When the first set of results came in the evening of the July 21 primaries, after the polls closed, the House Republican candidates for Arizona Legislative District 13 were fairly far separated in votes.
By the time Maricopa County Elections announced the morning of July 23 that about 99% of all primary ballots had been counted, the vote totals in that race had changed somewhat in terms of gap, but the order remained the same.
All three candidates made social media announcements this week that all reflected that results show Kevin Hartke and Janet Weninger are far ahead of the only other candidate, Debra Schnike.
With two of the three candidates on the ballot advancing from each House primary, Hartke is and was leading in votes, from the moment results were first reported after polls closed. The candidate and current Chandler mayor ended up with 15,678 votes, or 43.31% of the vote, with voters picking two of the three candidates on each of the 32,000 ballots counted as of July 23.
Hartke declared victory for himself and Weninger on July 23 after the vote count announcement. Weninger, the wife of current LD13 House Rep. Jeff Weninger, earned 12,553 votes, or 34.68%.
That left Schnike with only 7,965 votes, or 22.01%.
The Democratic Party, which didn’t win either of the LD13 seats in the 2024 election, didn’t have a contested primary, as there were only two candidates. Raquel “Rockee” Armstrong earned 15,229 votes and Jacob Weinberg earned 12,918 in the primary as both automatically advanced to the Nov. 3 general election.
Hartke thanked his fellow candidates and his family, friends, campaign team, volunteers, mentors, donors and voters in his statement.
“Thank you for your support,” Hartke wrote. “I want to thank Janet Weninger and Debra Schinke for running campaigns of integrity and faith. In today’s acrimonious politics, you were simply inspiring.”
Hartke thanked Republican voters and urged them to support him, Weninger and LD13 Senate candidate Julie Willoughby in the general election.
Willoughby and Democratic candidate Kristie O’Brien were uncontested in their Senate primaries and will face each other. Willoughby, a current LD13 representative, is hoping to keep that seat in Republican hands as Sen. J.D. Mesnard departs.
All seven candidates in this year’s LD13 races live in Chandler; the district encompasses most of the city, Sun Lakes and other unincorporated Maricopa County areas and a small western slice of the Town of Gilbert.
Weninger posted that having Schnike, a longtime local and state-level committee member, in the race was a benefit to all primary candidates, especially as it involved no attacks on each other.
Weninger also thanked those who supported her husband, Jeff, in his campaign for mayor.
“While this election brought both celebration and disappointment for our family, we know that God remains faithful in every season,” Janet Weninger wrote.
“We are grateful for every person who prayed, volunteered, encouraged us, and believed in the work God has called us to do ... I am truly humbled by your confidence and ask for your continued prayers in the months ahead.”
Posts by the two Democrats, Armstrong and Weinberg, were focused on gratitude to voters and had positive encouragement for the general election, pointing out they were already out knocking on doors.
Schnike, in her statement, brought in more of a sense of urgency.
“Republican primary turnout was the lowest we’ve seen in decades,” Schnike wrote. “Chandler Republicans lost the mayoral race and our city council. If we want to take back Arizona, we must do more and I plan to do just that. Congratulations to Kevin and Janet, and all the Republican candidates. God bless the USA and the great state of Arizona.”
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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