A trio of Democrats who were essentially unopposed in the 2022 general election are looking to retain their seats representing Arizona's 6th Legislative District, but two Republican candidates for state鈥檚 House of Representatives will pose a challenge on the ballot.
While Democratic Sen. Theresa Hatathlie will win reelection for a second time, extending her tenure in the Arizona Senate to five years, Democratic Reps. Myron Tsosie and Mae Peshlakai are facing off against Republicans Lloyd Johnson and Rich King. Tsosie is seeking a fourth term in the Arizona House of Representatives while Peshlakai is up for reelection for the first time after winning a spot in the Legislature in 2022.
Both Johnson and King participated in a debate hosted by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission on Aug. 30, though both Tsosie and Peshlakai were listed as not responding to an invitation. During the debate, both Republican candidates vowed to spend the next two years speaking to and listening to the district鈥檚 constituents regarding their wants and needs.
鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 be the only ones making that decision,鈥� King said during the debate鈥檚 closing remarks. 鈥淲e鈥檙e supporting you, we鈥檙e supporting your ideas, we鈥檙e supporting your values as well. Even if it might differ from ours, it doesn鈥檛 matter, because if the majority of folks in our district want something, that's what we鈥檙e going to go after.鈥�
LD6, which covers all of Apache County in addition to parts of Coconino, Gila, Graham, Mohave, Navajo and Pinal counties, had a total of 149,752 registered voters for the 2022 general election. A total of 75,641 were Democrats, making up just over 50% of the voters, with 29,293 registered Republicans, 43,965 listed as other and 853 as Libertarian. For this past July鈥檚 primary, 48.9% of the district鈥檚 144,873 voters were Democrats compared to 20.3% registered Republicans and 29.7% listed as other.
LD6 candidates
Originally elected to represent LD7 in 2018 before redistricting was completed for the 2022 election, Tsosie began his tenure in the Arizona House of Representatives with 41.2% of the vote to lead all candidates, as two were elected to office. Tsosie was once again the leader among four candidates in 2020, receiving 35.4% of the vote to earn a second term before winning a third term with 49.1% of the vote in 2022.
Prior to his nearly six-month tenure as a representative, Tsosie served on the Chinle Unified School District Governing Board. Tsosie graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in public administration prior to his time on the board.
Peshlakai, who received 50.9% of the vote in the 2022 general election, is nearing the end of her first term in the Arizona House. Prior to her tenure as an elected official, Peshlakai worked as a precinct and state committee member for the Arizona Democratic Party.
Opposing the two incumbents for the first time, King and Johnson said they are running as a team for the two LD6 seats in the House of Representatives.
King explained that he is running for a seat because he wants the voices of the district鈥檚 rural communities to be heard. Explaining he is in support of law enforcement, small businesses, board security and the Second Amendment among others in his platform, King said during the debate that he is a business leader who has worked in the medical equipment service field for more than 25 years.
According to his comments during the debate and on his campaign website, Johnson hopes to bring more trade school options to the district given the need for jobs across the rural part of the state. Johnson, a maintenance manager at Petrified Forest National Park, relocated to Arizona in 2011 and decided to become more involved in politics following the 2020 election, initially working with the Navajo County Republican Committee.
Hatathlie鈥檚 inevitable reelection in November will extend her tenure as the LD6 senator -- which began as an appointment following the December 2021 departure of Jamescita Peshlakai, who resigned to take a position in the U.S. Department of the Interior鈥檚 Bureau of Reclamation.
Appointed in January 2022, Hatathlie served as member of the Board of Regents for Dine虂 College, as a human resources director for the Tuba City Unified School District and as the logistics coordinator for Yee Ha'贸ln铆i Doo DBA Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund prior to her appointment to the Senate seat.
Though King ran as a write-in candidate for the Senate seat in 2022, Hatathlie received 94.8% of the 62,029 recorded votes, according to the Arizona Secretary of State鈥檚 Office. Similarly, Peshlakai won unopposed for the seat in 2020 and 2016 when representing LD7. In the 2018 election, Peshlakai received 67.2% of the vote when opposed by Republican J.L. Mealer.