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Endorses Willoughby

The district

Legislative District 13 covers Chandler, Sun Lakes, and west Gilbert. Its partisan baseline is Republican +1.2 in the 2024 presidential vote — a true swing district, one of the closest in the state. 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.

Every seat here is open or turning over. The Senate incumbent, J. D. Mesnard (R), is term-limited. In the House, both Republican incumbents are gone: Jeff Weninger is retiring to run for Chandler mayor, and Julie Willoughby is running for the Senate. Both parties field full slates.

The Senate race

In 2024, Mesnard won 53.1%–46.9% over Sharon Lee Winters.

Julie Willoughby (R). Willoughby is the incumbent state representative for this district, running for the Senate. She won the Republican primary with 20,222 votes and had raised $144,278 as of March 2026 — by far the strongest fundraising figure in this district's races in the compiled file.

Pros: A sitting representative from the same district stepping up, a decisive primary win, and substantial fundraising showing an organized campaign. Cons: No proven in-service flaw meeting this publication's standard was located in the compiled record. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record.

Kristie O'Brien (D). O'Brien is a lawyer. She won the Democratic primary with 17,165 votes.

Her best honest case: she is a professionally credentialed challenger in a district decided by 1.2 points in 2024 and by 6.2 points in the last Senate race — exactly the kind of district where a strong challenger can win, and where voters who want a change from Republican control have a realistic vehicle.

Pros: A lawyer running a real race in a genuine swing district, with a five-figure primary vote. Cons: She runs as a party-line Democrat with no Manchin-test break located. In the Senate, her organizing vote would be heavy — majority control means confirmations and the judicial pipeline. 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.

The House race

Kevin Hartke (R) (15,729 primary votes, 43.31%) and Janet Weninger (R) (12,594, 34.68%) are the Republican nominees for the two open seats.

Pros (both): The top two Republican primary finishers for two open seats in a district their party currently holds. Cons (both): Neither has a legislative record in the compiled file at this level; both are unproven in this file, which is a watch posture, not a demerit. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located for either nominee in the compiled record.

Racquel Armstrong (D) (15,298 primary votes) and Jacob Weinberg (D) (12,972) are the Democratic nominees.

Their best honest case: Armstrong's primary vote essentially matched the top Republican's, in an R+1.2 district — this House race is genuinely contestable, and Democratic voters have two nominees who ran competitively.

Pros (both): Competitive primary performances in a swing district. Cons (both): Party-line Democrats with no Manchin-test break located. House caucus math is lighter than Senate math, but it does not overcome Republican nominees with no proven flaw located. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist, for both.

OUR CALL

Senate — We endorse Julie Willoughby. She is the district's own sitting representative, she won her primary decisively, she has raised the resources to run a serious campaign in a swing district, and no proven flaw was located. Her opponent is a party-line Democrat whose Senate organizing vote would carry heavy weight, with no exception earned.

House — We endorse Kevin Hartke and Janet Weninger — both as unproven at this level in this file, and on watch. Neither has a legislative record in the compiled record, so this endorsement carries the unproven form expressly: we endorse them on party program and district fit, we have located no proven flaw, and we will watch their first terms closely. The Democratic nominees are enabler-class with no Manchin break located.

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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