Results in the five most expensive Democratic Arizona Senate primaries


Democratic primary elections for all 30 districts in the Arizona State Senate took place on Aug. 2, 2022. Of the 30 districts up for election in 2022, eight had a Democratic primary election with more than one candidate.

Across all contested Democratic primary elections, candidates raised $896,035. Incumbents raised an average of $24,094 per candidate and challengers raised an average of $49,873 per candidate.

Five primary elections with the most fundraising

The table below details the five Democratic primary elections with the most fundraising in the State Senate. Winning candidates’ names are in bold.

District Money Raised Officeholder Candidates
District 18 $322,272 Sean Bowie (D) Priya Sundareshan and Morgan Abraham
District 5 $191,869 Sonny Borrelli (R) Lela Alston, Sarah Tyree, Al Jones, and Jack Drumm
District 2 $115,932 Rosanna Gabaldon (D) Jeanne Casteen and Victoria Thompson
District 22 $89,974 David Livingston (R) Diego Espinoza and Richard Andrade
District 24 $80,780 Lela Alston (D) Anna Hernandez and Cesar Chavez

The officeholders above are listed for the current districts they hold. However, this is a redistricting year, so candidates have been identified below as incumbents even if they are running in a different district than they currently hold.

#1 District 18 – $322,272

Morgan Abraham raised $246,697 and Priya Sundareshan raised $75,575.

Priya Sundareshan advanced to the general election with 55 percent of the vote and Morgan Abraham received 45 percent of the vote.

#2 District 5 – $191,869

Incumbent Lela Alston raised $41,425, Al Jones raised $133,893, Sarah Tyree raised $13,891, and Jack Drumm raised $2,661.

Lela Alston advanced to the general election with 58 percent of the vote, Sarah Tyree received 32 percent of the vote, Al Jones received 10 percent of the vote, and Jack Drumm withdrew.

#3 District 2 – $115,932

Jeanne Casteen raised $115,932 and Victoria Thompson raised $0.

Jeanne Casteen advanced to the general election with 100 percent of the vote and Victoria Thompson withdrew.

#4 District 22 – $89,974

Diego Espinoza raised $58,875 and Richard Andrade raised $31,099.

Diego Espinoza advanced to the general election with 53 percent of the vote and Richard Andrade received 47 percent of the vote.

#5 District 24 – $80,780

Anna Hernandez raised $40,891 and Cesar Chavez raised $39,889.

Anna Hernandez advanced to the general election with 56 percent of the vote and Cesar Chavez received 44 percent of the vote.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Arizona PACs submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report Name Report Due Date
2021 1/15/2022
2022 Q1 4/15/2022
2022 Q2 7/15/2022
2022 Pre-Primary 7/23/2022
2022 Post-Primary and Q3 10/15/2022
2022 Pre-General 10/29/2022
2022 Post-General and Q4 1/17/2023

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.