One of these 3 Democrats will replace Rep. Athena Salman at the Arizona Legislature

Democrats in the Tempe area on Tuesday night chose three possible replacements for former state Rep. Athena Salman.

Jevin Hodge, Deborah Nardozzi and Jacob Raiford were chosen by ranked-choice voting from a field of nine candidates during a virtual meeting of the Legislative District 8 Democrats.

The three names now go to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The board members will appoint one of them to fill out Salman’s term, which ends next January. It’s unclear how long it will take the board to make the appointment.

Salman resigned to run Arizona Campaigns for Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League.

Hodge in 2022 was the Democratic nominee for Congressional District 1. He lost narrowly to incumbent U.S. Rep. David Schweikert. In 2020, Hodge also had a closely contested race for Maricopa County supervisor, but lost to Republican Jack Sellers.

He highlighted his background as the son of a single mother who understands the financial and social strains of everyday Arizonans. Hodge touted his endorsement, which included U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Phoenix City Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington.

Deborah Nardozzi previously served as chair of a legislative district that ran from central Phoenix eastward to the Salt River Pima Indian Community. Parts of that district were fashioned into the current LD 8 when district lines were redrawn in 2021.

“She wins campaigns,” said LD 8 chairman Steven Jackson, who nominated her. He singled out her work on helping elect Democrats in neighboring LD 9, where Democrats picked up three seats. Those seats are crucial to flipping the Legislature to Democratic control this year, Jackson said.

Nardozzi, citing her campaign and issues involvement, said she is ready to jump into a legislative session that is already underway if selected.

Jacob Raiford is the current first vice chairman of LD 8. He serves as the Arizona representative on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union and, locally, has been active in issues involving police-citizen interactions.

Precinct committee members used ranked-choice voting to narrow the field of nine candidates to three finalists. The process calls for the voters to list the candidates in their order of preference.

District officials did not detail the order in which the three candidates finished, instead displaying them as each having an equal share of the votes cast.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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