NEW: AZ Senate President Warren Petersen (R) praises the Trump administration for ending the DOJ investigation of Phoenix PD which he calls a “witch hunt”

Shake it up! Co-endorsed Trump candidate Karrin Taylor Robson’s consultants bail. "It takes special skill to botch a GOP primary with the Trump endorsement, but unfortunately that's what this candidate has single-handedly assured,"

Crank up the hype-machine! Sen. Gallego is off to Pennsylvania

Breaking: Chaos continues for the Arizona Democratic Party. Chairman Robert Branscomb now faces call to resign over his fight with Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego. Steven Jackson, the chairman of the LD8 Democrats in the East Valley, drafted a letter urging Branscomb to step down.

Spiciest veto of the year?: Gov. Hobbs kills Sen. Jake Hoffman’s transportation bill by taking at not so subtle shot at his recent record of dodging a speeding ticket with the help of legislative immunity

NEW: The Arizona House passed a bill allowing for a memorial to slain journalist Don Bolles who was assassinated nearly 50 years ago investigating a shady land dead. Bill now heads to the Senate.

Breaking: Feds arrest state worker near the border on human smuggling accusations, an incident that threatens to derail Gov. Hobbs’ nominee to run a key state agency

After making some noise about running for a couple of offices, AZ Secretary of State Adrian officially announces his bid for a second term.

UPDATE: @governorkatiehobbs.bsky.social signs the bipartisan bill that keeps the state’s disability program funded through the end of the fiscal year

Breaking: Arizona Senate passes a bill to plug a $122M funding gap for the department that serves 60K disabled people. The bill is now headed to Gov. Hobbs’ desk.

HAPPENING NOW: Republican candidate for governor, Karrin Taylor Robson, backs President Trump’s tariffs and urges him to “keep fighting.”

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda did **not** endorse Alexander Kolodin in the Republican Primary for Secretary of State and confirms that she is thinking about running for the position herself

UPDATE: Trouble in Mudville?: The D-Backs’ Chase Field bill (HB2704) won’t be heard in committee tomorrow. The chairman said it doesn’t have the votes right now.

SCOOP: Occasional Trump golf partner and regular rally attendee, Jay Feely, is seriously considering a run for Congress in Arizona’s CD05 to replace Rep. Andy Biggs, according to a source. Feely was a former professional NFL kicker and CBS sideline analyst.

Trust Us: The AZ Diamondbacks want $500M of your tax money to fix up their stadium but hasn't given the public a cost estimate of what needs to be fixed.

Border encounter numbers have plummeted in the Tucson and Yuma sectors. Feb. 2025 is the lowest number in both sectors in the publicly available data we have from CBP dating back to Oct. 1999. Tucson Sector: 1,336 Yuma Sector: 243 @dwelch.bsky.social @azfamily.com

Bonus podcast just dropped! Arizona Chamber of Commerce CEO Danny Seidel on legislative efforts to keep the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. (Regular pod coming on Sunday.) www.azfamily.com/2025/03/13/p...

Gov. Hobbs launches and new border security plan as federal data shows migrant encounters and arrests are down

HAPPENING TODAY: Gov. Hobbs’ office says there’s “no way in hell” she’ll sign the Republican backed “Bounty Bill”

During her first two years in office, Hobbs vetoed nearly one-third of all the bills passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature (excluding ballot referrals and other measures that don’t require the governor’s approval)

New podcast has dropped! Votebeat reporter Jen Fifield talks about legislation to speed up the vote count. Then Dennis and Colin break down the nominees for the 2025 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Bad Company? Really?) www.azfamily.com/2025/02/17/p...

FYI: A bill that bars lawmakers from using legislative immunity to get out of traffic tickets is scheduled for debate in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Because this special privilege is outlined in the state Constitution it would need voter approval.

Another state lawmaker avoids a ticket because of legislative immunity. Sen. Jake Hoffman was clocked driving 89MPH in a 65MPH zone. DPS statement below:

New episode of the pod is here! Congressman Greg Stanton on why he views Elon Musk as a threat to our democracy. Then Dennis and Colin look back at the best and worst Super Bowl halftime shows. www.azfamily.com/2025/02/10/p...

