By Mary Goldmeer
Mail

Preliminary results for the Legislative District 23 State Senate race have been posted, with incumbent Brian Fernandez leading by 912 votes at At 10:34 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7. 

The candidates are competing for one seat in Arizona’s upper legislative body, the State Senate. As of now, the results reflect only mail-in ballots, with in-person votes still being counted.

The candidates running are:

•  Sen. Brian Fernandez: An incumbent Democrat holding 50.9% of the vote with a background in software development. Fernandez was elected to the State Senate in 2022 and serves on several committees, including Appropriations, Finance and Commerce, and Natural Resources, Energy and Water. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and is the founder of Symfodium, a technology company.
• Michelle Altherr: The republican candidate holding 49.1% of the vote has a background in couture fashion designer and experience as an Air Force veteran. Altherr is a graduate of the Community College of the Air Force and has been involved in local politics, having volunteered for Latinos for Trump and served as the GOP chair of Legislative District 23.

The winner of the race will serve a two-year term in the State Senate, where they will sponsor and pass legislation, set state spending levels, and vote on issues affecting their constituents.

As the results continue to come in, the race remains uncalled, with fluctuations in vote counts that will be finalized in the coming days. The official results will be confirmed once all votes are tallied and verified.

Visit results.arizona.vote for the latest updates.