(The Center Square) – Arizona House Minority Whip Melody Hernandez is dropping her bid for state senate.
The Tempe Democrat announced she would no longer seek the position, saying that there are “mistakes” that put her candidacy in jeopardy.
“When it was brought to my attention this weekend that I had made mistakes impacting my ability to successfully run for election to the Senate in LD-8, I knew the only right next step would be to take the sole responsibility and to allow someone else to now step forward and lead,” Hernandez said in a statement posted to X on Monday morning.
Hernandez said she would finish out her term in the House, which has seen six Democrats resign this session alone.
The representative did not go into details about the mistake, but nomination petition signatures are currently facing a legal challenge, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. KJZZ reported that she only turned in a few dozen signatures above the minimum 405 threshold needed, likely meaning she does not have enough to qualify for the ballot securely.
As she was the only candidate in the upcoming July 30 Democratic primary, a write-in candidate will need to get at least 405 votes in order to make the general election ballot.
Former Tempe Vice Mayor Lauren Kuby announced on Monday that she would run for the seat as a write-in candidate. The petition deadline to appear on the ballot was April 1.
“It’s essential we protect this State Senate seat (LD8) so we can secure a sane Arizona,” she tweeted.
The news marks more turnaround in lawmakers representing Legislative District 8, which leans heavily Democratic. Hernandez’s seatmate, former Rep. Athena Salman, stepped down in late 2022, and was replaced by former Rep. Jevin Hodge. Hodge then stepped down weeks later following sexual misconduct allegations from his college years, and he has since been replaced by Rep. Deborah Nardozzi.
“We have the local infrastructure in place to make sure that whoever wins the write-in primary will defeat any Republican who has the misfortune of running in our District,” the district’s Democratic precinct committee tweeted in a statement.
The Arizona House runs on close margins, with 31 Republicans and 28 Democrats. There is one Democratic vacancy following the resignation of former Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez, but the replacement will be selected on Tuesday by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, according to the board’s agenda.
