Tucson native Nick Mansour has become the first candidate in the Arizona state treasurer's race to submit nominating petition signatures, turning in more than 10,000 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State gathered from all 15 Arizona counties.

Mansour, a Democrat and third-generation Arizonan, entered the race last June promising to bring transparency and accountability to the office, with a particular focus on modernizing how the state manages its $31 billion in assets — including an $8.7 billion education endowment fund.

A Salpointe Catholic High School graduate, he went on to earn degrees in industrial engineering and an MBA from Stanford before building a career spanning finance, life safety services and education.

The treasurer's race is open, with incumbent Kimberly Yee term-limited. The only other candidate in the race so far is Republican Elijah Norton, a former Arizona Republican Party treasurer and business owner who unsuccessfully challenged Congressman David Schweikert in 2022.

The filing comes amid scrutiny of the current treasurer's office. A 12News investigation found that ESA homeschool reimbursements included purchases of diamond rings, lingerie and luxury appliances with taxpayer dollars. The Treasurer's Office, which co-manages the ESA program with the Department of Education, also delayed or refused public records requests on total ESA spending for nearly a year, according to the report.

"We set out to build a truly statewide campaign," Mansour said in a statement. "Arizonans are ready for a Treasurer who will be a fiscal transparency hawk, a proactive but responsible investor, and a leader who will prioritize investing in education without raising taxes."

Mansour previously served as chairman and CEO of the Arizona College of Nursing, growing the institution from a single campus to more than 20 campuses across 14 states.

His campaign raised more than $663,000 in 2025.

Caitlin Schmidt is Editor and Publisher of Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at caitlin@tucsonspotlight.org.

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