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Arizona, State House, District 17

Arizona House of Representatives District 17
Current incumbentsJeff Weninger Republican Party
Jennifer Pawlik Democratic Party

Arizona’s seventeenth state house district is represented by Republican Representative Jeff Weninger and Democratic Representative Jennifer Pawlik.

Arizona state representatives represent an average of 106,534 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 85,511 residents.

About the office

Members of the Arizona House of Representatives serve two-year terms with term limits, limiting representatives to four terms (a total of eight years). Arizona legislators assume office on the first day of the session after they are elected. Each regular session begins on the second Monday in January.

Qualifications

Article 4, Part 2, Section 2 of the Arizona Constitution states: "No person shall be a member of the Legislature unless he shall be a citizen of the United States at the time of his election, nor unless he shall be at least twenty-five years of age, and shall have been a resident of Arizona at least three years and of the county from which he is elected at least one year before his election."

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$24,000/year$35/day for legislators who live in Maricopa County; $60/day for legislators who live outside of Maricopa County.

Term limits

The Arizona legislature is one of 15 state legislatures with term limits. Voters enacted the Arizona Term Limits Act in 1992. That initiative said that Arizona senators are subject to term limits of no more than four two-year terms, or a total of eight years.

The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2000.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the Arizona State Legislature, the Board of County Supervisors must select a replacement. The political party committee is involved in the appointment process only if the legislative district has thirty or more elected precinct committeemen.

If the legislative district has 30 or more elected precinct committeemen:

The secretary of state is required to contact the state party chairperson to give notice of the vacancy. The state chairperson must give notice of a meeting to fill the seat within three days of receiving notice.

The precinct committeemen must nominate three qualified electors as replacements. If the Legislature is in session, this must occur within five days. If the Legislature is out of session, the committeemen have 21 days to nominate potential replacements. Each elector must receive a majority of the committeemen to earn a nomination. The chair then forwards the three nominees to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors appoints a nominee from the three names. If the committeemen do not submit a list of names within the allotted timeframe, the Board of Supervisors proceed with the vacancy as if the district had fewer than 30 elected precinct committeemen.

If the legislative district has fewer than 30 elected precinct committeemen:

The Board of County Supervisors appoints a panel of citizen supervisors within three business days of a vacancy occurring. That panel has seven business days to submit the name of three qualified electors of the same political party as the previous incumbent to the Board of Supervisors. Within five business days of receiving the list, the Board of Supervisors must select a replacement by a majority vote.

The person selected to fill the seat serves the remainder of the unfilled term.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Arizona House of Representatives will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for August 4, 2020. The filing deadline is April 6, 2020.

2018

General election
General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Jennifer Pawlik (D) and incumbent Jeff Weninger (R) defeated Nora Ellen (R) in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Jennifer Pawlik (D)
34.3
46,874

Jeff Weninger (R)
34.0
46,520

Nora Ellen (R)
31.7
43,437

Total votes: 136,831
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Jennifer Pawlik advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on August 28, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Jennifer Pawlik (D)
100
15,757

Total votes: 15,757
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Incumbent Jeff Weninger and Nora Ellen defeated Julie Willoughby in the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on August 28, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Jeff Weninger (R)
44.7
17,488

Nora Ellen (R)
35.3
13,800

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Julie Willoughby (R)
20.0
7,808

Total votes: 39,096
(100.00% precincts reporting)

2016

Elections for the Arizona House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.

Incumbent Jeff Weninger and incumbent J.D. Mesnard defeated Jennifer Pawlik in the Arizona House of Representatives District 17 general election.

Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Jeff Weninger Incumbent 35.86% 51,712
Republican Green check mark transparent.png J.D. Mesnard Incumbent 33.55% 48,384
Democratic Jennifer Pawlik 30.60% 44,128
Total Votes 144,224
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

Jennifer Pawlik ran unopposed in the Arizona House of Representatives District 17 Democratic Primary.

Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jennifer Pawlik (unopposed)

Incumbent J.D. Mesnard and incumbent Jeff Weninger were unopposed in the Arizona House of Representatives District 17 Republican Primary.

Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png J.D. Mesnard Incumbent
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Jeff Weninger Incumbent

2014

Elections for the Arizona House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 28, 2014. Danielle Lee was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent J.D. Mesnard and Jeff Weninger were unopposed in the Republican primary. Mesnard and Weninger defeated Lee in the general election.

Arizona House of Representatives District 17, General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Weninger 38.6% 32,297
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJ.D. Mesnard Incumbent 35.9% 30,018
Democratic Danielle Lee 25.5% 21,304
Total Votes 83,619

2012

Elections for the office of Arizona House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on August 28, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 30, 2012. Incumbent Republicans Tom Forese and J.D. Mesnard defeated Republican write-in candidate Jason Harris and Democratic candidate Karyn Lathan. The candidates ran unopposed in August 28 primary elections.

Arizona House of Representatives, District 17, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTom Forese Incumbent 35.9% 44,422
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJ.D. Mesnard Incumbent 34.7% 42,955
Democratic Karyn Lathan 29.3% 36,265
Republican Jason Harris (Write-in) 0% 41
Total Votes 123,683

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 raised a total of $1,972,271. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $37,928 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Arizona House of Representatives District 17

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $311,613 3 $103,871
2014 $225,912 3 $75,304
2012 $204,679 5 $40,936
2010 $144,199 9 $16,022
2008 $172,048 4 $43,012
2006 $254,351 8 $31,794
2004 $229,164 5 $45,833
2002 $245,948 9 $27,328
2000 $184,357 6 $30,726
Total $1,972,271 52 $37,928