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Arizona, State Senate, District 15

Arizona Senate District 15
Current incumbentHeather Carter Republican Party

Arizona’s fifteenth state senate district is represented by Republican Senator Heather Carter.

Arizona state senators represent an average of 213,067 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 171,021 residents.

About the office

Members of the Arizona State Senate serve two-year terms with term limits, limiting senators 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 State Senate 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 State Senate District 15

Heather Carter (R) defeated Kristin Dybvig-Pawelko (D) in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 15 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Heather Carter (R)
60.1
57,264

Kristin Dybvig-Pawelko (D)
39.9
37,971

Total votes: 95,235
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 15

Kristin Dybvig-Pawelko advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 15 on August 28, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Kristin Dybvig-Pawelko (D)
100
14,679

Total votes: 14,679
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 15

Heather Carter advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 15 on August 28, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Heather Carter (R)
100
24,273

Total votes: 24,273
(100.00% precincts reporting)

2016

Elections for the Arizona State Senate 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 Nancy Barto defeated Tonya MacBeth in the Arizona State Senate District 15 general election.

Arizona State Senate, District 15 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Nancy Barto Incumbent 63.26% 62,691
Democratic Tonya MacBeth 36.74% 36,414
Total Votes 99,105
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

Tonya MacBeth ran unopposed in the Arizona State Senate District 15 Democratic Primary.

Arizona State Senate, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tonya MacBeth (unopposed)

Incumbent Nancy Barto ran unopposed in the Arizona State Senate District 15 Republican Primary.

Arizona State Senate, District 15 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Nancy Barto Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

Elections for the Arizona State Senate 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. Incumbent Nancy K. Barto defeated David Ryan in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.

Arizona State Senate, District 15 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngNancy Barto Incumbent 62.9% 13,585
David Ryan 37.1% 8,012
Total Votes 21,597

2012

Elections for the office of Arizona State Senate 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 Nancy K. Barto won the general election with no opposition after running unopposed in the August 28 primary.

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Arizona State Senate District 15 raised a total of $595,757. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $29,788 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Arizona State Senate District 15

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $120,544 2 $60,272
2014 $82,788 2 $41,394
2012 $41,855 2 $20,928
2010 $107,799 2 $53,900
2008 $9,040 1 $9,040
2006 $32,693 2 $16,347
2004 $60,147 3 $20,049
2002 $55,492 3 $18,497
2000 $85,399 3 $28,466
Total $595,757 20 $29,788