Senate candidate Brennan drops out amid signature challenge

A Republican Senate candidate has decided to withdraw from the race after her nominating signatures were challenged a few days ago.

Anna Maria Brennan, a candidate for the District 11 Senate seat, attributed the mix-up in her nominating petition to political inexperience.

“It was close and I tried to do what I could in those short few days but now I know the process. And I’m coming back,” she told the Arizona Capitol Times on June 14.

Brennan said she had not checked every single signature. Some dates on the nominating petition, for example, were incomplete.

She also thought she knew exactly the boundaries of the district, but some of her signatures turned out to be from people outside of those boundaries.

Brennan, who is running as a Clean Election candidate, turned in 657 signatures on May 26. She needed 454 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Brad Williams, a Republican from Paradise Valley, challenged nearly 300 of Brennan’s signatures on June 9.