Rift between Tempe lawmakers sets up state Senate battle

Reliably Democratic Tempe may have a real race for the state Senate on its hands.

It’s just unclear exactly why.

The trio of Democratic legislators now representing much of Tempe and part of Mesa have split up, with Rep. Isela Blanc forgoing reelection to the state House of Representatives to challenge Sen. Juan Mendez in the primary.

Mendez made it official last week that he is accepting the challenge.

He filed for reelection to the Senate alongside incumbent Rep. Athena Salman and newcomer Melody Hernandez, a first-responder who has been active in the local Democratic Party and will seek the House seat Blanc is vacating for her Senate bid.

The three — Mendez, Salman and Hernandez — announced they would form a millennial slate with the goal of making their district the first represented at the Arizona Capitol entirely by members of their politically underrepresented generation.

“We are the generation inheriting an earth in crisis with public schools shattered by a disastrous conservative agenda, and we are done waiting for others to fix it,” Mendez said in announcing the move.

Mendez is the oldest of the group at 34.

And perhaps the statement was a shot at Blanc, who is 47.

Blanc is quick to point to her experience as a formerly undocumented immigrant and as a mother who has lived in the area for more than 30 years.

The primary, it seems, may come down to a choice not between policies but between personalities and experiences.

Blanc said they are not far apart on the issues, agreeing with Mendez 99.9% of the time, as she describes it.