Brian Fernandez
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 declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on July 21, 2026.[source]
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.[1][2]
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 primary will occur on July 21, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23
Incumbent Brian Fernandez (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on July 21, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Brian Fernandez | |
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23
Michelle Altherr (R) is running in the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 23 on July 21, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Michelle Altherr | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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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 |
| Michelle Altherr (R) | 46.2 | 36,602 | ||
| 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. | ||||
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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 | |
| 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. | ||||
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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 | ||
| ✔ | Michelle Altherr | 100.0 | 9,657 | |
| 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. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements 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 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||
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Campaign finance
State House
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.
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2024
Brian Fernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fernandez's responses.
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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.- 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.
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
Brian Fernandez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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.
Scorecards
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.
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.
- 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
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Brian Fernandez," accessed January 14, 2023
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 28, 2024
| 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 - |
