Jennifer Pawlik
2023 - Present
2025
1
Jennifer Pawlik (Democratic Party) is a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing District 13. She assumed office on January 9, 2023. Her current term ends on January 13, 2025.
Pawlik (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Arizona House of Representatives to represent District 13. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Pawlik completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jennifer Pawlik earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1996 and a master's degree in education in curriculum and instruction in 2010 from Northern Arizona University. Her professional experience includes working as a public school teacher and executive trainer. Her organizational affiliations include Yes for Chandler Students! Override Committee, Emerge Arizona, and the Legislative District 17 Democrats.[1][2]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Pawlik was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Pawlik was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Pawlik was assigned to the following committees:
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
2024
Jennifer Pawlik did not file to run for re-election.
2022
See also: Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 13 (2 seats)
Incumbent Jennifer Pawlik and Liz Harris defeated Julie Willoughby in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 13 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jennifer Pawlik (D)  | 35.1 | 47,166 |
| ✔ |  | Liz Harris (R) | 32.6 | 43,829 |
 | Julie Willoughby (R) | 32.4 | 43,559 | |
| Total votes: 134,554 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 13 (2 seats)
Incumbent Jennifer Pawlik advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 13 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Pawlik | 100.0 | 19,217 |
| Total votes: 19,217 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 13 (2 seats)
Liz Harris and Julie Willoughby defeated Ron Hardin, Joshua Askey, and Don Maes in the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 13 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liz Harris | 31.2 | 14,198 |
| ✔ | | Julie Willoughby | 23.6 | 10,705 |
 | Ron Hardin | 17.5 | 7,952 | |
 | Joshua Askey | 14.0 | 6,339 | |
 | Don Maes | 13.7 | 6,244 | |
| Total votes: 45,438 | |||
| = 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
2020
See also: Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)
Incumbent Jennifer Pawlik and incumbent Jeff Weninger defeated Liz Harris in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Pawlik (D) | 33.8 | 65,172 |
| ✔ |  | Jeff Weninger (R) | 33.4 | 64,501 |
| Liz Harris (R) | 32.8 | 63,409 | |
| Total votes: 193,082 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)
Incumbent Jennifer Pawlik advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Pawlik | 100.0 | 23,575 |
| Total votes: 23,575 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)
Incumbent Jeff Weninger and Liz Harris advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Weninger | 54.3 | 23,164 |
| ✔ | | Liz Harris | 45.7 | 19,480 |
| Total votes: 42,644 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nora Ellen (R)
Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)
Jennifer Pawlik and incumbent Jeff Weninger defeated Nora Ellen in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Pawlik (D) | 34.3 | 46,874 |
| ✔ | | Jeff Weninger (R) | 34.0 | 46,520 |
 | Nora Ellen (R) | 31.7 | 43,437 | |
| Total votes: 136,831 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)
Jennifer Pawlik advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Pawlik | 100.0 | 15,757 |
| Total votes: 15,757 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)
Incumbent Jeff Weninger and Nora Ellen defeated Julie Willoughby in the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 17 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Weninger | 44.7 | 17,488 |
| ✔ | | Nora Ellen | 35.3 | 13,800 |
| Julie Willoughby | 20.0 | 7,808 | |
| Total votes: 39,096 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Arizona House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.[3]
Incumbent Jeff Weninger and incumbent J.D. Mesnard defeated Jennifer Pawlik in the Arizona House of Representatives District 17 general election.[4][5]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jeff Weninger Incumbent |
35.86% | 51,712 | |
| Republican | J.D. Mesnard Incumbent |
33.55% | 48,384 | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Pawlik | 30.60% | 44,128 | |
| Total Votes | 144,224 | |||
| Source: Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
Jennifer Pawlik ran unopposed in the Arizona House of Representatives District 17 Democratic Primary.[6]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Pawlik (unopposed) | |
Incumbent J.D. Mesnard and incumbent Jeff Weninger were unopposed in the Arizona House of Representatives District 17 Republican Primary.[7]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | J.D. Mesnard Incumbent | |
| Republican | Jeff Weninger Incumbent | |
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer Pawlik completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pawlik'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 was born and raised in Arizona; the eldest of three. I attended public schools from kindergarten through graduate school. From the time I was six years old, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I loved everything about school.
I taught seventeen years in grades K-6 before running for office. Now, I teach part-time for one of the state universities in the teacher prep program and I facilitate practicum for pre-service teachers.
- When I was first elected in 2018, I was the first woman and the first Democrat to ever represent the district at the state legislature. At the time, we were the only district with one Representative from each party. When I speak with voters at the doors, they want their elected officials to work together to get things done. This session (2022), I helped to negotiate a biaprtisan budget.
- Education is the key to future success. It is important to have trained professionals as our educators, and if we wish to retain (and recruit) them, we must pay them appropriately for their level of education and their years of experience. It is critical to elect leaders who have experience in the field of education, and those who are willing to meet with educators currently in the field. I make it a priority to visit schools in my district each year.
- I show up. I have excellent attendance at the legislature. I attend local community events as often as my schedule allows. By doing so, I have made many connections with people and organization that serve the local community and the State of Arizona. If I have questions on a bill-or how a bill would impact our community-I can contact experts in the field for their insight.
Truly, my passion is education. I left the classroom in 2016 to run for the state legislature because I felt like the voices of teachers weren't being acknowledged, and people with no background in education were making decisions that impacted Arizona's students. I have served on the House Education Committee for two terms, and I was the Ranking Member the past two years. The historic, bipartisan budget passed in 2022 will should make a positive impact on our classrooms, but there is still much work to be done.
It is so important that we work thoughtfully, and transparently, on water policy with water stakeholders at the table. Water will sustain future generations in our desert climate IF we use it and conserve it wisely. In 2022, we passed a new water plan with broad bipartisan support. Our work on this topic will continue for many years.
The right to vote is near and dear to so many people. The process of registering to vote and casting a vote should be a simple task. Our elections must be secure, but we must base decisions regarding elections on fact rather than conspiracy. We need to listen to the experts-the elections officials-when deciding if a major change is warranted and/or reasonable.
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.
2020
Jennifer Pawlik did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
As a legislator Jennifer will fight to properly fund Arizona's public schools and will be a fierce advocate for Arizona’s teachers, students and parents. She supports full-day kindergarten, funding career and technical programs, and making college affordable, all things to build a well-prepared workforce to attract and retain businesses to Arizona and boost the economy. She supports equal rights and non-discrimination acts that protect diverse communities. Jennifer believes in transparency in elections, and that corporations or other entities should not be able to influence elections with their secretive contributions. Jennifer’s passionate support for public schools led her to run for the state house for the first time in 2016. She lost that race to the sitting Speaker of the House by only 2.5%. Is there anything you would like to add? Jennifer is a native Arizonan who’s served for 17 years as an educator in public elementary schools. When not engaged in education and community activities, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband of twenty-two years, Jason Pawlik, and her college-aged twin daughters. The family has lived in Chandler for ten years.[8] |
” |
| —Jennifer Pawlik[1] | ||
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 Arizona scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 9 to July 31.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 10 to June 25.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 11 to June 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 13 to May 26.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 28.
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See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Arizona House of Representatives District 13 |
Officeholder Arizona House of Representatives District 13 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form October 10, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 4, 2022
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events," accessed January 11, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "General election ," accessed September 9, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed November 11, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 Election Information - Primary Candidate List," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 Election Information - Primary Candidate List," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Arizona House of Representatives District 13 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Arizona House of Representatives District 17 2019-2023 |
Succeeded by Rachel Jones (R) |
