Category: The West

Arizona Senate Primary Heats Up: Lake Leads, Lamb Continues to Fight

Christy Kelly
Kari Lake and Mark Lamb

As the primary election day in Arizona approaches, the race to replace outgoing Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Tucson) intensifies. For the Republicans, the contest is between Kari Lake and Sheriff Mark Lamb, with the winner set to face Democrat Reuben Gallego (D-AZ-03). According to the latest poll by Noble Predictive Insights on May 24, Kari Lake leads with 46% support, while Mark Lamb trails at 21%. Additionally, 25% of voters remain unsure, and 9% support other candidates.

Many voters expressed a desire to see the Republicans square off against each other. The sole opportunity to watch the candidates is a virtual debate that was held on May 23, hosted by the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) Action. This forum provided Arizona primary voters with a clear view of their contrasting perspectives. Opting out of the Arizona Clean Elections Commission debate, Lake chose instead to engage directly with voters throughout the day at a series of events.

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Three Dead After Crossing Border in Arizona Despite CBP Warnings of Heat Risk

The Center Square
Arizona Desert

Three people crossing the border from Mexico into the United States died as a result of the high summer temperatures.

United States Customs and Border Protection announced on Friday that three Mexican migrants were found dead after a search and rescue mission near Ajo, Arizona, by federal border authorities on Wednesday morning. The border law enforcement agency explained that human smugglers routinely take advantage of those seeking to come to the U.S.

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Arizona’s 7th District Sees Butierez vs. Grijalva Showdown in Congressional Race

Christy Kelly

Daniel Butierez endured nine and a half years in jail for a crime he was never charged with or tried for. After a three-decade battle, the courts finally admitted their mistake and cleared his record. Now, driven by a deep passion for justice, Butierez is challenging Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-03), who has held the seat since 2003. As the only Republican candidate stepping up to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, Butierez stands ready to face Grijalva, who announced on April 2 that he is battling cancer. Grijalva’s last confirmed public appearance was in mid-February 2024, when he placed a vote in the House of Representatives.

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Opinion Issued Aims to Clear Up ‘Medical Emergency’ in Arizona Abortion Laws

The Center Square
Kris Mayes

Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an opinion as abortion policy in the state is likely to be on the ballot in November.

The 15-week law is still on the books in Arizona, and it was signed into law by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in 2022. The opinion, which was sent to four Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday, is meant to explain what can be considered a “medical emergency” under the law.

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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects Kari Lake’s and Mark Finchem’s Appeal Alleging Arizona Officials Lied to the Court, No Sanctions Granted

Rachel Alexander
Kari Lake and Mark Finchem

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from Kari Lake and Mark Finchem alleging that Arizona officials made false statements to the courts regarding their lawsuit to stop the use of electronic voting machine tabulators. The panel of three justices, two who were appointed to the bench by Democratic presidents, gave no reason for their dismissal on June 20, and also denied a motion for sanctions by defendant Maricopa County, which was filed three days prior. 

Lake’s and Finchem’s Motion to Recall Mandate, drafted by attorney Kurt Olsen, stated, “Maricopa’s violations of Arizona law mean its elections have not been shown to be any more reliable than a Ouija board.” The motion said the officials’ alleged lies and perjury, which involved lying about committing misdemeanors, were discovered after obtaining Maricopa County’s tabulator system log (SLOG) files, which the pair maintained contradicted the statements of officials. 

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Maricopa County Employee Who Allegedly Stole Tabulator Programming FOB/Key Has Ties to Soros Deleted, Had Vowed to Stop Election Day Attorneys

Rachel Alexander
Walter Ringfield

A LinkedIn account belonging to Maricopa County Elections temporary employee Walter Ringfield, Jr., who was arrested last Friday for allegedly stealing a digital magnetic key used to program Election Day voting machine tabulators, was deleted sometime after his arrest. This erased his connection to a radical group with ties to progressive billionaire George Soros, One Voice, One Vote.

When investigators looked through Ringfield’s social media that wasn’t deleted, they discovered a post he’d made vowing to thwart Republican lawyers combating wrongdoing on Election Day.

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Arizona Court Rules Opioid Settlement Funding Is Legal

The Center Square
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs

The opioid settlement funds headed to the Arizona corrections system are legal, according to a judge’s ruling on Monday.

