SerpApi.Org
Republican challenger Ralph Heap is putting up a fight for one of two Arizona Corporation Commission seats currently held by incumbents Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson.
Results as of the morning of July 22 showed little movement from the first round of unofficial election results released July 21 in the race for two seats on the five-member board, which oversees the state’s utilities.
Thompson holds the lead. Myers and Heap are neck-and-neck, with Heap holding a small lead over the incumbent.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Polling locations for in-person voters closed at 7 p.m., and the first results in the statewide race were reported about 8 p.m. July 21. Results will be updated daily until all the votes are tallied. Arizona primary election results are unofficial until local and state officials have tallied all ballots and certified the results.
Myers and Thompson, who referred to themselves as the “dynamic duo” or the “twins” in 2022, were elected four years ago and are seeking a second term. Heap, a state legislator and Turning Point Action-endorsed candidate, has cast himself as a more conservative option ― although Myers and Thompson have defended their records against his attacks.
Currently, all five commissioners are Republicans, but the winners of tonight’s primary will face Democratic candidates Jonathon Hill and Clara Pratte in November. With two seats up for grabs, the Democratic primary was uncontested.
Myers and Thompson were both elected in 2022, ousting incumbent Sandra Kennedy, a Democrat. Republican Justin Olson, who was appointed to the commission in 2017 by former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and won a full term in 2018, did not run in 2022. Commissioners serve for four years and are limited to two consecutive terms.
Thompson is a former Mesa councilman and has a background in utilities, as a former manager of new business development for Southwest Gas. Myers, the commission's chair, comes from the semiconductor and telecommunications industries, and was the first commissioner elected from Pinal County.
Earlier this month, the board voted 4-0 to repeal energy efficiency standards, following a March vote to roll back renewable energy requirements. At a debate earlier this year, Myers and Thompson called the clean energy standard outdated and costly to ratepayers, arguing that utilities had already complied with the regulation's intent.
The last time a Democrat was elected to the commission was in 2020, when former Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar won one of three seats up for grabs. Her term expired in 2025, and she did not seek reelection.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Heap in tight battle with incumbents in Corporation Commission race
