The 2026 gubernatorial race may be a showdown between a veteran lawmaker known for challenging the D.C. status quo and the Biden administration, and the state’s first Democratic leader in over a decade, Governor Katie Hobbs.
Biggs, a longtime member and former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, has made his mark in Congress as a fiscally conservative hardliner. This was made especially clear during the pandemic, when other Republicans unified with Democrats time and again on increasing spending to offset emergency government mandates which crippled the economy.
Biggs was just one of the only two representatives to vote against the $8 billion for COVID-19 pandemic aid in early March of 2020. The congressman remarked in a public statement at the time that President Donald Trump had requested a fraction of that “bloated” amount ($2 billion) to fund a federal response to the outbreak.
Biggs’ assessment of the political climate at the time — issued exactly a week before Trump declared a national emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic — ultimately proved a wise warning unheeded:
“Throwing money at a potentially serious issue does not alleviate the American people’s concerns. Nor does politicizing the issue to score points for future elections,” said Biggs. “Congressional Republicans and Democrats should join the White House to calmly, wisely, and pro-actively communicate a unified response to their constituents. We must rise to the occasion and do what is best for this situation – as well as for future generations.”
Biggs was also one of only a few dozen who voted against the $15 billion Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed days later.
In all, the federal government spent $4.6 trillion on COVID-19.
Biggs would continue to oppose efforts to mitigate unchecked spending. In 2023, Biggs fought against Congress’ plan to raise the debt ceiling.
Biggs’ other key votes included his opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, in large part on the basis of since-removed provisions requiring women to register for the draft.
The congressman has consistently supported legislation to close and prioritize the U.S. border over aid to foreign countries’ military efforts. Consistent with his dedication to securing American interests first, Biggs has consistently voted against the billions in funding afforded to Ukraine under the Biden administration.
In 2021, that first year of the border crisis, Biggs sponsored a resolution to impeach then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. In subsequent years, Biggs signed onto several efforts to impeach former President Joe Biden as well as former Attorney General Merrick Garland.
During his eight years in Congress, Biggs has sponsored over 900 bills and cosponsored nearly 1,300 bills.
Only one of Biggs’ bills has passed Congress, made it to the president’s desk, and became law: HR 4983, designating the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Gilbert as the Staff Sergeant Alexander W. Conrad Veterans Affairs Health Clinic.
35 of Biggs’ cosponsored bills made it to the president’s desk. Three were vetoed, and 32 became law.
This session, Biggs has introduced over 80 proposed bills on a wide scope of red-meat Republican issues to strengthen and enforce immigration laws, modify individual health coverage requirements, restrict executive national emergency authority, prohibit vaccine and mask mandates, roll back foreign intelligence surveillance, require greater performance measures from various agencies, tie congressional salaries to budgeting agreements, pull back on various agencies’ spending or authority, abolish certain agencies, expand veteran care options, undo spying on Americans, simplify congressional bills, eliminate DEI funding in federal government, expand oil and gas production, ban abortion, and establish school choice, to name a few.
Biggs currently sits on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Committee on the Judiciary.
Other declared Republicans who filed statements of interest: Christopher Ames, Scott Neely, and George Nicholson. One declared Libertarian, Barry Hess, filed a statement of interest.
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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne praised the heroic actions of Tucson Police Officer William Bonnano, deployed under a Department of Education program to Legacy Traditional School-East Tucson, after he was able to arrest armed suspect Daniel Hollander, 31. Hollander was reported by parents for “acting erratically” in the school parking lot and was arrested, armed with a knife and loaded handgun.
In a statement published by KVOA following the arrest, Horne told reporters, “Today we avoided the nightmare of an armed maniac harming innocent people on a school campus. The School Safety Officer who sought out and arrested this suspect deserves the highest praise. His presence on campus is due to funding provided by the School Safety Program managed by my department and demonstrates the value of this program so that incidents like this do not become tragedies.”
In a post to X, Horne wrote, “The School Safety Program helped save the lives of innocent children yesterday. Thank you to the School Resource Officer for helping to avert tragedy. I will fight to have an SRO on every campus to keep students safe.”
The School Safety Program helped save the lives of innocent children yesterday. Thank you to the School Resource Officer for helping to avert tragedy. I will fight to have an SRO on every campus to keep students safe. https://t.co/QmystFhVBX
In an article from the Arizona Department of Education, Horne said that the actions of Officer Bonnano saved the lives of 20 students and saved their parents from having their lives ruined by the grief that would have resulted. He emphasized that the narrowly-averted tragedy serves to demonstrate the need for Arizona lawmakers to take action and fund more armed officers on school campuses, while calling upon them to ramp up criminal penalties for suspects entering school grounds with intent to injure or kill innocent people.
Horne said:
“For years, I have been pushing for more police officers in the schools, saying repeatedly that if a maniac Invades a school and kills 20 students as has happened in other states and could happen here, their parents would never recover. If they learned that the school could have had a police officer to defend their children funded by the Department of Education, and decided not to, you can imagine what they would feel about that decision making. By the skin of our teeth, we avoided that nightmare by a police officer, newly funded by the Department of Education annually, on the job arresting a man who was in a room with 20 students and additional adults, who said that he was going to make the students immortal by killing all of them.”
He added, “Only the heroic actions of the School Safety Officer, William Bonanno, prevented a catastrophe. He undoubtedly saved lives because of his incredible professionalism in that he was experienced enough to act quickly rather than wait for backup. The presence of an armed officer has sadly become a crucial element of campus safety, and this incident proves that beyond a doubt. The heroism of this officer means that more than 20 families have not experienced the tragic death or injury to an innocent child. As a parent who has suffered the loss of a child, I can tell you that you never get over it.”
