Remind us if you’ve heard this story before: a Democrat legislator in Arizona leaves their seat, thus providing an opening for someone else to take their place and further upending the caucus. If it sounds common, it’s because it had happened a stunning five times already in this legislative session. Now it’s six, as Representative Marcelino Quinonez announced his resignation … Read More
Can Arizona Republicans Please Stopping Sabotaging Themselves?
By Ronald Sampson All of the stars are aligning for the Republicans this year, especially in Arizona. The border is a major national issue, almost entirely because of failures by Democrats. The very top of the ticket is a Democrat President with a 33% approval rating and is running for re-election at the ripe young age of 81. This should … Read More
A Political Rising Star Crashes and Burns: Jevin Hodge as a Cautionary Tale
As the saying goes, the faster the rise the bigger the fall. And while the rise of Jevin Hodge as an Arizonan political figure wasn’t necessarily fast in the political sense, he is a 30-year old who managed to get the attention of much of the local Democratic establishment by a young age. Now the attention he has is of … Read More
Massive Upheaval in the Arizona Legislature: A String of Resignations Will Transform Dem Caucus
In a time of the year when the headlines coming out of the legislature typically revolve around bills being proposed, this year’s headlines (in the less-read political publications at least) are often around who is leaving the legislature. Between running for higher office, being kicked out, and simply being done with the legislature, there has been (and will be) quite … Read More
Governor Hobbs Calling for Charges Against Trump? A Cautionary Tale
When it comes to the first year for Governor Katie Hobbs, it has been somewhat turbulent. It began with numerous missteps but seems to have course-corrected after the hiring of her new Chief of Staff (you can get up to date here). That said, recent actions have shown that unforced errors may be nearly impossible to avoid without keeping her … Read More
A Gigantic Post-Scandal Shake-Up at the Maricopa County Democratic Party: Executive Director and Chair are Out, New Regime Is In. What Does It Mean?
What a few weeks it has been since we lifted the curtain on major financial improprieties at the Maricopa County Democratic Party (read our analyses here). Within the first five days 7,600 of you read our most recent story which ended in our call for both its Executive Director Ne’Lexia Galloway and its Chair Nancy Schriber to resign. That article … Read More
More Drama at the Maricopa County Democratic Party: Apparent Fraud and an Alleged Cover-Up
Things have been quite messy for the Maricopa County Democratic Party over the last year or so; one might call it the Bruce Franks Jr. Effect. We recommend getting up to date in our write-ups here and here. But recently after some more internal consternation and party disagreements we found out just how bad things were (and presumably still are) … Read More
A Marathon at the Legislature: This Arizona Legislative Session is Now the Longest Session in History
For those who have spent time at the Arizona legislature, you’re probably aware that “sine die”, the official close of the legislative session, is a day that is highly looked forward to by most legislators and staffers. It’s the day that they can go back home, return back to their side jobs, or just generally not have to deal with … Read More
The Current Culture Wars Come to Arizona Again: Why Both Sides are Wrong
By Alexander Lomax What do you consider to be an important quality in an elected official? Perhaps their ability to compromise and get deals done, perhaps their approach on fiscal matters and spending. Maybe it’s a major social issue with significant ramifications for you and your loved ones, such as abortion. Before this past election, nearly no one would have … Read More
Infighting Amongst the Arizona Dems: Fractures Show Between Gov. Hobbs and Her Caucus
Arizona Democrats have had to relearn what power means considering how long they had been relegated to an afterthought in Arizona politics. Since they are in a one vote minority in both the state House of Representatives and state Senate, the most powerful tool in Hobbs’s arsenal has been her veto pen, as we have covered here. One would assume … Read More