House, one Democratic incumbent is renominated, the other Democratic seat's holder moved up to the Senate race, and Republicans field only one nominee for the two seats.

The Senate race

In 2024, Epstein won 58.1%–41.9% over Cara Vicini.

Patty Contreras (D). Contreras is the incumbent state representative for this district, now running for the Senate. She won the Democratic Senate primary with 22,070 votes and had raised $22,137 as of March 2026.

Her best honest case: she already represents this district in the House, she knows its voters and issues, and she offers continuity for a district that has voted Democratic.

Pros: Sitting representative for the same district, a strong primary vote, and legislative experience. Cons: She is a party-line Democrat moving up within her caucus. No documented break with her party toward this publication's values — no Manchin-test break — was located. In the Senate, that organizing vote is heavy. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here.

Anthony Ramirez (Arizona Independent / No Labels). Ramirez is an attorney running under the Arizona Independent / No Labels line. He received 445 votes in the No Labels primary.

His best honest case: he offers voters who reject both parties' programs an independent, professionally credentialed alternative in a race with no Republican nominee.

Pros: An attorney offering a non-Democratic option on a ballot that has no Republican Senate nominee. Cons: His file is thin — a 445-vote minor-party primary and no legislative record compiled at this sourcing depth. An independent label alone is not a record, and endorsement diligence requires verified signature claims, not just a ballot line. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located; the record is insufficient to endorse. Insufficient record is stated plainly rather than padded.

The House race

Stacey Travers (D), incumbent, was renominated with 18,942 votes (50.34%). The second Democratic nominee is Armando Montero (D), with 18,683 votes (49.66%). Contreras, the other prior holder associated with this district's delegation, moved up to the Senate race.

Their best honest case: Travers is a renominated incumbent, Montero ran essentially even with her in the primary, and the district leans Democratic by nearly 16 points.

Pros: Travers brings incumbency; Montero brings a primary performance equal to the incumbent's. Cons: Party-line Democrats with no Manchin-test break located for either. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist, for both.

David Richardson (R) is the sole Republican nominee, with 13,668 primary votes — only one Republican for two seats, so at most one House seat can flip on this ballot.

Pros: A Republican option with a substantial primary vote in a D+15.9 district. Cons: No legislative record was compiled for Richardson at this sourcing depth; he is unproven at this level, which is not a demerit but limits what can be verified. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record.

OUR CALL

Senate — NO endorsement. Contreras is an enabler-class party-line Democrat with no Manchin exception earned, and Ramirez's independent file is too thin to verify under endorsement diligence. With no Republican nominee, neither remaining option earns the call.

House — NO endorsement, LEAN Richardson for one seat. The Democratic nominees do not pass the Manchin test. Richardson is unproven — not a flaw — and caucus math is lighter in the House, so the lean runs in his direction for one of the two seats. A lean is direction only; it is not an endorsement, and on this thin file we will not dress it up as one.

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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