Every justice precinct race in Maricopa County, precinct by precinct

The one contested race: San Marcos

Only one justice of the peace race in the county has two candidates printed on the ballot: San Marcos (Chandler and Sun Lakes), where incumbent Jennifer Jermaine (D) faces former House Speaker and sitting state Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R). It is the first contested race for that seat since 2010. We cover it in full, with both records, on our San Marcos and EVIT page. San Marcos constable Nathan Wallace (R), in office since 2019 and the county's presiding constable, is unopposed; he is listed with the constables below.

Justice of the Peace: the other 17 precincts with a 2026 race

Each of these has exactly one name printed on the November ballot. Where the real contest happened in a primary or an appointment, that is stated, because for an unopposed officeholder that is the whole story of how they got the job.

Agua Fria: Lupe Chavira Contreras (D)

Unopposed in November, but he got here by beating the incumbent in the Democratic primary, and the incumbent was a fixture: Judge Joe "Pep" Guzman had held this seat since May 1991, appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish a resigned judge's term and then re-elected every four years since. Before the bench Guzman was an Avondale city councilman (1983 to 1991) and holds an ASU law degree. Contreras is one of the most experienced politicians on this ballot: Arizona House 2013 to 2015, Arizona Senate 2015 to 2023, then the House again from 2023 to the present, including a stint as House Minority Leader (2023 to 2025). He worked as a paralegal in law offices and is not a licensed Arizona attorney, which the law does not require for this office.

Arrowhead: Craig Wismer (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. First elected in November 2012, so on the bench since January 2013. Before the bench he spent more than twenty years as a congressional employee, most recently as Deputy State Director for Policy and western Maricopa County representative for U.S. Senator Jon Kyl. He is an ASU political science graduate.

Canyon Trails (new precinct): Christopher Sumner (R), write-in only

There is no printed name for this office at all. Canyon Trails is a brand-new precinct, split off from the southern half of White Tank along Interstate 10, covering Buckeye, Goodyear, and the Tohono O'odham Nation; its court, at 10420 W. Van Buren St. in Avondale, opens January 1, 2027. The county's general election filer list shows exactly one candidate for its first justice of the peace: Christopher Sumner, filed as a write-in. Only votes for registered write-in candidates are counted, so this seat will be filled by whichever voters write his name in. Per his own campaign site, Sumner has worked in the justice court system for nine years, first running the Warrant Reduction Program at the Northwest Regional Court Center, and for the last four years has been the elected Arrowhead constable; his father and uncle also served as elected constables.

East Mesa: Fred Arnett (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. A justice of the peace since November 2016, when he was appointed to the West Mesa court; the Board of Supervisors moved him to the East Mesa seat in February 2022. Before the bench he served Maricopa County as a constable for 17 years and holds a degree in criminal justice and criminology.

El Centro: Jennifer Hernandez Sama (D, incumbent)

Unopposed in November. Elected in 2022, so in office since January 2023, and she earned it through a contested Democratic primary this cycle against former JP Enrique Medina Ochoa. Her father, Judge Jimmie Hernandez, held this same precinct (then named Downtown) from 2011 to 2017. She is an ASU graduate (psychology, business minor) who spent more than 20 years in the luxury fashion industry before the bench.

Encanto: Deborah Begay (D)

Unopposed in November after beating the incumbent, Ken Cheuvront, in the Democratic primary. Begay has an ASU law degree, is a Navy veteran, served as Moon Valley justice of the peace from 2021 through 2024, and was Maricopa County's first Indigenous justice of the peace. The man she beat had his own long résumé: Cheuvront took this seat in January 2019 after 16 years in the Legislature (House 1994 to 2002, including House Democratic Leader; Senate 2003 to 2011), alongside owning a construction company and a wine and cheese business.

Hassayampa: Danielle Blake (R)

Unopposed, for an open seat. The current Hassayampa judge is CJ Mueller, who is not on the 2026 ballot; no source we found reports why the seat is open. Nothing verified about Blake's background was found in the sources checked, so this entry is, honestly, a name, a party, and an open seat. Voters in this precinct are being asked to elect a judge about whom the public record says almost nothing.

Ironwood: Lori Burkhardt (R, incumbent)

Unopposed, and this is her first election: the Board of Supervisors appointed her on February 11, 2026. She is a career court employee rather than a politician: hired by the Justice Courts in 1995, ten years as a clerk and the next 21 as a court manager, while also serving as court administrator for the Gila Bend Municipal Court. She is a third-generation Gila Bend resident.