The part of the budget that would divert $115 million in total to support the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry with what’s outlined as substance abuse treatment. Although the original legal action from Attorney General Kris Mayes resulted in a temporary restraining order for the funds to be transferred, this recent decision from the Maricopa County Superior Court scrapped that. 

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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Faces Mounting Pressure as Corruption Investigation Heats Up

Christy Kelly
Katie Hobbs Investigation

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs will face increased scrutiny following revelations of an alleged “pay-for-play” scheme uncovered by a left-leaning publication with media ads hitting the airwaves this week. State-solutions, Inc., affiliated with the Republican Governor’s Association, has invested in a six-figure advertisement campaign to highlight the investigation into Hobbs. Media attention is intensifying, with the ad urging, “Tell Hobbs to cooperate and cut the corruption.” Both Attorney General Mayes, a Democrat, and Republican County Attorney Mitchell have asserted claims over the investigation. Attorney Gina Godbehere, who is challenging Mitchell in a competitive primary told The Arizona Sun Times, “My opponent [Mitchell] should be more concerned about the effect of her lenient policies on our community, the victims, and law enforcement rather than chasing the political spotlight.  

The story broke after the progressive news organization revealed Sunshine Residential, a significant donor to the Hobbs Inaugural fund and the Democrats, received a nearly 60% increase in state contracts. The ad released this week told Arizonas, “Three days after a state agency denied a contractor’s request to charge taxpayers higher rates, a donation appeared: One hundred thousand dollars from the same company… into a slush fund controlled by Governor Katie Hobbs. Within months the Hobbs administration reversed course, approving the request for more taxpayer money. Pay-to-play so brazen, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched a criminal investigation.”

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Maricopa County Elections Worker Arrested for Stealing Tabulator Programming FOB/Key Also Allegedly Broke into AZ Senate

Rachel Alexander
Walter Ringfield

An Arizona State Capitol insider with knowledge of recent incidents there told The Arizona Sun Times that progressive activist Walter Ringfield, Jr. – the same man who was arrested for allegedly stealing an election machine tabulator key fob – was caught breaking and entering into the Arizona Senate recently. Video surveillance footage allegedly caught him stealing collectible coins from the security area and walking around on the third floor unauthorized. When apprehended by security, he was asked to leave. The insiders said that Ringfield told security he was there to deliver some documents to State Senator Juan Mendez (D-Tempe).

News reports about the election key fob theft broke a Monday. According to a police report obtained by The Sun Times, surveillance video shows Ringfield putting the set into his pocket.

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Maricopa County Temp Worker Arrested for Alleged Theft at Election Center

Just the News
Walter Ringfield mugshot

A temporary worker at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) was arrested for theft, forcing the county to reprogram its security equipment, which will cost around $20,000.

On Friday, Walter Ringfield, 27, who was on probation for a prior felony, was arrested for allegedly stealing a security fob and keys from MCTEC, KTAR News reported. Ringfield was booked on charges of theft and criminal damage.

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Two Arizona Prosecutors Fight over Gov. Katie Hobbs Investigation amid Conflict of Interest Concerns

Just the News
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, and Gov. Katie Hobbs (composite image)

by Natalia Mittelstadt   Two Arizona prosecutors are conducting independent investigations into Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) regarding an alleged pay-to-play scheme, with both accusing the other of having a conflict of interest. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) are both investigating Hobbs for alleged criminal conduct, but each are telling the other prosecutor to stand down from their investigation because of potentially improper motivations. Last Friday, Mayes opened a criminal probe into corruption allegations involving Hobbs and donations from a group home business. Mayes notified the state legislature that she had received a criminal referral from a GOP lawmaker involving allegations with Sunshine Residential Homes. “The Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office is statutorily authorized to investigate the allegations and offenses outlined in your letter. To that end, the Attorney General’s Office will be opening an investigation,” Mayes wrote. The announcement came after The Arizona Republic reported that the group home business that cares for vulnerable children was approved for a 60% rate hike after it donated about $400,000 to Hobb’s inauguration and the state Democratic Party. Sunshine requested the rate hike to address financial hardships amid the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, the newspaper…

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Biden DOJ Report Alleges Phoenix Police Violate Rights Based on Race; Insiders Warn Consent Decree Could Be Imminent

Rachel Alexander
Phoenix Police Department

The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a 126-page report on Thursday claiming that it found probable cause after a three year investigation that the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) violated the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments when dealing with the public. The investigation began in August 2021, alleging five problem areas. The DOJ accused PPD of using excessive force, discriminating against nonwhites, treating homeless people unlawfully, violating the First Amendment, and discriminating against the mentally ill.

