by Staff Reporter | Apr 19, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Attorney General Kris Mayes is pushing a false narrative about Gov. Katie Hobbs’ leadership prowess, says Senate President Warren Petersen.
Mayes criticized Petersen over his recent interview remarks revealing the governor has refused to meet with legislative leadership to continue budget negotiations.
“Short memory,” said Mayes in a post with a picture of a 2021 headline describing former Republican governor Doug Ducey’s refusal to sign bills until a budget was approved.
The Republican representing LD14 retorted that Ducey continued to negotiate pending approval of the budget.
Unlike Ducey, Petersen said Hobbs hasn’t been willing to meet with the leaders of the Republican-led legislature at all unless they conform to her plan.
“Ducey didn’t walk away from the negotiating table like Hobbs did,” said Petersen. “We continued to meet with him even though he implemented a bill moratorium. Not the same.”
On Monday, Hobbs said she would veto all bills until Republicans publicized their budget plans.
“I’m ready to talk, but I can’t negotiate with politicians who refuse to show the public their plans,” said Hobbs. “The legislative majority needs to put forward their budget proposal and then join me in good faith negotiations so we can pass a bipartisan, balanced budget like we’ve done the past three years.”
Petersen explained in a Wednesday interview with KTAR that Hobbs wanted to balance the budget based on potential future funding to be accrued from the renewal of Proposition 123 — when, if ever, that comes to pass.
The proposition, passed by voters in 2016, pulled $300 million in annual revenue for K-12 funding from the State Land Trust Permanent Fund. It expired last summer, and the legislature still hasn’t agreed on a replacement renewal plan to put before the voters.
“[Hobbs] basically wanted us to balance something off of Prop 123, something that would have to pass later. We said that was irresponsible, and so she threw a temper tantrum and walked away from budget negotiations,” said Petersen.
Last month the Arizona Senate President and Arizona House Speaker issued a joint statement accusing the governor of “distorting the facts” on budget negotiations.
Part of Hobbs’ plan would “dramatically increase” the funds pulled from Arizona’s Public Land Trust, halving it over the next 20 years and jeopardizing the trust’s intended function to fund K-12 education in the long-term.
“This is not a solution. It is a long-term raid on a critical resource,” said the pair. “We’ve put forward a responsible plan that cuts taxes for working families and funds schools without gimmicks. She walked away from the table because her math doesn’t work.”
What’s more, the president and speaker said the governor’s proposed budget would add $1.5 million more in debt.
Hobbs’ communications director, Christian Slater, offered a different view of their budget plan. He claimed the governor’s proposed budget would lower costs, invest over $1.5 billion in public education, cut taxes for the middle class, and end tax breaks for data centers.
“[Republicans] know [their budget proposal is] unbalanced, unserious, and puts billionaires and special interests ahead of everyday working families,” said Slater. “Legislative Republicans must come clean with the people of Arizona and stop hiding their partisan and unbalanced budget from public scrutiny.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 18, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Maricopa County Superior Court has ruled that the leading independent gubernatorial candidate does qualify for the ballot.
Hugh Lytle, an independent under the No Labels Party, announced his victory on Wednesday. Lytle is a Scottsdale businessman: founder and managing partner of El Toro Ventures, founder and board member of Equality Health, co-founder and former CEO of Univita Health, and co-founder and former president of Axia Health.
“These legal tricks to find technicalities to keep an independent off the ballot is exactly why so many people have lost faith in our system,” said Lytle. “When someone even suggests putting people ahead of parties and special interests, the system tries to shut it down. But this time, it didn’t work.”
In a statement given to the media, Lytle claimed the legal challenge against him was rooted in Gov. Katie Hobbs feeling threatened by his candidacy. Lytle has claimed Hobbs was behind the lawsuit because her former chief legal advisor, Sambo “Bo” Dul, was one of the attorneys representing the case against him.
“The judge’s decision is not a personal win for me. It’s a win for the voters, for democracy and for Arizona’s growing Independent movement which gains momentum every day,” said Lytle. “Perhaps that’s why Gov. Hobbs is afraid to face me in an election.”
At contest was the validity of Lytle’s petition sheets, which used a UPS store address located in one district rather than his residential address located in a separate district. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Mandell ruled that district locations didn’t matter for statewide races.
“Mr. Lytle is running for statewide office, not district, precinct, or municipal office. Both the UPS store address and his physical address are in Scottsdale,” stated Mandell. “There is no dispute that Mr. Lytle has been an Arizona resident for many years, that he resides in Maricopa County, and that he satisfies the constitutional and statutory residency requirements for Governor.”
Lytle faced multiple challenges to his candidacy, one from his primary opponent Teri Ann Hourihan, and another from a former Democratic Party legislative district leader, Craig Beckman.
Lytle pledged to not take any salary as governor. He announced his intent to donate his entire first-year salary as governor to Teen Lifeline, and then the remaining years to other charities.
