Brian Fernandez

Brian Fernandez

Democratic Party

Candidate, Arizona State Senate District 23

Arizona State Senate District 23

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

3

Predecessor: Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R)

Prior offices

Arizona House of Representatives District 4

Years in office: 2021 - 2023

Predecessor: Charlene Fernandez (D)

Compensation

Base salary

$24,000

Per diem

Maricopa County residents: $35/day; outside Maricopa County: $269.33/day.

Elections and appointments

Last election

July 21, 2026

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Yuma High School

Bachelor's

Arizona State University

Personal

Birthplace

Yuma, AZ

Profession

Software engineering

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

Campaign TikTok

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Brian Fernandez (Democratic Party) is a member of the Arizona State Senate, representing District 23. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Fernandez (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Arizona State Senate to represent District 23. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Democratic primary on July 21, 2026.

Biography

Brian Fernandez was born in Yuma, Arizona. He earned a high school diploma from Yuma High School and went on to earn a B.A. in broadcasting and communication from Arizona State University. His career experience includes working in software engineering, as a small business owner, as a technology entrepreneur, as a technology director with the United States Senate, as a technology advisor to the Congressional Black Caucus, as a project management coordinator with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and as a technology consultant with BakerHostetler in Washington, D.C. Fernandez founded Neuronic Games, Symfodium, and Team State.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Fernandez was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Finance Committee
• Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency Committee

2023-2024

Fernandez was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Finance Committee
• Natural Resources Committee
• Joint Legislative Budget Committee

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Arizona State Senate District 23

Incumbent Brian Fernandez (D) and Michelle Altherr (R) are running in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 23 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Brian Fernandez (D)
	Submit photo	Michelle Altherr (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23

Incumbent Brian Fernandez (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Fernandez	100.0	12,215

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source	Total votes: 12,215
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23

Michelle Altherr (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Altherr	100.0	8,442

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source	Total votes: 8,442
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Arizona State Senate District 23

Incumbent Brian Fernandez defeated Michelle Altherr in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 23 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Fernandez (D)	53.8	42,658
	Submit photo	Michelle Altherr (R)	46.2	36,602

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 79,260
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23

Incumbent Brian Fernandez defeated Jesus Lugo Jr. in the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Fernandez	60.3	6,943
		Jesus Lugo Jr.	39.7	4,562

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,505
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23

Michelle Altherr advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Altherr	100.0	9,657

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,657
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements or voter guide recommendations for Fernandez in this election.

2022

State Senate

See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Arizona State Senate District 23

Brian Fernandez defeated Gary Garcia Snyder in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 23 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Fernandez (D)	53.7	29,175
		Gary Garcia Snyder (R)	46.3	25,194

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,369
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23

Brian Fernandez advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Fernandez	100.0	13,365

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,365
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23

Gary Garcia Snyder advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary Garcia Snyder	100.0	10,752

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,752
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

State House

See also: Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2022

Brian Fernandez did not file to run for re-election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brian Fernandez has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.If you are Brian Fernandez, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

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You can ask Brian Fernandez to fill out this survey by using the button below.

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brian Fernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fernandez's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Brian Fernandez is an Arizona native elected to represent Legislative District 23 in the Arizona State Senate. Legislative District 23 covers most of Arizona’s border with Mexico and is a major international logistics throughway with a robust agricultural industry.

Before being elected to the State Senate Brian Fernandez served as State Representative, where he secured millions of dollars for rural infrastructure projects to include: 20 million to expand Jack Rabbit Trail in the West Valley, and 34 million to build and improve Cesar Chavez Blvd in San Luis AZ. He also funded education voting for the historic 1-billion-dollar education budget and secured over 5 million dollars for rural undergraduate programs.

Prior to serving as an elected official Brian Fernandez was involved politically, assisting various campaigns including former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, former Congressman Ed Pastor and Congressman Ruben Gallego. He also worked for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Technology Director for the Congressional Black Caucus.   

Brian Fernandez is a small business owner and tech entrepreneur. He co-founded Symphosium a tech company that created a CRM software for members of Congress. He is also the Founder and CEO of Team Smart, an Arizona based software startup doing business globally.

Brian Fernandez has spent his career creating solutions for complex problems and is proud to bring that experience to the Arizona State Senate.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Support Education:

  Pay public schools teachers and support staff competitive, living wages.

  Increase funding for vocational training and rural community colleges.