Kyrene: Sharron Sauls (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. She holds a Master of Legal Studies from ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, is a certified mediator, and has more than 20 years in social service and government work, including 13 years as a City of Phoenix landlord and tenant counselor, the lead counselor for over five of them. The year she first took this seat could not be verified from an official source; she was already a candidate for it in 2018. Landlord-tenant work is unusually relevant experience for a court whose docket is full of evictions.

Manistee: Lizbeth Feria (R)

Unopposed in November, for an open seat: the current judge, Donald Watts, is not seeking re-election. Feria won a genuinely contested Republican primary against Lennie McCloskey, a former Manistee constable of roughly 20 years. Feria has a master's in legal studies, is a certified legal document preparer, and worked as a senior courtroom clerk and deputy clerk in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. She is not a lawyer, and neither was her primary opponent.

McDowell Mountain: Michele Reagan (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. Appointed to this seat in September 2019. Before it: elected to the Arizona House in 2002, eight years there, then the Arizona Senate, and in 2014 she was elected Arizona's 20th Secretary of State. She chairs the Justice Courts Legislative Committee and runs the Northeast division of the Veterans Treatment Court. She also succeeded her father in this seat: Judge Michael Reagan held it for 15 years.

North Valley: DesaRae Tucker (R, incumbent)

Unopposed, and the newest judge on this page: appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 2025 and took the bench in January 2026, succeeding Gerald Williams, who served more than 20 years in this precinct. She earned her law degree from the Phoenix School of Law, has been a licensed attorney since 2015, worked for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and as a prosecutor for Glendale and Litchfield Park, served as a judge pro tempore, and is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran.

South Mountain: Rebecca Rios (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. Won election to this court in 2022. A fourth-generation Arizona native with bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from ASU and more than 20 years working with children and families. She was first elected to the Arizona Legislature in 1995 and served 20 years across both chambers, including as Minority Leader in both the House and the Senate, one of the deepest legislative records of anyone now sitting in a justice court.

University Lakes: Tyler Kissell (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. Elected to this court in 2014, so this is his fourth term's election. He grew up in Litchfield Park, earned a political science degree from ASU, taught preschool in South Africa as a volunteer, and worked as a securities agent for a mutual fund company in Scottsdale before the bench. He chairs the Justice Courts Technology committee and lives in Tempe.

West McDowell: Teresa Lopez (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. Full name Teresa Ramirez Lopez. Elected justice of the peace here in 2018, after working in and around the Maricopa County Justice Courts for several years as a hearing officer. Her earlier career was in government relations and communication, with Salt River Project and the Governor's Office of the State of Arizona. She holds an associate degree in legal arts and a bachelor's in management, and chairs the Staff Development and Training committee.

West Mesa: Elaissia Sears (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. Elected to this court in 2018 and still sitting. Before the bench she was a paralegal, a certified process server, and a certified court reporter; a licensed real estate agent, mortgage broker, and notary public; a small business owner and financial adviser; and she has served on the Maricopa County Constable Ethics Board.

White Tank: Heidi Owens (R)

Unopposed, and she took this court over from John R. Ditsworth, who served more than 25 years. Before it, she worked as a legal secretary for the Arizona Supreme Court, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and private firms, and served as the legal secretary for the court commissioner in this same precinct. A native of San Diego, she has lived in the Phoenix area for about 25 years.

Constables: the same 18 precincts

Every constable in the county is up for election in the same 18 precincts. Canyon Trails is the one exception: it has a justice of the peace on this ballot but no constable, because no one filed for that office in the new precinct. Constable is a law-enforcement job, and one whose duties — serving court papers, executing orders, delivering eviction notices — are often outside the public eye. The 18 constable races follow below.

Agua Fria: Michael A. Flores (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. First elected constable in 2014 and serving ever since, after a long career with the Phoenix Police Department, where he retired after more than 25 years, and a long run as a certified process server. He is the current president of the Arizona Constables Association.

Arrowhead: Darren Emfinger (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. Appointed constable in 2021 and elected in 2022. He was a police officer for more than 20 years in Phoenix and Glendale, worked as a criminal investigator for the Arizona Attorney General's Office, and is a licensed private investigator. He has served as president of the Arizona Constables Association.

Canyon Trails: Jeremiah Schultz (R, write-in only)

No printed name on the ballot for constable either. Schultz is running as a write-in only; he is a retired Phoenix Police Department officer and a member of the Arizona Constables Association.

East Mesa: Luke Thompson (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. Elected constable in 2022 and again the county's youngest constable, having first taken office at 25. Before it, he worked in law enforcement as a detention officer and as a process server.

