LD-14 House Republicans ticket leads primary as Lyons congratulates Farnsworth
Independent Newsmedia/Tom Blodgett
The Arizona Legislative District 14 candidates for Senate and a Democrat for House are running unopposed in their primaries. Tyler Farnsworth and Laurin Hendrix lead for the Republican House nominations.
Republicans running together as a ticket maintained a commanding lead as Maricopa County Elections Department results showed 99% of ballots counted Thursday in the Legislative District 14 House of Representatives primary.
Newcomer Tyler Farnsworth led the field with 17,280 votes, or 41.67%, followed by the lone incumbent, Rep. Laurin Hendrix, with 15,802 votes, or 38.11%. Challenger Jedidiah Lyons received 8,385 votes, or 20.22%.
The top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Farnsworth, the top vote-getter, said he was encouraged by the outcome and the message he believes voters sent.
“I'm feeling really good,” Farnsworth said. “Arizona is an outstanding state. I've lived here darn near my whole life. I love what it is. I love the rugged individualist nature of this state. People have always come here to build, to grow, seeking freedom.”
Looking ahead to the general election, Farnsworth said his campaign plans to remove many of its campaign signs while continuing to build on what he described as strong voter support.
“I think we've, for better or for worse, I'm looking forward to taking a bunch of our signs down,” he said. “I think we need to give our citizens here some reprieve from having every corner completely inundated.”
Farnsworth said he believes the campaign's message connected with voters and said he intends “to represent this district with common sense and tact and clarity down there at the legislature.”
Hendrix could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Lyons, who finished third, said he was disappointed by the outcome but grateful for the opportunity to seek the office.
“I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to run,” Lyons said. “Khyl Powell, I felt was an excellent representative of our district, and so I was proud to put my name in the ring and run for the opportunity to replace him at the state house.”
Powell opted not to run again, opening an opportunity for a newcomer to serve.
Although he fell short of advancing, Lyons praised Farnsworth's campaign and expressed confidence in the Republican nominee.
“I have a lot of confidence that Tyler Farnsworth is going to be a very good representative to replace Khyl Powell,” Lyons said. “I admire Farnsworth a lot for setting a standard in the campaign where there wasn't much negativity coming from him, and I'm proud that I was able to do the same thing.”
Lyons also said he intends to remain active in the community regardless of the election outcome.
“Gilbert's my home and I'm proud to live here, and I think it's a great community,” he said. “I will continue to serve it even if that's not in public office.”
Three candidates had already secured places on the November ballot because they faced no opposition in the primary: Republican Mylie Biggs for the Senate, Democrat Stephanie Walsh for the Senate and Democrat Mary Rose for the House.
Republicans hold a significant voter registration advantage in Legislative District 14, which encompasses most of Gilbert along with small portions of Chandler and Queen Creek.
Arizona's election system allows early ballots to be processed before Election Day, meaning the first results released after polls close typically include the bulk of early voting. Additional early ballots and Election Day votes are reported in subsequent days until the canvass is completed, and unofficial results remain subject to change until then.
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. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him on X at @sp_blodgett.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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