by Matthew Holloway | Jul 26, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Congressman Andy Biggs’ gubernatorial campaign reported significant gains in fundraising during the second quarter of 2025 with a haul of $429,000. It marks the single largest fundraising quarter for Biggs in his career thus far.
The campaign reported that Biggs’ fundraising performance improved by almost $200,000 over the first quarter and noted, “This shows momentum and enthusiasm for his campaign with additional room for growth as his digital fundraising operation begins to build out.”
In a statement to AZ Free News, Biggs’ Campaign Senior Advisor Drew Sexton said, “We’re very pleased with our past quarter as Congressman Biggs more than doubled his cash on hand, received endorsements from President Donald J. Trump and Charlie Kirk, and continues his strong performance in every public poll with the set field of GOP candidates. We look forward to building on this in the coming months as the Congressman shares his vision for Arizona with voters from across the state.”
According to Capitol Media Services, Biggs’ primary opponent, Karrin Taylor Robson, narrowly outperformed Biggs in fundraising with $575,000 in individual donations and $2,500 from PACs in the second quarter. However, Robson also reported loaning her campaign over $2.2 million, which has been all but spent on advertising President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Robson.
The Biggs campaign made note of this in an email to AZ Free News stating, “The Biggs for Arizona campaign has an end of Q2 COH of $437K, more than doubling the campaign’s Q1 COH indicating a sustainable level of spending in comparison to the over $2.7M already spent by his primary opponent.”
According to Axios, the state of play as of this report is that:
- Democrat incumbent Governor Katie Hobbs, running effectively unopposed in her primary, has raised the most funds in the second quarter of 2025, netting approximately $1.3 million and held about $4.7 million cash on hand.
- Robson brought in $2.8 million, but as noted, $2.2 million was her own money. She has less than $900,000 remaining and is spending rapidly.
- Biggs however raised $429,000 and closed the quarter with about $437,000 on hand, showing consistent, steady growth.
As reported by AZ Free News in early June, Biggs’ advertising spend has been supplemented what Turning Point PAC declared “the largest launch event in Arizona gubernatorial primary history,” complete with a media campaign costing over $500,000, with the “Biggs for Governor” Rally hosted by Turning Point Action and Turning Point PAC itself counting for “an additional $780,000 in earned media value (EMV),” according to a press release.
Turning Point PAC said in a statement at the time, “Taken as a whole with Turning Point PAC’s $500,000 media buy announcement, the organization’s independent expenditures and organizing to support Biggs’s primary launch already amounts to over $1,400,000.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 24, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has launched his second attempt to unseat Republican Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ02). In response, the Congressman blasted Arizona Democrats, saying they “have hit rock bottom, which is exactly where they found Jonathan Nez.”
The Navajo Democrat was handily defeated by Crane in a 9-point race in 2024, outperforming former Vice President Kamala Harris by 3.5 points and exceeding then-Democrat Senate candidate Ruben Gallego in Arizona’s 2nd District.
In a lengthy interview with the Arizona Republic, Nez told the outlet, “Reintroducing myself and introducing myself is going to be priority this time. It seems like it’s been a long time, but it’s only been seven months of this administration… but as you know, and the people in this country know, there’s a lot of changes with policies and laws that are negatively impacting people every day, hardworking people.”
In a statement released Tuesday, Crane wrote:
“The Democratic Party has no leader, no message, no policy agenda, and no candidates. They’ve resigned themselves to the same old, tired talking points being spewed by the same old extreme liberals.
“They have hit rock bottom, which is exactly where they found Jonathan Nez – still licking his wounds after learning the hard way rural Arizona does not want to be represented by a never-Trump radical. I welcome a rematch with Nez and relish the opportunity to remind voters just how out-of-touch he truly is on taxes, on spending, on border security, on crime, and on energy.”
Crane’s campaign noted in a press release that as far as fundraising is concerned, Crane outraised Nez by over $3 million in the 2024 campaign and has raised more than $2.65 million year-to-date with $1.2 million already in his war chest.
As reported by AZ Free News in April, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced that it is targeting the congressional districts of Congressmen David Schweikert (AZ-01), Eli Crane (AZ-02), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) in 2026, listing Congressional District 2 as among the “competitive” districts and classifying Rep. Crane as “vulnerable.”
