Matthew Tucciarone Announces for LD1 House – David Stringer, Publisher

Photo: Matthew Tucciarone [Editor’s Note: Prescott eNews has a policy of not endorsing candidates for political office. We do report on political events and candidate announcements  when they are newsworthy.]

Republican politics in Yavapai County just got a lot more interesting with the announcement that Matthew Tucciarone has entered the race for one of Legislative District 1’s two seats in the Arizona legislature. Tucciarone is not yet widely known in the Prescott area, but he seems to have made a name for himself in Republican circles as a conservative activist and former candidate for Mayor of Sedona. Reportedly, his campaign as a pro Trump, America First candidate in one of Yavapai County’s most liberal enclaves caught the eye of GOP talent spotters who encouraged him to run.  As a candidate for the state legislature, Tucciarone is expected to mount a challenge from the right against LD1’s two entrenched incumbents in the state House of Representatives.

Following the 2020 redistricting, LD1 now encompasses the entirety of Yavapai County. According to information provided by the candidate, Mr. Tucciarone has resided in Arizona for the last five years,  primarily in the Sedona area of Yavapai County. According to the Secretary of State’s website, Mr. Tucciarone filed a Statement of Interest on July 14, 2025. This will allow him to begin the process of gathering the necessary signatures to qualify for the August 2026 Republican  primary.

The official number of signatures needed to qualify for the 2026 ballot will not be released until next March. But in 2024, it took the signatures of 668 qualified Republican or Independent voters to gain ballot status. This is the third highest signature requirement in Arizona for a legislative seat—just slightly behind two large legislative Districts in Maricopa County.  Given the turnout in the 2024 election, that number is likely to increase to around 680 for the 2026  election. To insulate themselves against the risk of disqualified signatures, candidates typically collect a cushion of 20-30% more than the legal minimum. By announcing his challenge early in the election cycle, Tucciarone is making it more difficult for the incumbents to find supporters willing to sign their petitions.

According to the Secretary of State’s website, all three LD1 incumbents—Sen Mark Finchem and Reps Bliss and Nguyen have filed for reelection.  Mr. Tucciarone is the first challenger to step forward in the 2026 Republican primary. It is not yet known if Shawn Dell Wildman, who mounted a surprisingly strong challenge to LD1 House incumbents in 2024 will run again. But she has been spotted at recent Republican events, including Sen. Finchem’s monthly Town Halls in Prescott.

In a recent phone interview with Prescott eNews, Mr. Tucciarone mentioned Wildman’s 2024 challenge as a factor in his decision to run. “Neither of the two incumbents are real conservatives”,  he stated. “They tell constituents they’re conservatives, but neither of them—and they’ve been in office for two and three terms–have been accepted by the Freedom Caucus—their conservative colleagues in the Arizona legislature–as the genuine article.”  According to Mr. Tucciarone, “Rep Nguyen, in particular, has the reputation of not being a MAGA Republican. He opposes President  Trump, especially on immigration. Maybe that’s because Nguyen is an immigrant and is looking out for other immigrants.”

Tucciarone pointed out that in 2024, Shawn Dell Wildman filed late and the Clean Elections Commission stalled the release of her campaign funding until late in the election. “Even with those headwinds, she got fourteen thousand votes. That tells me a lot of conservative voters are fed up with the lackluster representation we’ve got right now and want change”, Tucciarone  explained.

Mr. Tucciarone will be making his first campaign appearance in Prescott at an event for Senator Mark Finchem this Friday, July 25^th, from 6pm to 7:30pm  at Founding Fathers. Sen. Finchem has confirmed that he will allow candidate Matthew Tucciarone an opportunity to introduce himself  “along with Shawn Dell or anyone else who  plans to run.”

As of this date,  Sen. Finchem is unopposed in the 2026  Republican primary. But candidates still have to run campaigns, meet with constituents and  educate voters about their positions on the issues. They still have to raise money.  Sen. Finchem describes his event at Founding Fathers  as  a campaign  Meet ‘n Greet, free to the public  and open to all.