Bennett To Run For State Senate After Favored LD1 Candidate Withdraws

ken bennett

With less than a week to get his name on the August primary ballot, former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett filed Thursday to run for the State Senate representing Legislative District 1.

Bennett announced his candidacy after Republican Anne Marie Ward ended her campaign due to her husband’s medical condition. Ward was favored to win the party’s Aug. 2 primary and the 2022 General Election to fill the Senate seat being vacated by current Senate President Karen Fann, who is not running.

According to Bennett, he was out of town with family last Friday when Ward informed him she would be stepping aside. He supported Ward’s decision to focus on her family, “but didn’t really give the election much thought as I was enjoying time with my own family.”

When Bennett returned home earlier this week, he began to be contacted by people about the opportunity to go back to the Senate. One of those who reached out was Fann, who offered her support.

“Jeanne and I prayed about it, and come to the realization there are things to do to make Arizona better than it already is,” Bennett told Arizona Daily Independent. “Job One of course is getting qualified by April 4 to be on the ballot.”

Achieving the goal will require Bennett to obtain about 500 valid nominating signatures in five days, as task most candidates have had weeks to complete. One bright spot is that E-Qual, the Secretary of State’s Office online petition system, is functioning again after being down for several days.

The Prescott-based Bennett is no stranger to the Arizona Legislature. He was elected as a Representative for LD1 in 1998, and after that two-year term he went on to serve four terms as the Senator for LD1. His last several years were spent as Senate President.

Then in 2009, Arizona Secretary of State was ascended to the Governor’s Office when Gov. Janet Napolitano resigned. Brewer appointed Bennett to serve out the remainder of her SOS term, making him first in line to become governor if Brewer had not been able to complete her term.

Bennett was later elected to a full four-year term as Secretary of State in 2010.

But Bennett is likely most well-known for his role as Fann’s handpicked liaison for the Senate audit into Maricopa County’s handling of the 2020 General Election. During the months-long process he garnered a reputation for transparency and straightforward comments about the audit.

The next step after qualifying for the ballot will be for Bennett to let voters know his concerns for Arizona and the Yavapai County area go well beyond elections. He has been closely following water issues and education matters, as well as state finances, including its problematic retirement systems.

“If the voters choose to send me to the Legislature, I understand the priorities,” he said.

Two other Republicans, Noel Campbell and Steve Zipperman, have already submitted their nominating petitions to be on the primary election.

The deadline is 5 p.m. next Monday for legislative candidates to file their paperwork in person at the Secretary of State’s office in Phoenix. Voters who are registered in LD1 as Republican, Independent, or no-party preference can access E-Qual at https://go.azsos.gov/ss7f