According to this Arizona news story, 136 candidates for state office are trying to qualify for public funding this year. By contrast, in 2008 at this time, only 99 candidates had indicated an interest in trying to qualify.

Arizona, Connecticut, and Maine are the only three states that have public funding for candidates for all state offices. The Arizona public funding program has been in jeopardy recently. A lawsuit was filed in 2008 against the part of the program that gives extra public funding to certain candidates, and a U.S. District Court ruled that the extra public funding part of the law is unconstitutional, and said that part could not be severed from the remainder of the program. The 9th circuit is hearing the state’s appeal. Also, in 2010, the State Senate passed a bill asking the voters if they want to stop funding for the program, but that bill did not pass the House.