A PPD officer who preferred to remain anonymous told The Arizona Sun Times that there were all kinds of problems with the report. He said the consultants hired by the DOJ to visit PPD were fresh out of law school and knew nothing about law enforcement. He said they pulled a few files and didn’t interview relevant people. There was a lot they didn’t do, he said. Additionally, the cases cited in the report are old, and key details were omitted from the report, including that those cases were resolved.

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Republicans Battle to Unseat Stanton in Arizona’s Congressional District 4

Christy Kelly
Arizona CD 4

The Republicans are hoping to unseat Congressional Democrat Greg Stanton in District 4, who has won three consecutive terms. This district covers all of Tempe, and parts of Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Chandler.

The Cook Political Report lists Stanton’s seat as a solid Democrat despite CD4 having a “D+2” rating. This means on average, a Democratic candidate in this district would perform 2 percentage points better than the national average for Democratic candidates. Pundits say, this slight edge should be beatable with the right candidate. This district is labeled “solid Democrat”  instead of “lean Democrat” due to Stanton’s incumbent status and significant war chest of  $1,517,082.

Republican consultants believe the key to defeating Stanton lies in the significant number of independent voters, which is a huge 34% in all registered voters.

Republicans are entering 2024 with a registration advantage and can highlight Stanton’s consistent alignment with President Biden by showcasing his voting record. The lawmaker votes with Biden almost 100% of the time.

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Arizona Abortion Law Repeal to Take Effect in Time to Avoid Territorial-Era Law

The Center Square
Stop Abortion Bans Rally

Arizona has avoided potential abortion law confusion with the conclusion of the legislative session.

Since the session concluded on Saturday night, all normal legislation without an emergency clause signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs will go into effect on Sept. 14. This also includes the May repeal of the abortion law that was created in 1864 and re-codified in 1977 that banned abortion in nearly all circumstances.

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Arizona Appeals Court Ignores Evidence to Throw Out Kari Lake’s Second Election Appeal

Rachel Alexander
Kari Lake Speaking

An Arizona Court of Appeals panel of three judges issued a 23-page unpublished decision last week, affirming a trial court’s dismissal of Kari Lake’s Rule 60(b) second election lawsuit. The court claimed that Lake’s Rule 60(b)(3) motion, which means requesting a second trial based on newly found evidence, constituted merely relitigating her first election lawsuit.

The court said that instead, “The focus must rather be on the fraud or misconduct that prevents a litigant from trying otherwise meritorious claims.” However, the court ignored Lake’s evidence of misconduct and affirmed the high standard the trial court judge set for election contests, which is not found in Arizona case law.

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Maricopa County Pays Down Pension Liabilities

The Center Square
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

Maricopa County is taking a victory lap for taking steps toward wiping out some pension debt in this year’s budget.

The Public Safety Personnel Retirement System and Corrections Officer Retirement Plan, which is used for law enforcement when they retire, will have $500 million sent its way for “unfunded pension liabilities.” This came after a vote in which every member of the Board of Supervisors agreed to tackle the debt.

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More Officials Issue ‘Imminent Terrorist Attack’ Warnings

The Center Square

Another member of Congress has warned a terrorist attack is imminent. This latest warning comes after a former CIA director argued that similar warning signs exist today that did before the 9/11 terror attack occurred.

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told CBS News’ Face the Nation Sunday, “We are at the highest level of a possible terrorist threat” resulting from Biden administration policies.

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Arizona Bipartisan Budget Deal Reached; Freedom Caucus Takes Principled Stand

Christy Kelly
Arizona Capitol

Late Saturday night, lawmakers signed a controversial budget deal, which is now on its way to Governor Katie Hobbs where she is anticipated to sign it. Hobbs, House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Glendale), and Senate President Warren Peterson (R-LD12) negotiated this bipartisan agreement, excluding both Democratic leadership and Freedom Caucus members from the negotiation table.

Republican leadership praised the Arizona Fiscal Year 2025 state budget for its conservative fiscal discipline, addressing a $1.4 billion shortfall without raising taxes, and prioritizing public safety and school choice.

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Budgeteers Clap Back at Arizona AG’s Threat over Opioid Settlement Money in Budget

The Center Square
Kris Mayes

Seventy-five million dollars from the federal opioid settlement is expected to head toward the state’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry in the latest budget proposal, but Attorney General Kris Mayes and some lawmakers are unhappy about it.

