Arizona Capitol Times Election Coverage Your Inside Track to Arizona Elections

A judge on June 17 ruled against a complaint that alleged Sen. John Huppenthal, the Republican candidate for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, illegally gathered his petition signatures for the office.

Veteran Democratic lawmaker Sen. Ken Cheuvront’s bid for justice of the peace was derailed on a technicality.

Rather than face a potential challenge to her nominating petitions, Rep. Martha Garcia, a Phoenix Democrat, withdrew from her Senate race after finding discrepancies in her signatures. Her departure left Steve Gallardo, a former House member, as the lone candidate in District 13, almost certainly assuring him a seat in the 30-member chamber next year. But not everyone is happy about that.

A petition challenge claiming that Democratic Mine Inspector candidate Manuel Cruz did not meet the qualifications to hold the office was withdrawn June 15.

The petition challenge against Green Party gubernatorial candidate Larry Gist will be withdrawn, according to lawyers for the plaintiff.

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

For political observers, the challenge to Sen. John Huppenthal’s petitions for Superintendent of Public Instruction won’t come as a surprise.

Rep. Martha Garcia, a Democrat from Phoenix, has dropped out of the race for the Senate in District 13, leaving Steve Gallardo, a former representative, as the lone candidate for the seat.

While much of the attention has been focused on the gubernatorial race since a federal court upheld matching funds, another candidate for a statewide race also is likely to benefit from the opinion — Sen. Barbara Leff of Paradise Valley.

The national electoral climate has been portrayed as a battle by incumbents to keep their seats against a groundswell of anti-incumbency sentiment.