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Rachel Walden
2023 - Present
2026
2
2025 - Present
2029
0
Rachel Walden (Republican Party) is a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission. She assumed office on January 6, 2025. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Walden is also an at-large member of the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board in Arizona. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Walden (Republican Party) ran for election to the Arizona Corporation Commission. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Walden completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rachel Walden lives in Mesa, Arizona. Walden earned a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University. Her career experience includes working as an account manager with The Vanguard Group.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Arizona Corporation Commission election, 2024
General election
General election for Arizona Corporation Commission (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Arizona Corporation Commission on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rachel Walden (R)  | 17.9 | 1,525,622 |
| ✔ |  | Rene Lopez (R) | 17.4 | 1,481,992 |
| ✔ |  | Lea Marquez Peterson (R) | 16.9 | 1,440,681 |
 | Ylenia Aguilar (D) | 15.7 | 1,336,868 | |
 | Jonathon Hill (D) | 15.3 | 1,301,904 | |
 | Joshua Polacheck (D) | 14.4 | 1,230,440 | |
 | Nina Luxenberg (G) | 1.3 | 110,486 | |
 | Mike Cease (G) | 1.2 | 101,473 | |
 | Frank Bertone (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 144 | |
| Total votes: 8,529,610 | |||
| = 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 Corporation Commission (3 seats)
Ylenia Aguilar, Jonathon Hill, and Joshua Polacheck advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ylenia Aguilar | 35.9 | 414,130 |
| ✔ | | Jonathon Hill | 32.8 | 378,014 |
| ✔ | | Joshua Polacheck | 31.3 | 360,835 |
| Total votes: 1,152,979 | |||
| = 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 Corporation Commission (3 seats)
Rachel Walden, Rene Lopez, and incumbent Lea Marquez Peterson advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rachel Walden | 36.8 | 512,104 |
| ✔ | | Rene Lopez | 32.4 | 450,479 |
| ✔ | | Lea Marquez Peterson | 30.9 | 429,820 |
| Total votes: 1,392,403 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Christy Kelly (R)
Green primary election
Green primary for Arizona Corporation Commission (3 seats)
Mike Cease and Nina Luxenberg advanced from the Green primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Cease (Write-in) | 50.4 | 179 |
| ✔ | | Nina Luxenberg (Write-in) | 49.6 | 176 |
| Total votes: 355 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Walden's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Walden in this election.
2022
See also: Mesa Public Schools, Arizona, elections (2022)
General election
General election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large (2 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Marcie Hutchinson (Nonpartisan) | 24.0 | 51,623 |
| ✔ | | Rachel Walden (Nonpartisan) | 22.0 | 47,439 |
 | Jacob Martinez (Nonpartisan) | 15.7 | 33,881 | |
 | Ed Steele (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 31,837 | |
| JR Wright (Nonpartisan) | 9.0 | 19,481 | ||
| Chris Hamlet (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 16,997 | ||
| Ray Deer (Nonpartisan) | 6.4 | 13,685 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 541 | ||
| Total votes: 215,484 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rachel Walden completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Walden's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I am running to keep Arizona affordable and a great place to live now and for future generations. The Commission exists under the Arizona Constitution to protect the rate payer and ensure we only pay a just and reasonable rate. Their responsibility is to maintain a safe and reliable grid using the least cost of generation. The Commission is supposed to regulate, not legislate. The Commission is not a fourth branch of government and should not mandate policy, but allow the above factors to guide the rate cases.
- We need to eliminate subsidies from the rates. As rate cases come to the Commission, we have the opportunity to add amendments to the case to repeal subsidies. Subsidies socialize the costs of special interests among all the customers. All customers end up paying more so other customers can get a benefit. Everyone should pay their fair share of what they use.
- Arizona is one of the slowest states for rate case processing. The cost of this regulatory lag gets passed to the rate payer. We must work to improve efficiency in our processes which will save both the rate payers and utilities money. The businesses and communities within our state rely on the Commission to ensure a stable regulatory environment to keep up with the need for well distributed and reliable resources.
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 website
Walden’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Put Arizonans First The Commissioners regulate providers of electricity, water, gas and approve the rates the consumers pay. The Commissioners also enforce the securities marketplace to protect consumers from fraudulent investments. We need to work to create an efficient and effective organization that is responsive to our communities and businesses within our state. Arizona is one of the slowest states for rate case processing. The average time is 18 months while the national average is 9 months. The cost of this regulatory lag gets passed on to the rate payer. When we improve efficiency we save rate payers money.
The Corporation Commission is supposed to regulate, not legislate. Forced climate goals and forced energy investments onto utility providers put the rate payer last and thwarts free market principles. The government should not pick winners and losers in the marketplace. The Commission exists to protect the rate payer. They have a statutory responsibility to maintain a safe and reliable grid at affordable rates, using the lest cost for the rate payer while balancing out reliable generation.
Resource Adequacy, the ability of the electric grid to meet power demands, is a topic of importance for the future as the state population continues to grow. Arizona needs to continue a mixed portfolio of energy options to allow predictable, abundant, and well distributed resources across our state. An "all of the above" approach to energy has proven to be cost effective and reliable. Like investing, you don't put "all your eggs in one basket." Having multiple kinds of energy products help against market conditions when energy pricing and reliability fluctuates.
Government interference drives up the cost of energy. The only factors that should be used in energy generation are cost, reliability, and grid integrity. The utility companies have the resources to make decisions to help keep their costs down and run their businesses effectively, while the commission determines whether or not to approve reimbursement of expenditures ensuring they are just and reasonable according to the Arizona Constitution. [2] |
” |
| —Rachel Walden’s campaign website (2024)[1] | ||
2022
Rachel Walden 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.
See also
| Arizona | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
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Candidate Arizona Corporation Commission |
Officeholder Arizona Corporation Commission |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rachel Walden for Corporate Commission, "Home," accessed June 21, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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