The No Labels Party attempted to brand itself as the Arizona Independent Party with the help of Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, but the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled against the move as an unlawful “political bait and switch” last month.
There were 21 candidates who filed statements of interest under the No Labels Party, including three for governor (Lytle, Hourihanm and Alan White).
Lytle’s platform includes establishing a mentor corps for youth entrepreneurs, expanding state charity donation benefits, expanding tax deductibility and charity benefits to cover youth sports, increasing teacher pay, limiting school choice by income, and reducing Medicaid costs.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 17, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A former congressman says Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) was among those alleged to have engaged in well-known secret sexual romps at the nation’s capital.
New York’s former Republican congressman George Santos posted the accusation against Gallego to X on Monday.
Santos claimed that it was a regular practice for some U.S. House and Senate members to engage in “lewd or alleged sexual misconduct-like behavior with staff or reporters” in the House office buildings’ basement storage rooms, nicknamed “cages.”
A report to the House Administration Chair, Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil, went nowhere, according to Santos.
“[O]ver the course of my time on Capitol Hill I learned a lot of members had rumors and or allegations against them,” said Santos. “[T]hese were rumors, and I wasn’t the only one to hear them. They were just instances where we would talk about them amongst ourselves and just shrug our shoulders because there was not much more we could do.”
Santos and Gallego had neighboring offices when their time in Congress overlapped. Their offices were connected by an internal door between the two.
The Santos allegation came out amid sexual assault and impropriety allegations against Eric Swalwell, the now-resigning California congressman who suspended his gubernatorial campaign.
Swalwell and Gallego were known “best friends” for years. The pair spent a significant amount of time together outside of their elected duties; extracurriculars per insiders included bar-hopping around D.C.
Gallego has not addressed the Santos allegation.
Santos’ claims have not been confirmed; the former congressman does have a prominent history of fabrication.
Santos himself was expelled from Congress following a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of fraud. Gallego was one of many from both parties to vote in favor of expulsion. Santos also faced a federal indictment; ultimately, he pleaded guilty to identity theft and fraud. President Donald Trump commuted Santos’ prison sentence last year.
The House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into Swalwell on Monday.
After the committee announcement, Gallego advocated for the expulsion of his former longtime friend from Congress. Gallego denied any prior knowledge of allegations of assault, harassment, or predatory behavior.
“I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew,” said Gallego. “The women who have come forward have shown courage. They deserve to be believed, to be supported, and to see justice served.”
That statement was “pure projection,” alleged Santos. The former congressman demanded another investigation, this time into Gallego.
The town attorney for Fountain Hills and former assistant attorney general, Jennifer Wright, said an investigative reporter needed to look into the allegation against Gallego.
Gallego revoked his gubernatorial endorsement of Swalwell last week shortly after the release of a report detailing sexual assault allegations against Swalwell.
Prior to the report, when the allegations were confined to rumors swirling the social media echo chamber, Gallego had initially come to Swalwell’s defense. Gallego dismissed those early allegations as politically motivated attacks.
AZ Free News reached out to Sen. Gallego regarding the accusations from George Santos. As of this report, no response has been received.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 16, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) announced he has raised nearly $3 million to date, and has over $1 million cash on hand.
Following the aggregate donations of multiple contributors, the biggest donations to Biggs’ campaign came from Biggs’ federal campaign, Biggs2016, amounting to $50,000, and the Freedom Club PAC which gave over $16,000.
Arizona campaign funding data reports fellow Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate David Schweikert as having raised nearly $900,000, and having nearly $300,000 cash on hand.
Schweikert’s top donors came from Schweikert’s own coffers. $572,00 came from Schweikert’s federal campaign committee, Friends of David Schweikert. $115,000 came from Schweikert himself.
Even combined, the pair doesn’t come close to the amount in the Democratic governor’s campaign coffers.
Incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs has raised over $5.7 million since last year, and has over $6 million in cash on hand.
Unlike Biggs and Schweikert, Hobbs had multiple large donors outside of multiple contributor aggregates, mainly unions: Unite Here Tip Campaign Committee ($11,000), United Food and Commercial Workers Union of Arizona Local 99 ($11,000), AFSCME People ($11,000), Arizona Education Association ($11,000), and Hollywood star Jennifer Garner ($10,000).
Hobbs also received nearly $250,000 in non-contribution income from Copper State Values, a political action committee established and chaired by Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole Demont.
Demont established the PAC in December 2024, and teamed up with leading dark money handler Dacey Montoya (“The Money Wheel”), who serves as the PAC’s treasurer. Funds from the PAC began benefitting Hobbs’ campaign last June.
Other than a few contributions to outside organizations, it appears Copper State Values functions as a funding arm for the Hobbs campaign.
