Divorced pair could face off in election

Roberto Sanchez Garcia is angling for a rematch in a legislative district spanning south Phoenix. He may end up facing his ex-wife, too.

Sanchez Garcia finished third in a four-way primary for the state House of Representatives in District 27 last year.

Democratic Reps. Reginald Bolding and Diego Rodriguez hold the seats. Sanchez Garcia lost to Rodriguez by just a few hundred votes.

Sanchez Garcia filed a statement of interest with the Secretary of State’s Office last week to run in the same district in 2020.

Bolding and Rodriguez are running for reelection, along with the district’s incumbent senator, Rebecca Rios.

The only other Democrat running for the district’s House seats at this point is Catherine Miranda, who formerly represented the district in the state Senate and was married to Sanchez Garcia before filing for divorce in April.

Sanchez Garcia did not respond to a voicemail message or email inquiring about his campaign.

This will not be the first time that a Democratic primary in Legislative District 27 has been personal on some level.

Miranda’s late husband, Ben Miranda,

previously represented the district, and she faced his daughter, Maritza Miranda Saenz, during her reelection campaign in 2016.

Sanchez Garcia is an entrepreneur from a prominent political family in Sonora. He has lived in Phoenix for nearly 30 years. In launching his 2018 campaign, Sanchez Garcia touted nearly two decades in government affairs, including helping create the first bilingual title insurance policy recognized by the state of Arizona to help protect the interests of Spanish speakers in the real estate market.

Sanchez Garcia ended up winning the backing of business groups such as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Greater Phoenix Chamber.

If he gets support from the business community again, the primary could end up pitting a team of self-described progressive incumbents against more moderate or conservative Democrats such as Miranda, who broke with her party on issues such as abortion when she was in the Legislature.

The district leans heavily toward the Democratic Party. Whoever wins the primary will be the favorite to win the general election, making the August nominating contest all the more influential.