The race is on to see whom the GOP will choose as its candidate to defend the Congressional seat getting vacated by Congressman John Shadegg, and there's a new kid in town hoping to get the nod.
Phoenix attorney Paulina Morris announced her candidacy yesterday on the lawn of the Arizona House of Representatives, and she used the opportunity to criticize her Republican opponents for the same things New Times has been criticizing many of them for over the last several weeks: political opportunism.
Since Shadegg unexpectedly announced his retirement last month, many Republicans dead-set on pursuing other offices shifted gears and announced they would run for Shadegg's seat. Vernon Parker, we're looking in your direction.
Making a political switcheroo isn't necessarily wrong, but it raises the question of whether a candidate really wants a particular job, or if he or she is just interested in getting into a position of power.
Morris seems to agree with us.
"Just a few short weeks ago, almost everyone in this race was running for another office -- governor, attorney general, treasurer -- you name it. Is this your idea of commitment?" Morris said during her press conference. "It is a lack of leadership and sense of entitlement, and I'm angry and frustrated. They were our representatives, and they failed us."
Early polls found that state Senator Jim Waring, who had initially leaned toward running for treasurer, was the top-dog in the race, beating out every other candidate by double-digits. Then Quayle happened.
The same day the poll was released giving Waring the early lead, former Vice President Dan Quayle announced on Fox News that his son, Ben Quayle, would join the race for Shadegg's seat, as New Times predicted weeks earlier.
We're not sure what effect Quayle's entering the race had on Waring's poll numbers, but with a name like Quayle in a red state like Arizona, it had to have done some damage.
