Learn more about the candidates in the 2024 Arizona Legislative District 16 Senate race: Republican T.J. Shope and Democrat Stacey Seaman.
LD16 covers an area that was considered a GOP stronghold, but it is now technically a swing district as more Democrats and independents move in to district, which covers parts of Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. However, incumbent Republican Shope won re-election by a wide margin in 2022, defying those voter registration trends.
T.J. Shope
Party: Republican
Website: tjshope.com
Shope, a Republican, has served in the Legislature since 2013 and currently serves in Republican leadership in the state Senate. He also chairs the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, and supported legislation to legalize the use of psilocybin to treat some mental health conditions.
He was one of only two Republicans in the Senate to vote to repeal Arizona’s near-total abortion ban. He has crossed the aisle in the past, including in 2013 when he voted in favor of Medicaid expansion.
Stacey Seaman
Party: Democrat
Website: staceyforaz.com
Seaman, the daughter of Democratic Rep. Keith Seaman, is seeking to unseat longtime Republican legislator TJ Shope. Seaman is a teacher and has volunteered with the Casa Grande Arts and Humanities Commission, the Casa Grande Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and the Arizona Commission for the Arts’ Creative Communities grant delegation.
She lists funding public education, aiding working families and protecting reproductive rights as her top priorities.
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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?
