Strictly speaking, it’s not a race.

But whatever you want to call the effort to become the next Arizona Supreme Court justice, it just got a little tighter.

The Commission on Appellate Court Appointments decided Friday that only eight of the 17 applicants to replace retiring Justice Robert Brutinel will advance to the next round on Dec. 9. That’s when the commissioners will conduct interviews and decide which of these they want to send to Gov. Katie Hobbs who gets the ultimate pick.

Strictly speaking, the commission could decide that all eight would make suitable justices and send the governor the entire list from which to choose. After all, panel members considered them good enough to invite to question them.

But commissioners also have the option to send Hobbs as few as three, the legal minimum allowed under the Arizona Constitution.

More to the point, that same constitutional provision will ensure she gets at least one political independent from which to choose.

That’s because the panel is precluded from submitting a final list of nominees from only one party. And no Republicans even submitted an application asking to be appointed by the Democratic governor.

The commission is now asking anyone who wants to comment about anyone on the list to either come to the Supreme Court building for that Dec. 9 meeting or to submit their comments in writing at “jnc@courts.az.gov.” But only those willing to identify themselves will have their views considered.

Those advancing to the interview stage of the process are:

• Maria Elena Cruz, who is a judge on the state Court of Appeals. She is a Democrat.
• Nicole Davis, deputy director of the Department of Economic Security and the agency’s general counsel. She is a political independent.
• Andrew Gaona who is a Democrat in private practice. He also represented Hobbs in some of the legal battles following the 2022 election and more recent court fights with both the head of the Arizona Republican Party and with Senate Republicans over confirmation of her agency directors.
• Andrew Jacobs on the Arizona Court of Appeals who is a Democrat.
• Doreen McPaul a Democrat who is the assistant legislative attorney for the Tohono O’odham Nation.
• Regina Nassen, principal assistant attorney for the city of Tucson. Initially a political independent, she registered as a Democrat for 14 years before becoming an independent again in 2014.
• Alexander Samuels, an assistant state attorney general who is a Democrat.
• Amy Sells, a Democrat working for a Phoenix law firm.

Whoever the governor ultimately selects from the list finally submitted to her gets the job.

This is a different process than at the federal level where the president gets to choose anyone he wants, with the only barrier being getting Senate confirmation. Here, given that the governor must choose from the final nominees, there is no requirement for Senate confirmation.