The Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl highlights yet another way that Arizona’s legislature is broken:

For 22 candidates, the Nov. 2 election is less a contest and more a waiting game. They either have no challengers or face nominal opposition from third-party candidates who don’t have the funding or the political-party apparatus to wage a competitive campaign.

Most of these heirs apparent are incumbent lawmakers or former legislators seeking a return. And perhaps most tellingly, they come from districts that heavily favor either the Democratic or Republican parties, which reduces the chance of a strong challenge from an opposition party.

“That’s a sign that the lines need to be redrawn to have more competitive districts,” said Rep. Robert Meza, D-Phoenix. He is benefiting from this phenomenon: His is the only name on the ballot for a state Senate seat representing his west-central Phoenix district.

He’ll get his wish next year, when district lines are redrawn after results of the 2010 U.S. census come out. For this fall, the lines remain the same.

[…]

It’s not unusual to see candidates with no opposition in the general election, given the way district lines are drawn. In each of the past two cycles, 15 candidates had a free pass.

But this year’s 22 unchallenged candidates is more than anyone can recall in recent history.

[…]

Read the whole article here.