Keith Lara

Keith Lara

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House Arizona District 9

Elections and appointments

Next election

August 4, 2026

Education

High school

Desert Mountain High School

Associate

Estrella Mountain Community College, 2019

Bachelor's

Northern Arizona University, 2023

Personal

Birthplace

Arizona

Religion

Christian

Profession

Information technology professional

Keith Lara (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 9th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.^[source]

Lara completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Keith Lara was born in Arizona. He graduated from Desert Mountain High School. He earned an associate degree from Estrella Mountain Community College in 2019 and a bachelor's degree from Northern Arizona University in 2023. His career experience includes working as an information technology professional, at the motor vehicle department, as a CDL Examiner, and as a school bus driver.

Elections

2026

See also: Arizona's 9th Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9

Keith Lara, Danielle Sterbinsky, and Camelia Ward are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Keith Lara
		Danielle Sterbinsky
	Submit photo	Camelia Ward

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9

Incumbent Paul Gosar and Teresa Volesky are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Paul Gosar
	Submit photo	Teresa Volesky

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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

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

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Keith Lara completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lara's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I would like to represent the community I live and work in as I am not satisfied with our current representation. This is me doing something about it. I believe my stances on political issues are balanced and agreeable with most of the people in my district, regardless of political party. I live in a rural area, vow to protect 2A rights, am very involved in public education, and I will never represent the interests of large corporations. While I am running as a Democrat, I pledge to dissent from the majority whenever it is warranted. I will not be another career Democrat. I have worked in public education since 2020, driving school buses and in IT. Before that, I worked at the MVD and even became a CDL Examiner. Needless to say, I am not unfamiliar with public service. Not just as a manager in an office, but in front of and interacting with the general public. I am one of us, a community member, present in our everyday lives. It's time our district elects a true man of the people, our people, for its representative.

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?

• Gosar's gotta go. He has been a problem since he was first elected and is just another Trump crony at this time. I want real representation for our district, and if that means I have to run myself, I will. Well, here I am. Even if I don't win, I want Gosar to know that he's in hot water.
• I am passionate about education. For many of us in district 9, our schools are the heart of our communities. I am fortunate that my current employment allows me to travel to so many schools, especially those in this district, and work directly with the communities I wish to represent. I am here for you, and have always been.
• The country is in chaos. Should I win, I will do my part to stabilize it and prevent this sort of lawlessness from happening again. While I am running as a Democrat, I will not always fall in line with the party. I will not accept dark money from billionaires or large corporations. At the heart of my campaign, I want to represent my people, not corporate interest.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My primary passion is in education, of which there is enormous room for improvement. Despite my party, I want to protect the gun rights given to us constitutionally. I live in a rural area, like most people in the district, and am more in tune with our everyday struggles than someone who lives in the city. I would also like to shrink government overreach and maximize everyone's freedom to steer their own lives, free of red tape and regulations as much as possible. I am also a strong supporter and advocate for small business owners, with the knowledge that the deck is stacked against them. I want to fix that.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, conviction, compassion, and devotion.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To represent the people within their district. Not everyone can speak on every bill that gets proposed, so the representative exists to take their voices to those discussions. The representative must have policies aligned with their district, even if they personally disagree with them.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Even if I don't win my campaign, I want to influence politics for the better. Outside of politics, I just want to leave the world a better place than where I found it.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember 9/11 even though I was 6 and in first grade.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at Camp Geronimo, with the boy scouts, over the summers I was in high school. The first year I worked there was in 2009.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes. I think public service is unique in what drives the organizations, not being motivated by profit but in order to best serve the people. Public servitude is not for everyone. Representatives that have prior public service, such as in government or politics, will have a better foundation on what is expected and will already understand their purpose in representing the general public.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Recovering from the damage being done by our current administration, particularly in how it's affecting everyday people.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes. It is just enough time to make realistic changes while also frequent enough to keep the representatives fresh.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Term limits for the House and Senate need to be enacted. There should be no "Career politicians".

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is mandatory. If there was no compromising, we'll have a stalled government or one party doing whatever they want and going unchecked. Even if I agree with the majority, I still want to hear what the minority wishes for and consider their opinions when making decisions.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

I am an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, as well as a Vigil honor in the Order of the Arrow.

What role should the United States government have in the development or use of artificial intelligence?

There are many concerns presently with the capabilities of AI. There definitely needs to be some sort of regulation to prevent its misuse, but I feel like the majority of our current representatives are too old to understand AI enough to properly regulate it.

What legislation would you enact related to election administration in the United States?

I want to make elections safer and more secure, potentially creating a national, nonpartisan standard or program that would help the states facilitate their elections but also police and verify results to create accountability and trustworthiness. Recounts and investigations can be expensive on states, so this would help alleviate that financial pressure while also providing the certainty of the election results.

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.

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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Keith Lara campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Arizona District 9	Candidacy Declared primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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

Government

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External links

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Footnotes

[show]

Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ruben Gallego (D)

Mark Kelly (D)

Representatives

District 1

David Schweikert (R)

District 2

Eli Crane (R)

District 3

Yassamin Ansari (D)

District 4

Greg Stanton (D)

District 5

Andy Biggs (R)

District 6

Juan Ciscomani (R)

District 7

Adelita Grijalva (D)

District 8

Abraham Hamadeh (R)

District 9

Paul Gosar (R)

Republican Party (6)

Democratic Party (5)