OPINION — After reviewing the candidates who submitted signatures to be on the 2026 ballot, the Arizona Agenda concluded that roughly a third of the 90 state legislative seats had already, effectively, been decided.
That proportion of candidates either had no primary or general election opponents, or didn’t have primary opposition in a district in which their party had a large registration advantage. Many of the rest of the seats are only nominally in play or feature primary contests among like-minded candidates.
This lack of political competition, in the way of offering the electorate meaningful choices, doesn’t result from galloping voter satisfaction or approval of the Legislature. Opinion polls consistently show the opposite, dissatisfaction and disapproval.
