Original Arizona Senate
By Ray Stern || Arizona Republic
Evangeline Diaz, a teacher from Tolleson, is the Democratic Party’s official write-in candidate for a West Valley state Senate seat abandoned by the primary election winner.
Precinct committee people for the new Legislative District 22, which includes Tolleson and part of Avondale, held a video meeting Wednesday night to make the decision.
“I’m looking forward to her leadership and making sure she gets elected,” said Rep. Richard Andrade, D-Phoenix, who attended the meeting.
Andrade lost the district’s Senate race to Rep. Diego Espinoza, D-Tolleson, in the Aug. 2 primary. But earlier this month, Espinoza announced he was giving up the unopposed seat to take a job with SRP’s Government and Community Relations team. Andrade told The Arizona Republic he decided not to try again for the seat because he wanted to spend more time with his wife.
His unexpected resignation put the West Valley’s Legislative District 22 in temporary turmoil as officials scrambled to find a write-in candidate who would receive exclusive support before the Nov. 8 general election.
If multiple Democratic candidates run as write-ins, splitting the Democratic vote, a Republican could theoretically win in the Democrat-heavy district. That fact was “communicated very well” to potential candidates during the meeting, Andrade said.
