Meet the three candidates in the 2024 Arizona Legislative District 16 House race.
LD16 is now considered a swing district, as evidenced by Democratic Rep. Keith Seaman's surprise victory in 2022, which gave the district split representation — one Republican and one Democrat — in the Arizona House of Representatives.
Teresa Martinez
Party: Republican
Website: martinezforarizona.com
Martinez, who has worked for former Congressmen Rick Renzi and Paul Gosar, was appointed to the Legislature in 2021 to fill a vacancy and won election to the Arizona House in 2022. Martinez, who describes herself as “pro-life,” now serves in Republican leadership in the House and criticized efforts by Democrats to repeal the state’s near total abortion ban.
Martinez lists building local transportation infrastructure, economic development, border security and making schools and communities safer as some of her top priorities.
Chris Lopez
Party: Republican
Website: lopezforaz.com
Lopez, a small business owner, said he believes in conservative values, including limited government and low taxes. He also said he wants to secure the southern border and fund public safety.
If elected, Lopez said he will defend the school voucher program, ”protect the unborn,” and defend the right to bear arms and private property rights.
Keith Seaman
Party: Democrat
Website: seamanforarizona.com
Seaman, a Democrat, was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2022. He is a former educator with a 40-year career as a teacher, principal and superintendent in Mohave County.
He has listed funding public education, reducing housing costs and funding local transportation projects as his major priorities. He also said he would like to rein in the state’s school voucher program and find solutions to ensure Arizona’s water future.
-
Get information on Arizona races to watch, vote centers, ballots and the latest 2024 election news. -
Every two years, Arizonans cast their votes in primary and general elections. And every two years, critics complain it takes too many days for all the votes to be counted. Through KJZZ’s Q&AZ project, a listener asked: Why does the vote counting process take so long?
