Politics & Government

Today is Arizona’s primary election, and there are plenty of races to keep an eye on. Below, check out our picks of the top 10 races to watch as the results roll in tonight:…

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton showed up this weekend at a central Phoenix union hall to help Ruben Gallego make a last-minute push in his race for U.S. Congress. Stanton hadn’t declared support for any candidate until this weekend — and he selected Gallego over the other Democratic candidates in the…

Ruben Gallego’s campaign is touting an endorsement from Jayme Valenzuela, mayor of Superior — and making sure to note that that’s Mary Rose Wilcox’s hometown. Gallego and Wilcox both are running for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District seat. Valenzuela says Gallego “has a record of honest and true public service we…

Arizona schools chief John Huppenthal is asking the federal government to pay the costs associated with educating unaccompanied immigrant minors here in what Latino activists say is brazen political posturing. At a press conference, Huppenthal released a letter he penned to Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, asking for the…

Campaign signs are the absolute worst — any claims made on them are typically irrelevant or false to a certain extent, and nobody wants the signs littering their neighborhood. Even worse, the signs seem to turn politicians and their staffers into juvenile delinquents every single election cycle, with sign theft…

It’s “Candidates Day” at North Scottsdale Christian, a conservative, non-denominational place of worship just north of Pima Road and Dynamite Boulevard, where about 60 Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican candidates have assembled on a recent Sunday to introduce themselves. The politicians are allowed to set up tables with campaign literature in…

In response to a letter-writing campaign promoted by an anti-abortion organization, Democratic congressional candidate James Woods is mailing back condoms — campaign condoms. The form-letters sent to Woods, who’s running for the Congressional District 5 seat currently occupied by Republican Congressman Matt Salmon, asked him to sign a pledge to…

The three-way race for a District 5 seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is winding down, but the candidates are not. Campaign activity is bustling with volunteers making phone calls, knocking on doors and picking up early ballots. Steve Gallardo, a former state senator who left his post…

The day before two dead immigrants were found in the trunk of a California man driving into the United States, Arizona officials rescued two Mexicans from nearly befalling a similar fate. Ryan Alitz, a 30-year-old meth addict who moved to Arizona from Iowa this year, was arrested on August 11…

It’s not a good look for Ruben Gallego, a Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District rubbing elbows with a former Republican governor — and a disgraced one at that. Former Governor Fife Symington hosted a fundraiser on Thursday night for Gallego at a swanky Italian bistro in Scottsdale. On…

In the this-is-what-politics-has-come-to category, an Arizona congressional candidate has received national attention thanks to a giant horse penis. Hundreds of thousands of Internet readers from coast to coast now know the name of Arizona hotelier and rancher Gary Kiehne, a GOP candidate for Congressional District 1 — but not due…

Mary Rose Wilcox was shot in 1997 by a transient who didn’t like her politics. People say she was hit in a buttock, but she insists the wound was higher than that. Indeed, the gunman’s hollow-point bullet shattered her pelvis. It also shattered her desire to remain in public office…

The top contenders in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, Democrats Mary Rose Wilcox and Ruben Gallego, have launched political attacks on each other since the race got under way. And the war of words has only ramped up as we move close to the August 26 election. Now, Randy Camacho, a…

Mary Rose Wilcox owes between $50,000 and $100,000 in 2012 taxes to the IRS. It’s a debt she listed on her 2014 financial-disclosure statement and one that is getting paid in installments. And now, it’s getting used as political ammunition against her. Ruben Gallego, who’s running against Wilcox for a…

The primary election is two weeks away, early ballots have already hit mailboxes, and the latest polls show about half of Arizona’s Republican voters are still undecided on a candidate for governor. For you Republican voters, we made a flowchart that will help you select a candidate in less than…

Matt Nelson’s slashing prices on new Justices of the Peace! That’s right, for a limited-time only, Tempe and Chandler voters can elect a new JP for 25-percent off the current price. Maybe. County officials say they aren’t sure taking a pay cut is legal; Nelson admits he didn’t research that…

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s new campaign to prevent people from leaving kids and pets in hot cars leaves one interesting thing out — Montgomery’s name. Not one to turn a serious crisis into opportunity, Montgomery says he doesn’t want “to mix up the message” by making it look like…

A coalition of immigrant rights groups held a press conference this morning to announce the launch of “Arizona Freedom Summer,” a campaign to get out the Latino vote in this fall’s elections…

The upcoming Arizona Attorney General’s Republican primary is chiefly about the character of Tom Horne, the scandal-ridden incumbent. But opponent Mark Brnovich’s campaign can’t simply hang a scarlet “A” on Horne’s chest and call it a day. He has to convince Republican voters around the state that he can not…

The Maricopa County Elections Department had to send some voters in Peoria a second ballot after one of the candidates for city council was inadvertently left off the ballot. The problem is, the second ballot didn’t include candidate Ken Krieger’s name either. “We looked at the proof, and we okayed…

Christine Jones and her former boss, GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons, together have contributed the vast majority of the money raised to help Jones get elected Arizona governor. State campaign finance reports show that as of May 31, Jones has contributed $2.1 million of the roughly $2.3 million she’s raised. Parsons…

Thomas has nearly as many skeletons in his closet as the Catacombs of Paris, and he’s hoping if he can just keep yammering about “illegals” and “the gay lobby,” he’ll avoid having to talk about them. Thomas isn’t considered likely to win even the Republican primary, despite the crowded field…