In the competitive Legislative District 9, where Democrats hold all the state legislative seats, two Republican candidates represent different approaches and a fight for their party’s soul. 

Opposing them are a pair of Democratic incumbents in the House of Representatives who seek second terms. The Democratic duo’s 2022 victories ensured their party held all three of the district’s seats at a time when both chambers had one-seat Republican majorities. 

Reps. Lorena Austin, D-Mesa, and Seth Blattman, D-Mesa, will face Republicans Mary Ann Mendoza and Kylie Barber this November.

Tyler Montague, an East Valley Republican consultant, said he believes Barber’s style of candidacy appeals more to swing district voters than Republican candidates who have run in the district since the state was redistricted. 

“If Republicans have a chance in that district, it’s Kylie Barber,” Montague said.

Barber is endorsed by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and is running as a bipartisan-friendly candidate. Her campaign website includes photos of her with Rep. Justin Wilmeth, R-Phoenix, and Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge – two lawmakers also in swing districts who voted to overturn the state’s 1864 abortion ban.

“People are looking for a type of leadership that’s positive, that’s sort of a happy warrior and is not polarizing but unifying,” Barber said. “People are sick of the polarization.”

Mendoza has received controversial attention in recent years. She was removed as a speaker from a 2020 Republican National Convention event after she shared antisemitic conspiracy posts. Medoza apologized, saying she didn’t read every post in the then-Twitter thread before sharing it.

Shortly before the 2022 election, photos of Mendoza apparently in blackface in 2011 and 2012 surfaced. 

Despite Mendoza and Barber running on the Republican ticket in the district, the two are not campaigning together. Mendoza appeared on a Rumble video shortly after the primary election on July 30, calling Barber a “Democratic plant,” and criticized former GOP gubernatorial candidate Karrin Robson Taylor’s support for Barber. 

“(Robson Taylor) is helping a candidate who knows nothing, who is nothing, who is a Democratic plant,” Mendoza said.

While Barber is more closely aligned with bipartisan-friendly Republicans, Mendoza is endorsed by Freedom Caucus Rep. Barbara Parker, R-Mesa. Parker advised voters to only cast ballots for Mendoza as a single-shot attempt to take one of the district’s seats. 

“We have to do this! Dems hold both house seats. We will not be able to flip both seats. MENDOZA is the front runner with experience and name ID, and the best candidate who is ready on day one,” Parker wrote in a Facebook post on May 9. 

According to the secretary of state’s s most recent voter registration report in July, Republicans hold a 34,000 to 31,000 advantage in registered voters in LD9. However, an additional 39,000 votes were designated as “other.”

“Republicans are going to vote for the Republican ticket. (Barber) gains nothing by co-branding herself with future Arizona Freedom Caucus members if they were to be elected,” Montague said.

In 2022, Blattman and Austin beat Mendoza and Kathy Pearce, the sister of former Senate President and SB1070 architect Russell Pearce. 

Mendoza received the fewest number of votes in the 2022 LD9 House race, falling behind Blattman by about 1.4% of votes. Blattman beat Pearce by 0.7% of votes while Austin got the most votes in the district and finished about 1.3% higher than Blattman. 

Most swing districts in the state have bipartisan representation. LD9 is the only district where Democrats won all three legislative seats in 2022. 

Both Blattman and Austin told the Arizona Capitol Times that their priority in office has been to represent all their constituents regardless of party affiliation.

“It’s a purple district,” Blattman said. “It rejects extremism on either side of the aisle.”

The two Democratic incumbents also pointed to their records during their first terms despite being in the Legislature’s minority party. Austin said she was proud to help fund the Arizona Promise Program in the 2023 state budget. 

Gov. Katie Hobbs also considered the program a priority, and it was appropriated $40 million,  which helped cover university tuition costs and fees for qualifying students. Austin said she was able to secure half of the program’s funding during budget negotiations in her first session. 

During Blattman’s first year, he secured funding for the Micro-Business Loan program, which supports businesses with five or fewer employees.

“We each got something pretty substantial in our freshman year in a minority,” Austin said. 

Barber and Mendoza have also taken a different stance on their opponents. Barber said she entered the race because she was seeking a more “complete” representation of the district but spoke very highly of Blattman and Austin.

“(Austin) has great energy and I say that genuinely. I just did not see the way that their votes reflected what I knew Mesa to be,” Barber said. 

Other Republicans, including Mendoza, have targeted Austin for being a more progressive candidate. 

Austin announced during a committee she is nonbinary.House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, revoked Democrats’ privileges to use House conference rooms after Austin hosted a “Drag Story Hour.”

Mendoza called Austin a “Pro-Hamas, child groomer” in the July 30 Rumble video.

Despite that rhetoric from some opponents, Austin still prioritizes ensuring representation for all her constituents. 

“My door is always open and I’ll take a meeting with anyone. We’re here for everybody in this district, regardless of what party you belong to,” Austin said.