Mayes might sue over the proposed use of the money, saying it would act as a “sweep” to help with the budget deficit in an illegal fashion, according to Capitol Media Services. The budget is far from finalized as of Friday morning, but lawmakers could pass a budget on Friday night or Saturday morning. The proposed budget is the result of months of negotiations between Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office and Republican legislative leadership.

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Judicial Retention Elections Could Get Scrapped in Arizona, Voters Get Final Say

The Center Square
People Voting

Judicial retention elections in Arizona could soon be a thing of the past.

Arizona voters can decide whether or not a judge should be retained or removed. Supreme Court justices and intermediate appellate court judges are up for retention every six years, compared with four years for Superior Court judges in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Coconino counties, according to the Arizona Judicial Branch. This is because these judges are appointed by the governor.

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Democratic Lawmaker Leads Kari Lake by Three Points in Arizona Senate Race Poll

Just the News
Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is leading his opponent, Republican Kari Lake, by three points in the race to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate as of Thursday, according to a new poll.

The poll, which was published by AARP, found 48% of respondents favored Gallego versus 45% that preferred Lake. Six percent were still undecided. Although Gallego is leading in the survey, the margin of error is four points, which makes the responses a statistical tie.

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Arizona Attorney Won’t Back Away from Hobbs Group Home Investigation

The Center Square
Rachel Mitchell and Katie Hobbs

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has no plans to stand down after Attorney General Kris Mayes requested that there only be one investigation into the Hobbs administration’s “pay to play” scheme allegations.

Sunshine Residential Homes gave nearly $400,000 to Hobbs and the state Democratic Party, and it was one of the group home operators with contracts with the state that received a substantial increase in its daily per child pay rate, roughly 60%, by the Department of Child Safety, the Arizona Republic reported. Mayes has already opened an investigation following a request by Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope, but Mitchell is also planning to assist the Auditor General’s office after they reached out to Mitchell.

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$12.5 Million in Water Investments Announced in Arizona

The Center Square
Glen Canyon Dam

Arizona will be getting millions more in federal taxpayer dollars for water infrastructure projects.

The $12.445 million in investment will be going to Glen Canyon Dam outlet works, Bypass Drain O&M Access Road Repairs and Deer Island Backwater Infrastructure Replacement. Nearly $9 million of those funds is going to Glen Canyon for “recoating” steel pipes, valves, and gates, according to a news release. The Glen Canyon Dam reportedly has major issues involving the infrastructure that is being funded for repair, as it could impact how it functions, according to the Associated Press in April.

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Judge Hears Arguments in Trial over Election Illegalities, Malconduct Alleged by Candidate in Shasta County Supervisor Race

Rachel Alexander
Laura Hobbs

Shasta County Superior Court Judge Stephen H. Baker heard arguments on Tuesday in an election contest brought by Laura Hobbs, who ran for Shasta County Supervisor earlier this year. Hobbs lost the District 2 race to Allen Long by 14 votes. Hobbs alleged numerous election irregularities, including malconduct by election officials. Baker is expected to conclude the trial on Wednesday.

Hobbs’ attorney Alex Haberbush, who is also an attorney for Donald Trump’s former attorney John Eastman, told The Arizona Sun Times after the first day of trial concluded, “Walking into today’s hearing, we were facing at least half a dozen arguments from our opponents as to why our case should be dismissed, and today we left with only one, whether malconduct by election workers must be intentional.” He said, “Intentionality is not the standard, and the misconduct by Deputy Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut easily surpassed the actual standard.”

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State Bar of Arizona’s Disciplinary Panel Suspends Law License of Kari Lake’s Attorney Bryan Blehm for Challenging Election Illegalities

Rachel Alexander
Bryan Blehm

The State Bar of Arizona’s (SBA) disciplinary panel, led by Democratic Judge Margaret Downie, suspended the law license of Kari Lake’s attorney Bryan Blehm for 60 days over his efforts to combat election corruption. The order was issued last Friday and the suspension goes into effect on July 7. 

“What they’re going to do is they’re going to sanction the f*** out of me with costs and fees to try to prevent me from practicing law again.” Blehm said in a video posted on X. “That’s what the end result is going to be.” Blehm was disciplined for stating in a pleading that 35,563 ballots were inserted into the 2022 election. The Arizona Supreme Court sanctioned him $2,000 for the statement.

