The General Election Nov. 6 is still 43 days out, but ballots for those on the early voting list in Maricopa County will be dropped in the mail in just two weeks. The deadline to register to vote in the election is Tuesday, Oct. 9.

In the meantime voters will be sorting through the information about the candidates to decide who they believe will best represent them in the job they seek.

The main races of interest statewide in Arizona include what is shaping up to be a brawl between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jeff Flake in January.

Also on the ballot is the race for governor between incumbent Republican Governor Doug Ducey and Democratic challenger David Garcia.

With the mayor and town council election settled in August, Fountain Hills residents may wish to keep a close eye on the race for Arizona District 6 in the U.S. House of Representatives where Fountain Hills resident and Republican incumbent David Schweikert is facing a Democratic challenge from Anita Malik.

Also on the November ballot will be the local school board election, where voters will fill three seats. Candidates include candidates Wendy Barnard, Nadya Jenkins, Judy Rutkowski and write-in Bob Shelstrom.

Race for Congress

In spite of strong GOP leanings in the district, this appears to be a year that voters are restless and anything can happen.

Schweikert first came to Arizona as a teenager and quickly became acquainted with Fountain Hills. After college he went into the real estate business and was first elected to political office for the Arizona House of Representatives for the district that included Fountain Hills. He later went on to be elected Maricopa County Treasurer before challenging Democrat Harry Mitchell for his seat in Congress in 2010. Schweikert won the seat and has served in Washington ever since.

Schweikert currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and is often called on for his fiscal expertise.

Malik was born to immigrants from India in Kansas City, Mo. Her family moved to Arizona when she was seven years old. Malik attended schools in Scottsdale and graduated Chaparral High School before going on to Arizona State University. She graduated summa cum laude with degrees in computer information systems and finance. She later earned her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California.

Malik began her career at MicroAge as a business analyst. She went to work for the Arizona Republic and was deputy director for ASU’s Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

Arizona Senate

The race for the Arizona Senate seat for District 23 includes Representative Michelle Ugenti-Rita who was first elected to the Legislature in 2010 and served her four allotted terms. She is now seeking to move up to the Arizona Senate.

While serving in the House, Ugenti-Rita served as chair of the Elections Committee, and also served on the Appropriations and Ways and Means committees.

Ugenti-Rita works as a commercial real estate agent.

As a legislator she has been recognized for her support of job growth policies and is recognized as a “Hero of the Taxpayer” by American for Prosperity, a “Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business.

As a mother of three children, Ugenti-Rita is also viewed as a strong advocate for education.

Daria Lohman is the Democrat challenging Ugenti-Rita. Lohman served 6 years in the army including tours in Vietnam and received an Honorable Discharge in 1973. In 1982 she graduated with a B.S. in physics and mathematics and went to work as a programmer/analyst and had 33 years of experience in software and cybersecurity engineering before retiring in 2015.

While raising her children as a single parent and maintaining her career, Daria has been active in the local community and served on the Scottsdale City Human Relations Commission.

Daria knows that affordable healthcare and quality public education are critical to having a healthy, educated workforce.

Also, providing a first-class infrastructure will help attract new business and more jobs for Arizonans.

Christopher Leone is running for the District 23 Senate seat as an independent.

Leone is calling for a legislature that puts the public interest ahead of any partisan and special interests; use common sense and find common ground to solve problems; promote opportunity, equality and stewardship; and champion competition, transparency and accountability.

Arizona House

The District 23 race for the Arizona House of Representatives features incumbent Republican Jay Lawrence, Republican John Kavanagh who is looking to return to the House after serving in the Senate, and Democrat Eric Kurland.

Lawrence was first elected to the House in 2014 and is seeking his third term. He had a long career as a radio and television personality. That included a long stint as a conservative talk show host on Valley Radio.

His public profile has provided opportunities to serve as MC for various charitable events across the Valley and in Fountain Hills.

Lawrence is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a member of the Scottsdale American Legion. He held a real estate license for nearly 30 years and worked for MCO Properties and MCO Realty in Fountain Hills.

In the Arizona House, Lawrence is chairman of the Military, Veterans and Regulatory Affairs Committee. He is also serves on the Health and Ways and Means committees.

Kavanagh is a 24-year resident of District 23 and a resident of Fountain Hills. He was a professor of criminal justice at Scottsdale Community College and director of the college’s Administration of Justice Studies and Forensic Science Program. He also taught at Arizona State University and served 20 years as a police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, retiring as a detective sergeant.

Kavanagh served six years as a town councilman in Fountain Hills and also served three years on the Lafayette, New Jersey Town Council.

He earned a BA in Liberal Arts from NYU, a Master’s Degree in Government from St. John’s University (Queens, NY), and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers. He is also a military veteran.

Democratic challenger, Kurland grew up in New York and came to Arizona to attend Arizona State University about 30 years ago. He is a teacher, husband and parent residing in Scottsdale.

Kurland has a BA in finance and a master’s in curriculum and development from ASU.

He said it is the years of decline in funding for public schools along with the current distain legislators hold for the voters of Arizona that called him to run for office.

As a teacher for more than 20 years he lives by the words of Mya Angelo, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

Kurland said he is not about to change his attitude. It is time to change the legislators.

Key races

Other than Governor Ducey and Garcia running for governor there are four others in that race: Angel Torrez, Green Party; Arthur Ray Arvizu, Republican Takeover; James Gibson II, Humanitarian; and Patrick Masoya and Christian Komor as write-in candidates.

The U.S. Senate race includes McSally and Sinema as well as Green Party candidate Angela Green and write-in candidates Shelia Bilyeu, Michael DeCarlo, Robert Kay, Jonathan Ringham and Benjamin Wirtz.

Running for Arizona Secretary of State are Republican Steve Gaynor and Democrat Katie Hobbs.

The Arizona Attorney General race includes incumbent Republican Mark Brnovich and Democrat January Contreras.

Republican Kimberly Yee and Democrat Mark Manoil are seeking the office of Arizona State Treasurer.

Candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction are Republican Frank Riggs and Democrat Kathy Hoffman with write-in Matthew Harris.

Republican Joe Hart and Democrat William Pierce are running for State Mine Inspector.

Candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission include Republicans Rodney Glassman and Justin Olson and Democrats Sandra Kennedy and Kiana Maria Sears. There is one write-in for the ACC, Neil DeSanti.

There are five ballot propositions on the November ballot. The Times will discuss those in detail in the Oct. 3 edition.