Democrats in Legislative District 8 picked former Tempe City Councilwoman Lauren Kuby to run for state Senate in the district, which covers parts of Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Kuby will replace Rep. Melody Hernandez (D-Tempe), who filed to run for Senate in LD8 but withdrew from the race last month rather than fight a lawsuit alleging she didn’t collect enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, state law allows local political parties to replace legislative candidates that withdraw from a race before ballots are printed.
LD8 Democrats held a special meeting over the weekend to pick their candidate. Kuby beat out Rep. Deborah Nardozzi (D-Scottsdale), who was appointed to the Arizona House of Representatives to fill a vacancy in April.
Kuby previously unsuccessfully ran for the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2022 and the Salt River Project Board earlier this year.
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