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Republicans Ask Maricopa County Attorney to Take Hobbs ‘Pay to Play’ Investigation

The Center Square
Katie Hobbs

More Republican state officials are calling on Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to investigate the “pay to play” allegations involving the Hobbs administration and Sunshine Residential Homes.

Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, has already opened an investigation triggered by a letter from Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope after the Arizona Republic story broke with the allegations that the group home company got better daily pay rates per child after donating around $400,000 to Hobbs’ campaign, inaugural fund, and the state Democratic Party. Mitchell, a Republican, also said she may open an investigation after the Auditor General’s office reached out to her.

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Arizona A.G. Mayes Warns Against ‘Parallel Investigations’ in Hobbs Group Home Debacle

The Center Square
Arizona A.G. Kris Mayes, Gov. Katie Hobbs

Attorney General Kris Mayes is asking Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to take a step back from possibly investigating an alleged “pay for play” scheme involving Gov. Katie Hobbs and Sunshine Residential Homes.

Mayes’ criminal division has an investigation open, but the Auditor General’s Office and Mitchell are also coordinating a possible investigation after the auditor general reached out to Mitchell’s office. 

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Arizona Border Agents Seize Enough Lethal Drugs to Kill 28.5 Million

The Center Square
Fentanyl pills seized by Customs and Border Patrol

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents continue to seize record amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, weapons and ammunition at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona.

Seizures in the month of May continued the trend of agents catching alleged smugglers attempting to bring drugs into the U.S. and weapons to Mexico. Cartel and gang operatives have a pattern of smuggling people and drugs into the U.S. and weapons, ammunition, cash and other contraband using stolen cars, to Mexico, law enforcement officials told The Center Square.

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Arizona AG Opens Criminal Probe into Corruption Allegations Tied to Gov. Katie Hobbs

Just the News
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs

Arizona’s top law enforcement official has opened a criminal probe into corruption allegations involving Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs and donations from a group home business.

Attorney General Kris Mayes notified the Legislature that she had received a criminal referral from a GOP lawmaker involving allegations with Sunshine Residential Homes and had agreed to open a probe.

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Investigation Reveals Two Arizona Cities Spent Millions on Homelessness with Little Result

Admin
Homeless Encampment

Arizona’s two largest cities allocated tens of millions of dollars to fight homelessness in the past several years, but little has changed, according to a Goldwater Institute investigative report released Thursday.

“We’ve seen Phoenix and Tucson spend, combined, almost half a billion dollars on this issue with very minimal improvements in the area of homelessness,” Austin VanDerHeyden, municipal affairs liaison for the Goldwater Institute, told The Daily Signal.

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More than Half of Arizona Voters Prefer Trump over Biden in Polls

Just the News
Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Former President Donald Trump is in the lead in a new Arizona poll published Thursday, which found that more than half of the respondents favored Trump over President Joe Biden in a rematch.

The poll, conducted by Fox News, found that 51% of respondents preferred Trump over Biden, while 46% of respondents preferred Biden. The five-point margin is higher than March’s survey, which found that 49% preferred Trump, and 45% preferred Biden.

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Thousands Attend Town Hall in Phoenix to Hear Discuss Chasing the Vote, Rigged Elections, and Illegal Immigration

Rachel Alexander

Thousands of people turned out for a town hall put on by Turning Point USA with former President Donald Trump Thursday afternoon at Dream City Church in north Phoenix. Trump and Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk were the sole speakers at the “Chase the Vote” event, urging patriots to make the 2024 election “too big to rig.” The rest of the event focused heavily on illegal immigration, highly critical of the Biden administration’s record. 

Trump’s last visit to the state was 18 months ago. According to one attendee who arrived at 8 a.m., there were over 4,000 people in line at that time. The temperature got up to 108 degrees, and there were vendors with water and drinks sprinkled throughout the church property. The event officially began at 2 p.m., but Kirk came out a little after noon and spoke in advance of Trump’s 2 p.m. speech. The crowd held up signs with Trump’s mugshot on them. 

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Political Fissures Lead to the Rise of Trump-Aligned Activist Associations in Arizona

Christy Kelly
National Freedom Coalition meeting

In the wake of years-long friction between independent Right-of-center activists and Republican Party veterans, some Arizonans are forming stand-alone political groups. One recent clash in May gained national attention when a video recording surfaced of a Legislative District 2 (LD2) meeting that devolved into a physical altercation.

