With Arizona’s redistricting lines drawn and now headed to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval, congressional candidates are beginning to adjust and declare themselves for office.

The declarations from most of Arizona’s state legislative candidates, however, have yet to be heard.

Candidates for public office have until Wednesday, May 30, to file petitions with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office. Some may file financial disclosure forms or forms establishing their candidate committees before then, but for the next few months until the formal filing deadline, it’s all just rumor, said Matthew Roberts, director of communications for the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission gave its final approval Tuesday, Jan. 17, to new congressional and legislative maps redrawn based on data from the 2010 Census.

Each of the state’s 30 legislative districts sends one senator and two representatives to the Arizona State Legislature. Some incumbent candidates have been shifted into new districts and may decide whether to run in the new alignment, move to their old districts or decline to run.

One such candidate is Arizona State Sen. Lori Klein, a first-term Republican who represents old District 6, centered around Anthem and New River. With the new alignment, she lives in District 1, which covers all of Yavapai County, except for the Verde Valley, which is now in new District 6. If she chose to run in District 1, she would likely face two longtime Republican incumbents.

She has not announced whether she’ll run in new District 1, but she did file financial paperwork for old District 6 before the new maps were approved by the redistricting commission.

With the new alignment, Verde Valley’s shift from old District 1 to new District 6 means residents lose connections to two of the most important legislators in the state. Steve Pierce [R-District 1] is president-elect of the Arizona State Senate and a resident of Prescott.

The only candidate who has as yet filed financial paperwork to challenge Pierce is Tom Rawles, who served on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors as a Republican, lost a state legislative run as a Libertarian and who has registered his 2012 committee as independent.

The Verde Valley also loses ties with Speaker of the House and District 1 Rep. Andy Tobin, a Republican from Paulden, north of Chino Valley. Tobin has filed financial paperwork to run for re-election.

Old District 1’s third legislator, Arizona Rep. Karen Fann [R], is from Prescott, meaning she also will likely not represent the Verde Valley if she chooses to run for re-election.

In new District 6, the only candidate who has filed financial disclosure forms is Arizona Rep. Tom Chabin, a Flagstaff Democrat who has served in old District 2 since 2006. If Chabin seeks to retain his seat in the House, the 2012-2014 session would be his last under Arizona’s term limits.

The other District 2 legislators are both members of the Navajo Nation — Arizona Rep. Albert Hale [D] is from St. Michaels and Arizona Sen. Jack Jackson Jr. [D] is from Window Rock — and would likely run for the new District 7 if they seek re-election.

The 2010 Census gave Arizona an additional seat in the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives. Four districts are dominated by Republicans, two are dominated by Democrats and three districts are considered a statistical toss-up between the two parties.

Unaffected by redistricting but also up for grabs this year is the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Republican Minority Whip Jon Kyl.

The seat is sought by two Democrats: attorney and former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens and former Surgeon General of the United States Richard Carmona; five Republicans: businessmen Wil Cardon and Doug McKee, U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake [R-District 6], former Youngtown mayor Bryan Hackbarth and conservative radio talk show host Clair Van Steenwyk; and one independent candidate: management consultant Ian Gilyeat.