JUST IN: State Sen. Mark Finchem’s seat mate in the House has filed a bill to abolish legislative immunity for all traffic stops. If passed, the measure would go to the voters in 2026

CHECK IT OUT: You can see the raw police body cam video of Sen. Mark Finchem’s traffic stop in Prescott and my latest story on how he’s trying to use the Arizona Constitution to get out of it

Kyrsten Sinema Update: the former Arizona Senator is reported to have lobbied for Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to become the next director of national intelligence

NEW: A Republican-led House committee advanced HB2578 (6-1) which dedicates a memorial to journalist Don Bolles who was killed in 1976 by a car bomb while investigating organized crime in Phoenix

Bill of the day: A GOP-led House committee advanced HB2125 that allows for jury trials in divorce cases. Question: how would feel about laying out the intimate details of your marriage in front of 12 strangers?

Sen. Mark Finchem (R) thinks the same laws that apply to you don’t apply to him because he’s a state lawmaker

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: 4 Republican lawmakers get pissed a state bars them from bring their own booze on to the golf course. So they file a bill to repeal that law and call it the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2025”

Also, a link to that Kris Kristofferson story involving Toby Keith at Willie Nelson's 70th birthday, as reported in Rolling Stone...

This Sunday on the Politics Unplugged podcast: reporter Stacey Barchenger on the names to watch in the 2026 election. Then, Dennis and Colin remember musicians lost in 2024. Here's a playlist of the artists we mention: open.spotify.com/playlist/5Jr...

NEW: Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers filed a proposal last night urging the Arizona Department of Transportation to name State Route 260 the “Donald J. Trump Highway.”

A diverse collection of groups from across the political spectrum are calling on Gov. Katie Hobbs to complete an independent review of how the state carries out executions. www.kjzz.org/politics/202...

This kinda kills the rumors of Kari Lake landing the Mexico ambassador gig

We also speak with former state lawmaker Athena Salman and the restrictive abortion laws that are still on the books. And our panel weighs in on the future leadership of the state Democratic Party.

search.app/YKbxaLQnkTSJ... Attorney General Kris Mayes is furious Arizona is paying a drug company more money out of the opioid settlement fund than its paid into it

Sen. John Kavanagh (R) insists his “bathroom bill” is aimed at stopping boys and girls from showering together at school but can’t provide a single example of where this has happened. search.app?link=https%3...

You can also watch this one here. (A reminder - no pod next week as we take time off for Thanksgiving.) www.azfamily.com/2024/11/25/p...

I’ve mentioned on the pod how astonished I was to learn New Order played Billy Barty’s Roller Fantasy - one mile from my house - when I was in high school. Turns out there is audio evidence. God bless the internet. —Colin youtu.be/-2mxdn0fJ9s?...

Get it in your usual spots for podcasts, including the Arizona's Family site (where it should appear soon). Video version drops tomorrow. www.azfamily.com/originals/po...

Tonight on Politics Unplugged, coming up at 5:30 on 3TV... will Governor Katie Hobbs face a primary challenge in 2026? (Adrian Fontes? Kris Mayes?)

Arizona Sen. elect Ruben Gallego (D) draws a line in the sand with Donald Trump’s immigration and border security proposals.

NO CHARGES: Scottsdale Police and Pinal Co. Attorney's Office declined any charges after investigating the (now-former) chief of ASU Police Michael Thompson and his actions during protests in April on the Tempe campus.

Coming up this weekend on Politics Unplugged (the TV show and podcast).

made a list of folks who cover or who make political news in AZ. Got the classics like @yvonnewingett.bsky.social, @jerodmacevoy.bsky.social, @brahmresnik.bsky.social, @dwelch.bsky.social, @azcapmedia.bsky.social, @jeremyduda.bsky.social, @ronaldjhansen.bsky.social + more. bsky.app/profile/did:...

ICYMI: here’s President-elect Donald Trump’s statement on Matt Gaetz withdrawing his Attorney General nomination

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/b... Congratulations to one of America’s greatest living writers.

We’re officially official! We got a poster! Woot woot 🎉🥳🎈🎊🎁