El Centro: Darlene Martinez (D, incumbent) and Reuben Macias (Independent, write-in)

Two names, one on the ballot and one not. Martinez is the incumbent constable, first elected in 2022, and the only name printed on the November ballot. Macias is running as an Independent write-in; he is a former Maricopa County Sheriff's Office detention officer and a certified process server.

Encanto: Maria Ligocki-Russell (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. First elected constable in 2018. She worked for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for more than 20 years, as a detention officer and in court security, and served as a constable's deputy before winning the office.

Hassayampa: Scott Blake (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. First elected constable in 2018 and the husband of Hassayampa's new justice of the peace, Danielle Blake. He served in the U.S. Army, worked for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and was a constable's deputy before his election.

Ironwood: Daniel Birchfield (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. Appointed constable in 2023 and elected in 2024. A retired Phoenix Police Department detective with more than 25 years in law enforcement, including work in the department's homicide unit.

Kyrene: Bridget Bellavigna (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. The best documented start date among the constables: the Board of Supervisors appointed her on March 9, 2022, to the seat vacated by Ben Halloran at the end of 2021, and she was then elected in November 2022.

Manistee: April Flores (R, incumbent)

Unopposed, in office by appointment: a Board of Supervisors action on March 18, 2025 appointed her constable for this precinct through December 31, 2026, so this election decides whether she keeps the job she was handed. The prior holder, Lennie McCloskey, had been appointed in April 2005; McCloskey then ran for justice of the peace in this precinct this cycle and lost the Republican primary to Lizbeth Feria.

McDowell Mountain: Dan Diaz (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. The seat turned over recently: the prior constable, David Lester, resigned effective January 31, 2025, and the county appointed a successor that spring. Diaz is the incumbent on the 2026 ballot; the appointment record naming him was not pulled for this page, so no start date is printed.

North Valley: Mike Rowe (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. His first year in office could not be verified from an official source.

San Marcos: Nathan Wallace (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. Constable here since 2019, and the presiding constable for the Maricopa County justice courts. He is covered in more detail on our San Marcos page, alongside the county's one contested JP race.

South Mountain: Mahogany Kennedy (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. A South Mountain Democrats voting guide describes her as first appointed in 2017 and subsequently elected, which would give her nearly a decade in the role; that is a partisan secondary source, attributed here because no official county source stating her start date was found.

University Lakes: Karyn Lathan (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. Emerge, a candidate training organization, lists her as a winner for this office in both 2018 and 2022, which supports a first election in 2018; as with the entry above, the claim is attributed to its source rather than stated as county record.

West McDowell: Byron L. Rhymes Jr. (D, incumbent)

Unopposed. His first year in office could not be verified from an official source.

West Mesa: Brandon Giles (R, incumbent)

Unopposed. He was already the incumbent when he won re-election on November 8, 2022, per Ballotpedia's certified results for that race, so he has held the seat since before then; his exact first start date was not verified.

White Tank: Steven Gayle Conner (R)

Unopposed, and not the incumbent, for the simple reason that the man appointed to White Tank in January 2026, Jeremiah Schultz, is running for the new Canyon Trails seat instead. Nothing else verified about Conner was found: no campaign site, biography, or coverage. Another name-only candidacy, in a precinct whose boundaries shrink the day the winner takes office.

The 9 precincts with no race in 2026

Justice precincts elect on a staggered four-year cycle. These nine are on the other half of it: no JP race and no constable race this year, so their seats next face voters in 2028. The judges below hold those courts now, per the Justice Courts. You will not see these names on a 2026 ballot, and that is the only reason they are not in the sections above.

• Arcadia Biltmore: Judge Leonore Driggs, who is also the Presiding Judge of the Maricopa County Justice Courts.
• Country Meadows: Judge Anna Huberman.
• Desert Ridge: Judge Cathy Riggs.
• Dreamy Draw: Judge Ashley Fitzwilliams.
• Highland: Judge Jordan Ray.
• Maryvale: Judge Andrew Gastelum.
• Moon Valley: Judge Mireya Arroyo. (The previous Moon Valley judge, Deborah Begay, is the 2026 candidate in Encanto, above.)
• North Mesa: Judge Kyle Jones.
• San Tan: Judge Blake King.

One naming note, because voters search for it every cycle: there are no Maricopa County justice precincts named Camelback, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, or Tempe. Those are city and area names. Tempe is served mainly by the Kyrene, University Lakes, and San Marcos precincts; Scottsdale by McDowell Mountain and Desert Ridge; Paradise Valley by McDowell Mountain and the Dreamy Draw area.