Eric Stafford is a community organizer, working people’s advocate and lifelong Arizonan running as the Democratic nominee for the Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 29 (LD29), which covers much of Surprise, El Mirage and the northwest West Valley. He’s running to deliver progress and prosperity for everyone by rejecting special-interest money and legislating for the common good.
A working person’s candidate
Eric is a certified A&P (airframe and powerplant) mechanic and machinist, with experience in veterinary and healthcare work. He has spent a decade in blue-collar jobs, in machine shops, airport hangars, veterinary clinics and service work, and he knows firsthand what it feels like to put your body on the line to pay the bills.
As he puts it: “Arizona’s workers keep the lights on in this state, and need protections, living wages, and a seat at the table.”
Why he’s running
Eric is running because young and working people are missing from the Capitol, and because he won’t accept the push by members of our Legislature to defund Arizona’s government and gut the programs that help working families get by.
He has watched bills that make voting harder, cut support for people in poverty, and hand tax breaks to the wealthiest Arizonans, all while young and working people have to choose between a gallon of gas and a carton of eggs.
Back for 2026
This isn’t Eric’s first run for LD29. In 2024, as the Democratic nominee, he earned 48,608 votes (40.7%) against Sen. Janae Shamp. He’s running again in 2026 because the problems facing LD29 families, from rising rent to underfunded schools, haven’t gone away.
What Eric will fight for
- Affordable housing: tax incentives for first-time homebuyers, a crackdown on corporate landlords driving up rents, and affordable-housing commitments in new development.
- Workers: the right to organize, prevailing wages on public projects, an end to wage theft, and apprenticeships for skilled trades.
- Public schools: Arizona’s school funding is among the lowest in the nation. Eric supports competitive teacher pay, better school facilities, voucher audits, and expanded vocational and technical education.
- Healthcare: lower prescription costs, protection for pre-existing conditions, and more mental health and addiction services. “No family should ever have to choose between health and finances,” Eric says. His own mother suffered permanent brain damage when she couldn’t afford her medicine.
- Growth that works for residents: community input on projects like the proposed Wittmann rail hub and new data centers, and water and utility infrastructure before new development.
- Veterans and military families: better veteran healthcare and mental health care, and a strong partnership with Luke Air Force Base.
- Clean government: stronger dark-money disclosure laws, protection for Arizona’s Clean Elections system, and an end to the revolving door between the Legislature and lobbying firms.
A Clean Elections campaign
Eric is running as a Clean Elections candidate with no corporate PAC or dark money. His campaign is powered by grassroots support from LD29 voters, and every dollar is publicly reported. See our Transparency page for details.
Join us
The general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Make sure you’re registered by October 5, then make a plan to vote. And if you want to help elect a senator who puts West Valley families first, get involved with the campaign.