However, the rosy projections of recently ousted former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Robert E. Branscomb seemed to ignore that Rep. Eli Crane’s District 2 seat, which has historically seen zero Democrat wins in the last nine races, was designed by Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission to hold a 7.2% vote spread competitively. Crane beat that spread by nearly two points in 2024.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 23, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Representative Nick Kupper (R-LD25) has stepped up to the ongoing controversy surrounding the hacking of the Arizona Secretary of State’s website. The lawmaker has requested a formal briefing from Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to account for the attempted breach of security to all members in the legislature, not merely the “select members” already discussing the matter.
The incident was reportedly carried out by Iranian hackers, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, who replaced images of the candidates on the website with images of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
In a letter to Fontes, Kupper wrote in part: “While I understand your office has communicated with select members of the Legislature regarding this issue, I believe that all lawmakers should be afforded the opportunity to receive a comprehensive briefing on the nature of the attempted breach, any data or system vulnerabilities identified, and the steps you have taken to ensure the integrity and security of our electoral infrastructure.”
Kupper referenced reported failures in the AZSOS candidate portal noted by Turning Point Action’s Tyler Bowyer last week, writing, “Since the incident, the candidate portal has experienced noticeable slowdowns, which have affected accessibility and overall functionality.”
In a statement released alongside the letter to Fontes, Kupper noted, “Arizona’s election systems should never be this easy a target for foreign adversaries. This wasn’t a prank — it was a politically motivated act of cyberwarfare, and we deserve answers. Every legislator has a responsibility to understand what happened and what’s being done to keep it from happening again.”
Kupper has called for “a comprehensive briefing on the breach, including how it occurred, what systems or data may have been accessed, and what steps are being taken to prevent future incidents.”
The Arizona Representative even offered to arrange the logistics of “a full in-person briefing that will be open to all Arizona House Members and State Senators,” with the reservation of a conference room in the Arizona House of Representatives. He added that the briefing should occur in the next two weeks.
Reporting from KJZZ revealed that the images uploaded by the hackers were also linked to social media accounts, including a Telegram account which wrote, “We were not looking for war or adventure. However, President Trump’s flagrant violation of the agreement, through his aggressive attack on the nuclear and civilian infrastructure of the great nation of Iran, has forced us to face a difficult and regrettable confrontation. Now the American people share in the consequences of his risky decision. Our erosion revenge has begun.”
The attacks persisted for approximately a week, according to Arizona Department of Homeland Security Spokesman Aaron Thacker: “What this incident has done is it’s created — it’s not just an attack on the Secretary of State’s Office. It’s also an attack on government as a whole. We are not the only agencies that are being attacked.”
Thacker added, “When it comes to our overall collective security, this isn’t really something we should be playing politics with, and there have been a few folks that are being unnecessarily critical.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 23, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ09) joined a growing bipartisan chorus calling for an investigation into the Dragon Bravo Wildfire.
Gosar’s statement differed slightly, however, from Democrat leaders in one key concern: the culpability of the Biden administration.
Raging across the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, the wildfire escalated quickly, destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge as well as park administrative offices and residences. As of this report, the massive blaze is currently 8% contained and has burned over 12,000 acres. Approximately 70 buildings have been destroyed.
According to the Grand Canyon National Park Service, the fire was started by a lightning strike on July 4th and was allowed to burn for a few days for “resource objectives.” It was behaving as planned until “really strong aggressive winds” arose from the canyon and “changed the fire behavior dramatically very quickly,“ National Park Service Public Affairs Officer Joëlle Baird told AZ Family.
Robert Rickey, a National Weather Service science operations officer in Flagstaff, told the outlet that a mixture of high-pressure, disappearing humidity, and high winds triggered the explosive expansion of the fire.
“We had this big area of high pressure. All that moisture basically evaporated,” he said. “In terms of humidity, we consider 15% to be a critical threshold, so when we’re seeing humidities in the single digits, I mean that’s about as low as it can possibly get.”
Wind gusts at Grand Canyon National Park reportedly hit as high as 40 mph.
“The winds shifted more toward the northwest, and I think that really caused them some issues,” Rickey said per AZ Family. “When you get more of a northerly flow at night time, all that air just drops right down into the Grand Canyon and so basically it accelerates right along the rim.”
