Bob Karp
Candidate for Arizona State Senate – District 19
Arizona · Legislative District 19
Bob Karp won the primary and is the party's nominee for the general election. Won the July 21, 2026 Democratic primary as a write-in candidate with 2,145 votes. Faces Republican Gail Griffin in the November 3, 2026 general election.
Source: azsos.gov · Last verified: October 23, 2026
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Biography
Bob Karp is the Democratic nominee for the Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 19. A Sierra Vista resident who has lived in Cochise County since 2005, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA in 1971. He owned an aerospace machine shop in Los Angeles and later a software development company in Carlsbad, California, and since 2011 has owned Karp Properties, a real estate brokerage in Sierra Vista. He was 2015 president of the Southeast Arizona Association of Realtors and served on the Sierra Vista Planning and Zoning Commission. He previously ran for the Arizona House in 2018 and the state Senate in 2020 and 2024, losing each general election. In a 2024 Ballotpedia survey, he said public schools must be fully funded and the ESA voucher program redesigned, and that the Legislature should codify access to abortion, IVF and contraception. He won the 2026 Democratic primary as a write-in candidate and faces Republican Gail Griffin in the November 3, 2026 general election.
Positions
Issue Stances
Water Policy
SupportsKarp supports legislation to protect groundwater from over-pumping by large-scale industrial agriculture in rural areas.
"Passing legislation that protects groundwater resources from over pumping by large-scale industrial agriculture interests in rural areas."
Education Funding
SupportsIn a 2024 Ballotpedia survey, Karp said Arizona public schools must be fully funded and that the ESA voucher program should be scrapped and redesigned to serve special-needs students, its original purpose.
"Arizona public schools must be fully funded. To do that the ESA Voucher program must be scrapped and redesigned to its original purpose - helping special needs students who cannot get all the services they need from their public school district."
Border Security & Immigration
No official stance on record.
Housing Affordability
No official stance on record.
Election Integrity
No official stance on record.
Healthcare Access
No official stance on record.
Public Safety & Criminal Justice
No official stance on record.
Energy Policy
No official stance on record.
Economic Development & Jobs
No official stance on record.
Reproductive Rights
SupportsKarp has said the Legislature should write unrestricted access to abortion, IVF and contraception into state law.
"The Arizona legislature must codify unrestricted access to abortion, IVF and contraception services."
Transportation & Infrastructure
No official stance on record.
Government Spending & Taxation
SupportsKarp says balancing the state budget requires ending tax breaks for special interests, wealthy individuals and large corporations.
"In order to balance the state budget the legislature needs to stop giving tax breaks to special interests, the wealthy and large corporations."
Legislature
Legislative Voting Record
No voting record on file.
Voting records are only available for candidates who have held legislative office.
Ballot
Ballot Measure Stances
No ballot measure stances on file yet.
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