Copper State Values has made payments to a number of companies which Hobbs has paid for services, including $150,000 to the California-based Capital Strategies, which has Hobbs listed under its clientele; nearly $7,000 to Pingdex for calls; and $40,000 to Monteverde Strategies.
The non-contribution income covered shared expenses between the Hobbs campaign and the PAC: acquisition, office supplies, insurance, professional services, rent, finance consulting, payroll, postage, mailers, utilities, fuel, food and beverage, fundraising event, travel, and health insurance.
Multiple donations came from the health sector: Centene Management Company, the Missouri-based largest Medicaid managed care organization in the nation; PhRMA, the D.C.-based biopharmaceutical trade association; 7WireVentures, an Illinois-based backer of digital health companies; Paradise Valley healthcare executive Reginald Ballantyne; Scottsdale-based Priority Ambulance; Ohio-based Elevance Health; UnitedHealth Group; CVS Health.
Others donations coming from special interests included Google, NextEra Energy Resources, a Florida-based wholesale electricity supplier; DraftKings, the Massachusetts-based online sports gambling giant; Sports Betting Alliance; DoorDash, the food delivery service giant; Casey Wasserman, with the major California talent agency Wasserman; Green Valley-based cell tower and telecommunications attorney John Pestle; California-based solar developer Mark Boyadjian for Arevia Power; Tempe-based Carvana; and California-based clean energy developer Clearway Renew Consolidated Devco.
Multiple donations to the PAC came from the real estate sector: California-based Klein Financial Corporation; Verde Investments, a Tempe-based real estate firm; James Edward Pederson, a Phoenix-based founder of the Pederson Group; Mark Breen, and Scottsdale-based president of Atlantic Development & Investments.
Other sizable donations came from the Arizona Beverage Association; Marcia Grand, Tucson retiree and wife to late trial attorney Richard Grand; the Salt River Pinta-Maricopa Indian Community; Arizona Democratic Party; Democratic Governors Association; D.C.-based Laborers International Union of North America; and Illinois-based racial justice group Communities United.
Karrin Taylor Robson, who suspended her campaign earlier this year, accumulated over $4.7 million for her gubernatorial run. Over $2.2 million of that came from her own pockets. Her cash balance sat at $1.1 million.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 15, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) formalized the resignation of now-former California congressman Eric Swalwell on Tuesday.
Hamadeh acted in accordance with a provision of the House Rules requiring the Speaker or his designee to announce the House membership adjustment on the floor.
Since the initial sexual assault allegations against Swalwell broke last week, at least five other women have come forward claiming wrongdoing by Swalwell ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
Arizona politico Brian Anderson remarked on the difference between Arizona members’ circumstance in relation to the Swalwell fallout: Hamadeh stepping in for the House Speaker to finalize Swalwell’s rushed exit, and Sen. Ruben Gallego defending himself against accusations of his knowledge or participation in Swalwell’s impropriety.
“Pretty shocking split-screen for Arizonans right now,” said Anderson. “On one side, Ruben Gallego shaking and stuttering, defending himself against credible allegations he knew about Swalwell. On the other, Abraham Hamadeh putting the final nail in Swalwell’s career.”
Gallego’s decade-long friendship with Swalwell has put him in the center of the former California gubernatorial candidate’s fallout.
Social media users and influencers have speculated that the mystery man in a now-viral video depicting Swalwell getting intimate with a young woman on a bed was Gallego.
During a Monday press gaggle, Gallego denied that he was the man in the video. He blamed “right-wing, political operatives” for the popularization of the narrative.
“This is an example of the lies. No, I was not sitting next to him, I was not in the room, I don’t even know where it happened,” said Gallego.
Gallego said he, too, was a victim of Swalwell. He claimed innocence of knowledge, saying Swalwell had led a “double life” and lied to him about the allegations.
“Look, I messed up. I’m human. I trusted this man, I trusted him to watch my children. I would watch his children,” said Gallego. “He knew that I had just gone through the most bruising campaign, where I was accused of being a mule for the cartel, where my kids were subjected to TV commercials about what an awful human being I was; he knew how to prey on that. I was a loyal friend to someone that was just not loyal to me.”
However, Gallego also indicated that he knew of rumors of his former friend’s flirtatiousness over the years, but had dismissed them based on his personal interactions with Swalwell and Swalwell’s wife.
“I heard rumors of him being flirty [for years],” said Gallego. “We all heard rumors in Washington, D.C.”
Gallego said he had never engaged in inappropriate behavior with any woman outside of his marriage. He claimed Swalwell lied to him and manipulated him.
Former New York congressman George Santos accused Gallego of being one of a number of U.S. House and Senate members to engage in sexual romps up the hill. Santos alleged Gallego’s behavior was “the worst-kept secret” at the Capitol.
“There is an AZ senator that needs to be looked into ASAP,” said Santos in another post. “The rumors about him have alway[s] been WILD.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
