Republican challenger Ralph Heap is putting up a fight for one of two Arizona Corporation Commission seats currently held by incumbents Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson.
Results as of Wednesday night showed little movement from the first round of unofficial election results released Tuesday in the race for the GOP nomination for two seats on the five-member board, which oversees the state’s utilities.
Thompson will be one of the nominees. Myers and Heap are battling for the remaining slot, with Heap holding a small lead over the incumbent.
In a statement provided to The Arizona Republic, Myers wrote the results of Tuesday's primary were "not what we hoped."
Myers wrote it had been an "incredible honor" to serve as a commissioner, and touted his role in exploring new nuclear power generation, rolling back the "Green New Deal," a shorthand for renewable energy mandates, and approving a new wave of fossil fuel generation.
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Heap
Myers wrote that he was "pretty proud" of his efforts to establish a formula-based ratemaking policy.
"During my term, one of the most important lessons I've learned is that energy policy is too important to reduce to simplistic slogans and talking points," Myers wrote. "The challenges facing the state are real, and require serious policymakers who are interested in the facts, not just scoring political points.
Results will be updated daily until all the votes are tallied. Arizona primary election results are unofficial until local and state officials have tallied all ballots and certified the results.
Myers and Thompson, who referred to themselves as the “dynamic duo” or the “twins” in 2022, were elected four years ago and are seeking a second term.
Heap, a state legislator and Turning Point Action-endorsed candidate, has cast himself as a more conservative option ― although Myers and Thompson have defended their records against his attacks.
Currently, all five commissioners are Republicans, but the winners of Tuesday's primary will face Democratic candidates Jonathon Hill and Clara Pratte in November. With two seats up for grabs, the Democratic primary was uncontested.
Myers and Thompson were both elected in 2022, ousting incumbent Sandra Kennedy, a Democrat. Republican Justin Olson, who was appointed to the commission in 2017 by Republican former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and won a full term in 2018, did not run in 2022. Commissioners serve for four years and are limited to two consecutive terms.
Thompson is a former Mesa councilman and has a background in utilities, as a former manager of new business development for Southwest Gas. Myers, the commission's chair, comes from the semiconductor and telecommunications industries, and was the first commissioner elected from Pinal County.
Earlier this month, the board voted 4-0 to repeal energy efficiency standards, following a March vote to roll back renewable energy requirements. At a debate earlier this year, Myers and Thompson called the clean energy standard outdated and costly to ratepayers, arguing that utilities had already complied with the regulation's intent.
The last time a Democrat was elected to the commission was in 2020, when former Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar won one of three seats up for grabs. Her term expired in 2025, and she did not seek reelection.
