LWV Arizona is planning to host a series of nonpartisan candidate forums for Arizona's statewide offices.
The proposed date for this event is October 10th from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. You will receive additional information once plans are finalized.
We believe there is an especially compelling need for that civic space today. Much of the interaction among candidates now occurs through social media, campaign advertising, short video clips, sound bites, and attacks and counterattacks. While these are part of modern campaigning, they do not necessarily provide voters with the substantive information they need to evaluate candidates for important public offices. The League can create something different: A respectful, carefully moderated civic voter’s forum focused on informing voters.
The central purpose of the program is voter education: to provide Arizona voters with a substantive, respectful civic space in which they can hear directly from candidates, better understand the responsibilities of the offices appearing on their ballots, compare candidates' qualifications and approaches to governing, and make their own informed choices.
The program is designed as a moderated panel discussion rather than a traditional head-to-head candidate debate. Candidates seeking several statewide offices would appear together in structured conversations addressing the responsibilities of the offices they seek and significant issues facing Arizona.
The League of Women Voters has a long history of creating nonpartisan spaces in which voters can hear directly from candidates and make informed choices. The 2026 Arizona Statewide Voter Forum & Candidate Panel Discussion continues that tradition while adapting it to the realities of today's political environment.
The League will not tell voters what to think about any candidate.
The proposed program would include candidates for:
Because the Governor and Lieutenant Governor will appear together on the 2026 General Election ballot as a joint ticket, they would participate together while also having opportunities to address the distinct responsibilities of their respective offices.
Three Statewide Candidate Panel Discussions
The program would consist of three separate candidate panel discussions conducted as components of one statewide voter forum. The order of the panels would be established by the League in advance and would not be selected by candidates or campaigns.
The panel order was selected based on the total number of registered voters for that panel.
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Republican Statewide Candidates Panel Discussion (1,523,886 35.39%)
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Democratic Statewide Candidates Panel Discussion (1,210,510 28.11%)
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Other Qualifying Statewide Candidates Panel Discussion (No Labels/ Arizona Independent Party, Libertarian, Green Party - 82,083 1.9%)
Questions for participants
The heart of the panel conversation would be five substantive statewide questions, with one question developed or submitted by each of Arizona's five local Leagues.
These questions would address significant issues affecting people throughout Arizona and would provide candidates with the principal opportunity to explain their priorities, policy approaches, and perspectives on governing.
Questions can be directed to a specific candidate or for the office in general.
All questions would be submitted in advance and reviewed to ensure that they are:
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Nonpartisan;
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Substantive and relevant to Arizona voters;
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Appropriate to the responsibilities of the offices represented;
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Fairly framed;
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Free from language favoring or opposing a candidate or political party; and
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Capable of being asked consistently across all three panels.
The same five questions would be asked in the same sequence during each panel.
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