Interviews by The Arizona Sun Times of several of the individuals at that meeting revealed that the conflict was more about the discord between hundreds of newly-recruited, pro-Trump precinct committeemen (PCs) and the establishment PCs that have participated in and run the Republican party in the area for years.

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Court: ‘Executive Deputy Director’ Role in Hobbs Administration Violates Arizona Law

The Center Square
Katie Hobbs

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who has “Executive Deputy Directors” running state agencies, lost in court on Wednesday. Hobbs has used the tactic to avoid more nominees being rejected by the Republican-led Senate Committee on Director Nominations.

The Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County said the current leaders of these agencies are “de facto” and “in violation of Arizona law.” Thirteen agency leaders are considered EDDs; however, Hobbs is not obligated to give nominations for directors to the committee just yet as arguments on that will be in late July or early August, according to Capitol Media Services.

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Kari Lake Rallies Support at Sonny’s Boxing Gym with UFC Star Tito Ortiz

Christy Kelly
Kari Lake

Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Kari Lake held a rally at Sonny’s Boxing Gym in Goodyear, near the Avondale border in the heart of the Latino community there. Conservative UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz joined her at the event, which was hosted by Latinos for Lake.

The gym was packed with mostly Hispanic supporters from the West Valley, many of whom told The Sun Times they support Lake because they believe she will fight for them.

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Arizona Politicians and Stakeholders React to Biden’s Border Order

The Center Square
Joe Biden

President Joe Biden’s proclamation limiting the number of asylum seekers each day at the southern border sparked a range of reactions from politicians and groups in Arizona.

Biden said the United States will not allow people to claim asylum if the average daily number of those seeking asylum passes 2,500 average in a week, according to the White House. According to the Department of Homeland Security, some exceptions include those with “exceptionally compelling circumstances” such as a “victim of a severe form of trafficking,” those facing extreme medical or safety threats and “unaccompanied children.” DHS also says that those who use the CBP One app will also be considered exempt from the limit.

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‘Secure the Border Act’ Heads to Arizona Voters in November

The Center Square
Illegal Immigrants

Arizona lawmakers passed the “Secure the Border Act” on Tuesday, and it will now head to the ballot. It passed with 31 Republicans and 29 Democrats voting along party lines.

The resolution will be on the ballot for voters to have the final say on the act, which includes proposals ranging from making illegally crossing the border a state crime to stronger laws related to illicit fentanyl and e-verify. The Tucson sector is considered a hotbed for migrant encounters, according to federal government data.

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Arizona Voters Evenly Split on Abortion Referendum as Views Largely Unchanged Following Repeal of the 1864 Law

Tom Pappert
Planned Parenthood

A poll published on Tuesday claims voters in the Grand Canyon State are evenly split on how to vote for a potential referendum that would enshrine the right to abortion into the Arizona Constitution.

Pollsters at Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) asked 1,003 registered Arizona voters to determine how public opinion on abortion, and specifically the possible abortion referendum, has changed since the Arizona Supreme Court allowed an 1864 abortion law to become active.

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Arizona Lawmakers Pass ‘Secure the Border Act’ to Be on November Ballot

Christy Kelly
Secure the Border Act

In a 31-29 vote Tuesday afternoon, Arizona lawmakers approved House Concurrent Resolution 2060 (HCR 2060), known as the “Secure the Border Act.” The resolution aims to give local law enforcement the authority to verify the immigration status of individuals during lawful stops, detentions, or arrests if there was probable cause that they were in the country illegally.

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Lithium Mining Research Center Opens in Arizona

The Center Square
Paul Lloyd

A lithium company celebrated the opening of a new research center in Tempe last week.

Arizona Lithium, which is hoping to further the “The Big Sandy” lithium mining project in northwestern Arizona, opened the center intending to research “extraction of lithium” methods for the local deposit as well as the Prairie Project in Canada, according to a news release from the Arizona Commerce Authority.

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Arizona House Panel Seeks Impeachment of AG Kris Mayes Over Alleged Misconduct

Christy Kelly
Arizona State Rep. Jacqueline Parker, A.G. Kris Mayes

Five Republican committee members on a special House panel initiated impeachment proceedings against Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Friday. The lawmakers accused her of abuse of power, neglect of duties, and malfeasance in office.

State Representative Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa), who chairs the panel, announced the release of a 102-page report detailing these allegations, which has stirred significant political controversy.

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