A political alliance in a southern Arizona legislative district has been broken.

Since 2002, Sen. Toni Hellon and Reps. Pete Hershberger and Steve Huffman have run for the Legislature as the Republican team for District 26. They call themselves “H-Ville,” a reference to the fact that their last names start with the letter “H.”

The district covers north central Pima County and extends into a portion of Pinal County.

Termed out next year, Mr. Huffman has decided to challenge Ms. Hellon for her Senate seat, a move that has fractured relationships in the trio.

“I feel betrayed,” Ms. Hellon said.

“All is not well in H-Ville,” Mr. Hershberger said. “It breaks my heart.”

Numerous attempts to contact Mr. Huffman for comment were unsuccessful.

Adding to the competition for the Senate post, Al Melvin, a retired Naval Reserve captain and conservative, has filed for Ms. Hellon’s seat.

“She has a very liberal voting record, and the same thing about Mr. Huffman,” said Mr. Melvin.

Ms. Hellon says there are groups poised to defeat moderates in southern districts, a statement backed up by Pima County Republican Chairman Judy White.

“There’s a right-wing group that’s thinking of running,” she said. “It has a lot to do with the border issues.”

Ms. Hellon said she feels Mr. Huffman betrayed her because she raised money and stumped for him last year when she ran unopposed. Running against one another is “tough on those who supported us both.”

“He told me about two weeks ago he was going to do this,” Ms. Hellon said July 1. Of course, I’d heard it by then. We had a discussion about it… I expressed my disappointment. He could have waited [until I was termed out in 2008].

“I’m running, and I will win,” she said.

Mr. Hershberger, who has filed for re-election, said he is concerned about what he called the “Gould factor” in District 26, referring to last year’s Republican Senate primary upset in the state’s northwestern District 3, where conservative Ron Gould defeated House incumbents Bill Wagner and Joe Hart.

“He snuck in there from the far, far right,” Mr. Hershberger said of Mr. Gould.

He said a Melvin candidacy would have as much impact on the primary as the race between Ms. Hellon and Mr. Huffman.

“Al Melvin is a Randy Graf clone,” Mr. Hershberger said. “It will be contentious.”

Mr. Graf, a former District 30 state House member who is running against U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., says Mr. Melvin has a good chance to win Ms. Hellon’s Senate seat.

Mr. Graf said, “You’ve got two incumbents, who pretty much see eye-to-eye on most things, and a newcomer has a legitimate opportunity. I’m certainly interested in seeing people in southern Arizona that are more inclined to take a conservative approach. It should make an interesting race.”

Republicans held a 10.6 percentage point voter registration advantage over Democrats in District 26, according to an April 1 count by the Secretary of State’s Office.

As of July 7, Republican Darron Huntington, a Tucson auto technician, had filed for a House seat in District 25, and in District 26, former House member Carol Somers and newcomer Lisa Lovallo, both Republicans, had filed for a House seat.

About Southern Arizona Districts

In District 27, which historically has voted nearly 2-1 Democrat, the party’s incumbent House members, Phil Lopes and Olivia Cajero Bedford, have filed for re-election. Republican Gene Chewning, pastor of a Tucson church, also has filed for a House seat in the district.

In the predominantly Democrat District 28, Sen. Gabrielle Giffords was the only candidate to file as of July 7.

In District 29, another heavily Democrat area, Republican Bruce Murchison, who ran unsuccessfully last year against Democrat Sen. Victor Soltero, has filed for a House seat.

And in District 30, which historically votes Republican, Sen. Tim Bee and Reps. Marian McClure and Jonathan Paton have filed for re-election. Republican Francis Callegari, a retired Department of Public Safety officer from Sierra Vista, has filed as a challenger in the Republican primary for the House.

Ms. White, the Pima County GOP chairman, says there seems to be a growing interest in Legislature in southern Arizona.

“Everybody’s kind of lining up,” she said. “Maybe they feel they can make a difference.” —