The political aspirations of all three current members of Legislative District 11 has led to three empty seats, with two Democrats and four Republicans vying to fill them.
LD 11 Rep. Steve Smith is looking to fill the seat left by the current LD11 Senator Al Melvin. Melvin is one of seven candidates vying to be the state's next governor.
Smith will face a primary fight against Scott Bartle, a governing board member in the Maricopa Unified School District. The winner of the August 26 primary will face retired scientist Jo Holt, a Democrat, in November.
With Smith running for a seat in the Senate and fellow LD11 Adam Kwaman running to replace Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick in Congressional District 1, there are three Republicans and a Democrat running to fill the empty seats.
Realtor Mark Finchem, small business owner Vince Leach and a former legislative coordinator for the Arizona legislature, Jo Grant - all Republicans - will square off in the August primary with the two with the most votes facing off against retired US Air Force Colonel Holly Lyon, a Democrat, in the general election.
