A GOP congressman will speak at a town hall — for Republicans only

Tuesday night, voters will have a chance to hear directly from their elected officials. U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan — all Republicans — will speak at a town hall in Chandler.

There’s one catch: If you’re not a Republican, you can’t get in.

The town hall billing — written as “townhall” — comes from a flyer posted to the Legislative District 12 Republicans website. The Maricopa County Republican Committee is also listed as an organizer of the event, which will take place at 7030 W. Oakland Street.

The “town hall” tem generally connotes an open meeting with the public. But in a Tuesday morning email obtained by Phoenix New Times, LD12 First Vice Chair Patty Porter wrote that “tonight’s townhall is a private event. I have been reminded that only members of the Republican party will be admitted into the venue,” Porter wrote.

Porter did not answer questions from New Times about why the event is being called a “townhall” if it is private. It’s not clear how attendees would be vetted for the required party affiliation.

It’s also not clever whether Biggs, Petersen and Sheridan are appearing under the auspices of their elected offices rather than as part of a campaign event. Notably, both Biggs and Petersen are gearing up to run for statewide office in 2026 — Biggs has declared himself a candidate for governor, while Petersen has filed a statement of interest in running for attorney general.

Neither Petersen nor Biggs has responded to requests for comment. But Biggs called a tweet suggesting he was "hosting" the town hall "false," though he did not address the Republican-only nature of the event.

Porter’s email has caused confusion. Eric Runnestrand of the community group Chandler Gilbert Indivisible told New Times he reached out to the LD12 Republican Committee’s office on Monday and was told anyone could attend. In another call, he said, he was told there was no event happening.

The registration webpage for the event appears to have been removed as of 3:50 p.m.

“We’re getting conflicting responses,” Runnestrand said. “This may be miscommunication between the LD12 Republicans and MCRC and Biggs’ office.”

As news of the Republicans-only restriction hit social media Tuesday afternoon, Democrats critiqued the lack of transparency. Daisy Martinez, the communications director for Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari, noted that Ansarsi’s own Tuesday night town hall welcomes all and had already reached capacity.