In a single day, the fire exploded from 120 acres to 1,500 acres.
Ken Phillips, a 27-year veteran employee at the Grand Canyon and former chief of emergency services told The Guardian that he believes the decision to “control and contain” the fire initially was a mistake.
“The North Rim did not need to burn the way it did and put firefighters in harm’s way,” he said. “There is a history of escaped managed wildfires at Grand Canyon. It is very tragic that the lessons learned from those fires weren’t heeded in this situation.”
Rachel Pawlitz, a National Park Service (NPS) spokeswoman, offered a different view in an interview with the Arizona Republic. She defended the park’s response saying, “The National Park Service and our interagency partners actively fought the Dragon Bravo fire employing tactics that met the suppression objectives and mitigated risk. Firefighters had constructed containment lines and were prepared to conduct a defensive firing operation before conditions rapidly changed.”
NPS told the outlet that the fire was “expertly handled.”
In a statement to the Republic, Gosar’s spokesman, Anthony Foti, said, “The Congressman is both sickened and troubled by the fire. As the dean of the Arizona congressional delegation and as member of both the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee he will be calling for a full and complete investigation. More details very soon.”
Congressman Gosar said in a statement, “I am concerned that the Dragon Bravo Wildfire is the direct result of recently inherited policies from the Biden Administration.”
“We must not waver in our efforts to seek answers for the people of Arizona. Today, I call on Secretary of the Interior, Secretary Burgum, to seek answers for the people of Arizona, who want answers as to the causes of this disaster and what can be done to prevent tragedies like this in the future.
“The people of Arizona will not be calling for answers alone. I will continue to seek answers and solutions, because these wildfires deeply impact Arizonans and our state.”
In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Gosar wrote, “I am concerned that the spread of the Dragon Bravo Wildfire is the direct result of the recently inherited policies from the previous administration. Specifically, the Biden-Harris administration promoted policies that allowed for the mass overgrowth of brush, prohibited effective fuel reduction operations, and locked up the lands from resource development.”
He added, “President Trump’s Executive Order 14308, published on June 12, 2025, sought to correct this mismanagement and empower the Department of the Interior (DOI) to identify the steps necessary for innovative wildfire response—with some actions already identified by Congress, like forest thinning and improved suppression response times.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 20, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Former Pima County Supervisor and daughter of late Arizona Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva, Adelita Grijalva, defeated her fellow Democrats to win the 7th Congressional District nomination. Grijalva was armed with the endorsements of Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), self-avowed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and a major ad-spend and endorsement from the Working Families Party (WFP). Both Democrat leaders and the WFP also endorsed socialist New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Grijalva opted to run for her late father’s congressional seat with Tucson Mayor Regina Romero declining to run in order to chair the Grijalva campaign.
“At a time when Trump, Musk, and their billionaire gang are attacking our democracy and ripping off the working class, we need leaders who have the backbone to take them on,” Sanders said in a statement in April. “That’s why I’m proud to endorse Adelita Grijalva for Congress. Adelita understands that real change never comes from the top down, it comes from the bottom up.”
Described as Sanders’ “Progressive Protégé,” by the Maricopa County Republican Committee, Grijalva also proudly boasted of her endorsement by Democratic Socialists of America member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Grijalva also enjoys the endorsement of the openly socialist WFP with Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, saying Tuesday, “Adelita’s victory tonight isn’t just a win for families in Southern Arizona. It’s a win for all those who believe in a government that works for everyday people. Voters are tired of politicians who hide in the pockets of their billionaire donors. We know that Adelita is going to be a fearless fighter for working families in her district.”
According to the WFP website, the party spent significantly on ads in the CD7 race, writing “The Party was a significant force in the race, spending $221,000 on several ads for TV, digital, and sending thousands of texts to voters. Along with our union and grassroots partners, we knocked on more than 90,000 doors and sent two direct mail pieces to likely voters in the district.”
The party also credited itself with the victories of Zohran Mamdani as well as Mayoral races in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany. WFP has historically supported members of ‘The Squad,’ the most radical leftists in Congress, including Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Jamaal Bowman. Grijalva will face Republican candidate Daniel Butierez in a Special Election on September 23rd.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
