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Endorses Shope
The district
Legislative District 16 covers Pinal County and the Tucson fringe. Its partisan baseline is Republican +9.4 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.
All three Republican incumbents are seeking re-election: Sen. T. J. Shope and Reps. Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez. Democrats field a Senate nominee and only one House nominee for the two House seats.
The Senate race
T. J. Shope (R), incumbent. Shope is serving his third term in this file's accounting. In 2024 he won 56.0%–44.0% over Stacey Seaman. He was renominated with 17,012 primary votes and had raised $143,819 as of March 2026 — a substantial war chest for a state Senate race.
Pros: A three-term incumbent with a 12-point win in 2024 and strong fundraising. 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.
Elaine Aldrete (D). Aldrete is a former treasurer for Keith Seaman. She won the Democratic primary with 14,239 votes and had raised $2,130 as of March 2026 — a wide fundraising gap against the incumbent's $143,819.
Her best honest case: she has campaign-finance experience inside a Democratic campaign operation, she mounted a real primary campaign with more than 14,000 votes, and she gives voters in a district Shope carried by 12 points a genuine alternative rather than an uncontested coronation.
Pros: A nominee with direct campaign experience and a substantial primary vote. Cons: A party-line Democrat with no Manchin-test break located, heavily out-raised. Her Senate organizing vote would be 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.
The House race
Teresa Martinez (R), incumbent (13,205 primary votes), and Chris Lopez (R), incumbent (13,973), were both renominated.
Pros (both): Renominated incumbents representing a district that leans Republican by 9.4 points. Cons (both): No proven in-service flaw meeting this publication's standard was located in the compiled record. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located for either incumbent in the compiled record.
Julia Gusse (D) is the sole Democratic nominee, with 14,511 primary votes — in fact the largest single primary total in this House field, though she is the only Democrat for two seats, so at most one seat can flip.
Her best honest case: her primary total beat each Republican incumbent's individually, showing a Democratic vote in this district that cannot be dismissed.
Pros: The strongest individual primary showing in the House race. Cons: A party-line Democrat with no Manchin-test break located. House caucus math is lighter than Senate math, but it does not overcome two incumbents with no proven flaw located. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist.
OUR CALL
Senate — We endorse T. J. Shope. A three-term incumbent, a 12-point 2024 win, no proven flaw located, against an enabler-class party-line challenger with no exception earned and a large fundraising deficit.
House — We endorse Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez. Both are renominated incumbents with no proven flaw located. The lone Democratic nominee does not pass the Manchin test, and her strong primary total — noted honestly above — does not change the criteria.
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
- Wikipedia, "2026 Arizona Senate election" and "2026 Arizona House of Representatives election" (compiling Arizona Secretary of State primary results, July 21, 2026, and SeeTheMoney campaign-finance reports as of March 2026) — rosters, primary vote totals, finance figures, incumbency, the 2024 Senate result, and the 2024 presidential baseline (Dave's Redistricting via Wikipedia)
- Record gaps: no detailed legislative voting record for any nominee, and no biography beyond the descriptors listed, were verified at this sourcing depth
- Standing check: no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard was located for any candidate on this ballot
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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