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Age: 58

Occupation: Self-employed consultant

Family: Single

Religion: Episcopalian

Income: $24,000

Education: M.A., Colorado College, 1971; M.Ed., University of Arizona, 1977

Political experience: Arizona House of Representatives, 2001-present

What is the biggest issue facing your district?

Hershberger: Public education is No. 1 with the citizens of District 26.

Melvin: Border control to save the taxpayers of Arizona the $2 billion a year that related costs are draining us. Border control will also cut down on crime by cutting down on illegal drugs and criminals entering the state. It will also help protect private and public property.

Should taxes be cut or kept at current or higher levels to avoid cutting government programs?

Hershberger: I do not want to raise taxes, but it doesn't make sense to cut taxes when we are borrowing $500 million for new school construction. It is not fiscally responsible to borrow money to give tax cuts. If the economy doesn't improve, we will go back and cut more spending.

Melvin: Lower taxes generate greater economic activity, which in turn generates more tax revenue for the government. JFK, Ronald Reagan and the current president have proven that this concept works. In line with this, we need to cut back on wasteful spending.

What would you do to improve Arizona's schools?

Hershberger: Lower class sizes K-3 and replace the AIMS test with another test (as required by No Child Left Behind) that is not a high-stakes test but better measures student and school progress and gives schools and parents information about where the student is strong and where the student is weak, so that we can focus on student learning.

Melvin: We need to work to have a world-class K-12 education system in Arizona. To do this, we need to increase competition through maximum parental school choice. Every family, regardless of income, should be able to send their children to the schools of their choice. This will also greatly help in ending the cycle of poverty. In Arizona, only 60 cents of each educational dollar gets to the classroom, students and teachers. We need to increase this to 75 to 80 cents of each education dollar.

What should the state's role be when it comes to controlling immigration and mitigating its effects?

Hershberger: We have passed the toughest employer-sanctions bill in the country and have gone back and clarified protections for businesses that do not intentionally and knowingly hire illegals. We now need a guest-worker program, because we have jobs unfilled in Arizona that will seriously harm our economic recovery if we don't get workers legally authorized to do this work.

Melvin: We need to enforce all existing laws in Arizona, including Proposition 200 that passed in 2004 requiring photo ID to register to vote, to vote and to get social services from the state. The employer-sanction law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2008, is having its intended effect in that illegal aliens are leaving the state. We also need a guest-worker program so workers can come here on air-conditioned buses and not die in the desert.

Should the state expand government services to help those who lack health care?

Hershberger: With the current deficits, we cannot look to expanding government-funded health care. We need to get our economy back on track before anything else.

Melvin: We need tort reform, like Texas just passed, to protect our doctors from frivolous lawsuits. Citizens in Arizona should be encouraged to invest in health savings accounts and should be allowed to buy competitive health insurance in any state in the union.

Do you believe marriage is only between a man and a woman?

Hershberger: Yes.

Melvin: Absolutely.

What should be done at the state level to address environmental concerns?

Hershberger: We need proper emissions standards, state trust land reform, and a water and energy policy with a vision for the future and policy that is market-driven.

Melvin: We need to continue environmental conservation. We need to promote solar, wind and thermal energy. We need to become the first state in the union to build a nuclear power plant in over 30 years. Nothing burns cleaner than nuclear. Nuclear power plants also provide good jobs and generate a large amount of taxes. The nuclear power plant (outside) Phoenix employs 2,500 people, and it is the largest taxpayer in Arizona. We also need to look at desalination for our water needs.

Age: 63

Occupation: College teacher (University of Arizona; University of Phoenix; Western International University)

Family: Married, no children

Religion: Roman Catholic

Income: $50,000

Education: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. (B.S. degree); Thunderbird-AGSIM, Glendale (M.B.A.); U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I. (diploma)

Political experience: Republican precinct committeeman; Republican nominee for this seat in 2006, lost to Democrat Charlene Pesquiera