Some Chandler-area candidates for office ranked in various places in the Legislative District 13 House race in fundraising in the most recent April 15 reporting deadline.
With the primary election set for July 21 and the general election on Nov. 3, these financial filings provide, in some races, the first clear picture of how each candidate intends to win over the Legislative District 13 electorate.
Arizona voters select two representatives from each of its 30 districts in even-numbered years for two-year terms in the legislature. The top two vote-getters in the July 21 primary in each party advance to the Nov. 3 general election, when two representatives are chosen by voters, regardless of party.
In many cases — such as with the Democratic Party in LD13 this year — there are two or fewer candidates on the ballot for the party, so all of them automatically advance to the general election.
District 13 includes most of Chandler, Sun Lakes and other small unincorporated patches of southeastern Maricopa County and a few small western parts of the Town of Gilbert.
In the LD13 House race, Kevin Hartke had the most cash on hand as of the April 15 state campaign finance reporting deadline with almost $70,000. That’s not only more than twice as much as his closest Republican competitor, it’s also about $25,000 more than the top Democrat, Racquel “Rockee”Armstrong, has raised.
Hartke, the current term-limited mayor of Chandler and former City Council member, took in about $36,000, with all but about $300 in the form of only 24 medium or large individual contributions.
Two of Hartke’s donations are from Chandler businessmen. Keenstack founder and CEO Thiru Thangarathinam and manufacturing firm AMT founder Jay Donkersloot each contributed to Hartke’s LD13 campaign and to the mayoral campaign of Jeff Weninger, whose wife, Janet, the other Republican on the LD13 ballot.
The second-most fundraising among GOP hopefuls in the race this past quarter was done by Debra Schnike of Chandler. She started 2026 with about $17,000 cash on hand and raised $23,000 by the end of the first quarter, ending with about $30,000 to spend going forward.
Most LD13 candidates didn’t spend significantly in the first quarter. Schnike was an exception, reporting about $10,000 in expenses.
Janet Weninger raised about $4,600 in the first quarter. That included $300 from the Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Arizona political action committee and a $5,500 donation from insurance firm founder Eli Norton.
Having taken in almost $23,000 in donations in 2025, including some smaller ones from PACs, Janet Weninger’s first-quarter donations and expenses left her with almost $20,000.
Schnike’s $23,000 in donations in the first quarter of 2026 included $5,000 each from Daniel Brophy and $5,000 from Carleen Brophy.
After having received $5,000 in PAC money in 2025, Schnike received no such donations in the first quarter of this year.
Armstrong, a Chandler career educator and Arizona State University assistant professor, raised $30,000 in 2026 so far, which, after expenses, left her with about $45,000 in cash on hand. Her donations included $5,000 from the Food Workers Union Local 99 PAC and donations of $2,000 or more from three out-of-state people.
Jacob Weinberg of Chandler is the only other Democrat in the LD13 race this year. With the top two in each party advancing to the general election, Armstrong and Weinberg are essentially running against the Republicans already.
Weinberg, a U.S. Army veteran and Arizona National Guard leader, rolled over $36,000 raised as part of a different candidacy, as he initially filed to run in LD4 while living in Scottsdale.
The $500 he received from Robert Sanderson was his largest itemized donation in the first quarter of 2026. Weinberg’s donations while running in LD4 include more than $4,000 of his own money and $5,500 each from four people who share his last name.
Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA
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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