Corporation Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson Trails Republican Rivals in Primary Race

All six candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission will advance to the general election in November. However, incumbent Lea Marquez Peterson is currently trailing her Republican counterparts in early primary election results.

The commission, which has three open seats, has three candidates from each party vying to fill them. Voters will see all six candidates on their ballots in November and will choose any combination of three.

Republican candidates Rachel Walden and Rene Lopez are leading Marquez Peterson, who has been on the commission since 2019. Walden holds a lead of 5.5%, while Lopez is ahead by just over 1%.

Despite all three Republican candidates advancing, primary results suggest that Marquez Peterson might struggle to overcome a Democratic challenge in November. Currently, two of the Democratic candidates have more votes than Marquez Peterson.

Walden, a governing board member of Mesa Public Schools, gained attention last year for filing a lawsuit against the school district’s rules on transgender students, a suit that was dismissed by a judge earlier this month. Lopez, meanwhile, served previously on the Chandler City Council.

Leading the Democratic side is Ylenia Aguilar, a member of the Central Arizona Project board. She is followed by Jonathon Hill, a geologist and aerospace engineer, and Joshua Polacheck, a former foreign service officer.

The Republican candidates aim to maintain the commission’s current Republican majority. On the other hand, the Democrats are hopeful of gaining control of the body for the first time in decades. Presently, the commission consists of four Republicans and one Democrat.

The six candidates will compete in the only statewide race on the November ballot.