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Endorses Kavanagh
The district
Legislative District 3 covers Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. Its partisan baseline is Republican +24.5 in the 2024 presidential vote — safely Republican territory. Three seats are at stake: one state Senate seat and two state House seats on a vote-for-two ballot.
The Senate incumbent is John Kavanagh, a long-serving Republican. In the House, Alexander Kolodin is retiring to run for Secretary of State, opening one seat; Cody Reim is the incumbent running for the other.
The Senate race
John Kavanagh (R), incumbent. Kavanagh is described in the compiled record as long-serving — a multi-term presence in the Arizona Legislature now seeking another Senate term.
Pros: Long legislative service and incumbency in a district that votes R+24.5; no proven in-service flaw was located in the compiled record. Cons: None proven was located at this sourcing depth. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located in the compiled record.
Jeff Fortney (D). Fortney is the Democratic nominee. His best honest case is the challenger's case in a safe district: voters who believe a long-serving incumbent should face a contest, and who want a Democratic voice from Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, have one on this ballot.
Pros: Provides a contested general election in a district where the outcome is rarely in doubt. Cons: A party-line Democrat with no Manchin-test break located, running in an R+24.5 district where Senate caucus math — priced heavy in this chamber — runs entirely against the exception. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist.
The House race
With Kolodin retiring to run for Secretary of State (KJZZ, April 1, 2025), one House seat is open. The Republican nominees are George Khalaf, who led the primary with 23,165 votes (33.68%), and incumbent Cody Reim, renominated with 18,713 votes (27.20%). The Democratic nominees are Julie Gable (18,522 primary votes) and Rick Spargo (14,509). A No Labels candidate, John Skirbst, appears as a write-in with 7 votes — flagged: his ballot status is unverified, and we assert nothing beyond the flag.
Khalaf is a newcomer at this level in the compiled record: he won the most primary votes in a contested Republican field, and no record of legislative service was located for him. That makes him unproven — a watch-closely posture under our criteria, never a demerit. Reim is the incumbent asking to continue. Gable and Spargo's best honest case is the same challenger's case as in the Senate race: a Democratic alternative in a Republican district.
Pros: Khalaf — top vote-getter in the Republican primary, unproven rather than flawed. Reim — the sitting incumbent. Gable and Spargo — a full Democratic slate for both seats. Cons: Gable and Spargo — party-line Democrats, no Manchin-test break located; House caucus math is lighter than Senate math but does not carry an endorsement against these Republican nominees. The flaw, plainly: None proven was located for Khalaf or Reim in the compiled record; for the Democratic nominees, enabler class, not extremist.
OUR CALL
Senate — We endorse John Kavanagh, the long-serving Republican incumbent, over a party-line Democratic challenger with no documented break toward our values.
House — We endorse George Khalaf — as unproven at this level, and on watch — and Cody Reim. Khalaf carries the unproven form expressly: he has no legislative record to price, and unproven is never the stated reason to withhold an endorsement. Reim is the incumbent. The Democratic nominees do not pass the Manchin test, and the flagged No Labels write-in's status is unverified.
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, incumbency, the write-in flag on Skirbst, and the 2024 presidential baseline (Dave's Redistricting via Wikipedia)
- KJZZ, April 1, 2025 — Kolodin retiring from the House to run for Secretary of State
- Record gaps: no detailed legislative voting records, campaign-finance figures, or verified biographies for Fortney, Gable, Spargo, or Khalaf were located at this sourcing depth; Skirbst's ballot status is unverified and flagged as such
- 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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