These Arizona House candidates raised the most money and lost their primary


General elections for all 30 seats in the Arizona House of Representatives will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. State house primary elections were held on Aug. 2, 2022. Republicans hold a 31-29 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates in each party who raised the most money and lost their primary election. In the 2022 election cycle, 22 of 27 Republican primaries and 16 of 25 Democratic primaries were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the primary winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns this cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Arizona Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

  • Ajlan Kurdoglu – $129,085 – District 12 (Lost primary 15% – 28%, 27%)
  • Lorenzo Sierra – $75,525 – District 22 (Lost primary 24% – 29%, 27%)
  • Brianna Westbrook – $73,402 – District 5 (Lost primary 15% – 32%, 24%)
  • Sarah Liguori – $72,275 – District 5 (Lost primary 19% – 32%, 24%)
  • Christian Solorio – $64,599 – District 26 (Lost primary 27% – 29%, 31%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

  • John Arnold – $184,690 – District 4 (Lost primary 15% – 25%, 26%)
  • Vera Gebran – $111,461 – District 4 (Lost primary 18% – 25%, 26%)
  • Nicole Cantelme – $101,995 – District 3 (Lost primary 15% – 39%, 22%)
  • Pierce Waychoff – $79,710 – District 2 (Lost primary 28% – 37%, 35%)
  • Joel John – $73,566 – District 25 (Lost primary 23% – 43%, 34%)

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Arizona Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

  • Billy Peard – $72,339 – District 2 (Lost primary 18% – 33%, 29%)
  • Debbie Nez Manuel – $53,986 – District 26 (Lost primary 25% – 34%, 26%)
  • Paul Stapleton-Smith – $34,223 – District 10 (Lost primary 22% – 37%, 42%)
  • Luis Parra – $33,667 – District 2 (Lost primary 20% – 33%, 29%)
  • Leezah Sun – $28,482 – District 19 (Lost primary 22% – 42%, 36%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

  • Steve Montenegro – $96,591 – District 13 (Lost primary 29% – 42%, 29%)
  • Jarret Hamstreet – $92,383 – District 15 (Lost primary 27% – 30%, 43%)
  • Jay Lawrence – $54,237 – District 23 (Lost primary 28% – 29%, 44%)
  • Selina Bliss – $43,358 – District 1 (Lost primary 21% – 30%, 24%)
  • Forest Moriarty – $32,290 – District 16 (Lost primary 22% – 32%, 27%)

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.