  Train our students for 21st century careers and keep Arizona’s economy growing strong through innovative, public-private partnerships with our local universities.
• Improve Water and Infrastructure: Invest in safe, reliable roads and bridges to meet the needs of our farmers, ranchers, local businesses and families. Ensure Arizonans have a 100-year water plan by finding new sources and leveraging smart water conservation and recycling solutions. Bring broadband and cellular service to underserved rural communities.
• Support The Economy: Lower the cost of housing by preventing out-of-state investment firms from taking thousands of properties off the market, so families can afford to buy their own homes. Offer gasoline rebates to working families to combat price gouging at the fuel pump and provide drivers with lower cost, cleaner fuel options in the future.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Healthcare, Education, the Economy, and the Environment

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My grandparents, they immigrated to Arizona with no more than sixth-grade educations, but they worked hard to give my mom, and me, the opportunity to graduate from college.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Addressing the state's budget deficit and investing in water conservation and infrastructure

What committees interest you?

During the 2024 legislative session, I served on the Finance and Commerce, Natural Resources, Energy and Water, and Appropriations committees

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brian Fernandez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Brian Fernandez campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Arizona State Senate District 23	Won general	$126,707	$60,234
2022	Arizona State Senate District 23	Won general	$143,125	$106,069
Grand total			$269,833	$166,303
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in Arizona

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

• 2025
• 2024
• 2023
• 2022

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arizona State Legislature in 2025.

• Arizona Republican Assembly — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to limited government, individual liberties, and fiscal responsibility.
• Christian Employers Alliance — Legislators are scored on "how consistently their votes support limited government" and "whether their decisions protect or restrict freedom in the marketplace."
• Humane Voters of Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on animal issues.
• Progress Arizona — Legislators are scored on their votes on the association's policy platform.
• Secular Coalition for Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on secular policy.
• The Arizona Center for Economic Progress — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic policy.
• The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arizona State Legislature in 2024.

• Americans for Prosperity - Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues.
• Center for Arizona Policy Action — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
• Children's Action Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
• Club for Growth Foundation — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
• Humane Voters of Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on animal issues.
• National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
• Secular Coalition for Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on secular policy.
• Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
• The Arizona Center for Economic Progress — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic policy.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arizona State Legislature in 2023.

• Arizona Free Enterprise Club — Legislators are scored on their votes on the association's policy platform.
• Center for Arizona Policy Action — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
• Children's Action Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
• Club for Growth Foundation — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
• Humane Voters of Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on animal issues.
• Progress Arizona — Legislators are scored on their votes on the association's policy platform.
• Secular Coalition for Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on secular policy.
• Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
• The Arizona Center for Economic Progress — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic policy.
• The Institute for Legislative Analysis — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arizona State Legislature in 2022.

• Arizona Free Enterprise Club — Legislators are scored on their votes on the association's policy platform.
• Center for Arizona Policy Action — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
• Children's Action Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
• Club for Growth Foundation — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
• Humane Voters of Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on animal issues.
• National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
• Progress Arizona — Legislators are scored on their votes on the association's policy platform.
• Secular Coalition for Arizona — Legislators are scored on their stances on secular policy.
• Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
• The Arizona Center for Economic Progress — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic policy.

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot? Arizona U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. CongressState executivesState legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal governmentList of school districts in Arizona

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Candidate

Arizona State Senate District 23

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Officeholder

Arizona State Senate District 23

Website

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R)	Arizona State Senate District 23 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Charlene Fernandez (D)	Arizona House of Representatives District 4 2021-2023	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Arizona State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Warren Petersen

Majority Leader:John Kavanagh

Minority Leader:Priya Sundareshan

Senators

District 1

Mark Finchem (R)

District 2

Shawnna Bolick (R)

District 3

John Kavanagh (R)

District 4

Carine Werner (R)

District 5

Lela Alston (D)

District 6

Theresa Hatathlie (D)

District 7

Wendy Rogers (R)

District 8

Lauren Kuby (D)

District 9

Kiana Sears (D)

District 10

David Farnsworth (R)

District 11

Catherine Miranda (D)

District 12

Denise Epstein (D)

District 13

Javan Mesnard (R)

District 14

Warren Petersen (R)

District 15

Jake Hoffman (R)

District 16

Thomas Shope (R)

District 17

Vince Leach (R)

District 18

Priya Sundareshan (D)

District 19

David Gowan (R)

District 20

Sally Gonzales (D)

District 21

Rosanna Gabaldón (D)

District 22

Eva Diaz (D)

District 23

Brian Fernandez (D)

District 24

Analise Ortiz (D)

District 25

Tim Dunn (R)

District 26

Flavio Bravo (D)

District 27

Kevin Payne (R)

District 28

Frank Carroll (R)

District 29

Janae Shamp (R)

District 30

Hildy Angius (R)

Republican Party (17)

Democratic Party (13)

Capital: Phoenix

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