“We cannot allow the status quo where not enough schools have armed officers to continue. More funding for officers and legislation that allows retired officers to become School Safety Officers or Resource Officers should be passed. Representative Matt Gress is sponsoring such a bill, HB 2074, which has passed the House Education Committee. It needs to be fast-tracked through the legislature and signed by the governor as soon as possible because, as we saw yesterday, lives are at stake.”
As reported by AZCentral, Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar told a Thursday presser that Officer Bonnano discovered Hollander sitting in the school gymnasium talking to himself. Not long before, students had filled the gymnasium waiting for classes to start. The Chief revealed that Hollander admitted he had been using narcotics for “several days” and admitted he was at the school with the intent to harm children.
“I can tell you with the preliminary history of this individual, it wouldn’t have been somebody that was probably on our radar,” Kasmar added.
Horne is urging the legislature to pass House Bill 2074, which is now out of committee, in order to push more funding out to districts to fund additional School Safety Officers.
State Rep. Matt Gress who sponsored HB 2074 said in a statement, “What happened in Tucson yesterday was an act of heroism that nearly became a terrible tragedy. Lives were saved because an armed officer was doing his job at the Legacy East campus. This proves that, sadly, no space is entirely safe, and we must do everything we can to protect innocent lives. My legislation will do that, and I call on all my colleagues, regardless of political affiliation, to get this bill passed, and I also call on Governor Hobbs to sign this bill when it reaches her desk. It is an essential, non-partisan issue that needs immediate attention.”
A recent study from Search Logistics has yielded an encouraging result for the Phoenix metro area, ranking the city as the 14th best city in the nation for young entrepreneurs. The survey from the UK SEO firm ranked the fifty most populous cities in the U.S. by analyzing co-working affordability, wage data, internet infrastructure, tax data, cost of living, and personal income.
According to the study provided to AZ Free News, each of the determining factors was assigned a rank value out of 100 and the overall index score was calculated to produce a ranking. Although Phoenix was outstripped by Florida cities Jacksonville, which ranked #1, and Tampa in second place, followed by Texas centers like Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, in the Southwest there seemed to be a consistent pattern: cities in conservatively governed, business-friendly states ranked best with the exception of Baltimore, MD.
“The city that was revealed as the best for young entrepreneurs was Jacksonville, FL, with an overall index score of 70.91 out of 100. Jacksonville ranked best in cost of living, with a score of 92.82 out of 100.
Following in second place was Tampa, FL, with an index score of 70.35 out of 100. Tampa reported the best internet speed of any city in the study, with an average download speed of 180.5 Mbps. This meant that it scored 100 out of 100 for this factor.
In third was Indianapolis, IN, with an index score of 69.10 out of 100. The city performed well among the cost of living factors, producing a score of 95.98 out of 100.
Baltimore, MD, ranked fourth, generating an index score of 67.08 out of 100. Baltimore’s best category was cost of living, with a perfect score of 100 out of 100.
Rounding out the top five was Fort Worth, TX, with an index score of 65.15 out of 100. Notably, Fort Worth was among several cities that offered the lowest minimum wage of $7.25, which meant it scored the maximum 100 out of 100 for this factor.
Completing the top 10 best cities for young entrepreneurs were Houston (63.45), Philadelphia (63.14), San Antonio (62.71), Raleigh (62.60), and Charlotte (62.17).”
Conversely, cities which would be traditionally associated with the growth of big tech and finance like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Portland, and Chicago ranked low. Matthew Woodward, a spokesperson for Search Logistics said, “While it may be tempting to start a business in New York or California, young entrepreneurs locating to a city in another state may pay off significantly, especially while their venture is still in its infancy. Young entrepreneurs will be able to reap the benefits of all that these cities have to offer and enjoy living in a city that will support their work as much as possible.”
Notably, Mesa, AZ, was excluded from the rankings, owing to a lack of co-working space available. This was also true of Fresno, CA; Bakersfield, CA; Long Beach, CA; Oakland, CA; and Arlington, TX.
Woodward added, “This ranking may provide some clarity for young and budding entrepreneurs wondering where to launch their business. This can often be a difficult decision to make as there are many factors to consider, such as cost of living, tax regulations, access to co-working spaces, and internet infrastructure. Fortunately, certain cities will likely be more conducive to business owners and allow their enterprises to flourish easily.”
“According to the ranking, cities in southern states, such as Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, tend to be some of the best for young entrepreneurs. Many of these have a lower cost of living and are therefore more affordable options.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego will now lead Climate Mayors, a coalition of 350 American mayors across 46 states working to advance progressive climate policies.
In a press release from the organization, Gallego committed to supplementing federal funding for climate initiatives using the private sector and philanthropy, expand influence of the Western Water Security Cohort into local governance, “extreme heat” mitigation, and further align member cities’ actions with Climate Mayors initiatives.
“I’ll focus on addressing extreme heat, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring all cities have the tools they need to advance climate action,” said Gallego.
I'm honored to lead as Chair of @ClimateMayors, a coalition of cities tackling the challenges of climate change.
Other members of Climate Mayors leadership include Boise, Idaho, mayor Lauren McLean; Atlanta, Georgia, mayor Andre Dickens; and Cleveland, Ohio, mayor Justin Bibb.
Last month, Climate Mayors committed to supporting the Biden administration’s new National Determined Contribution (NDC) target of 61 to 66 percent economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2035.
Climate Mayors executive director Kate Wright indicated the goals were feasible through commitments to energy and water efficiency programs and the expansion of “green” and “clean” infrastructure.
“Today’s announcement of a new U.S. NDC serves as an important goalpost for our unwavering ambition as subnational actors continue to lead the fight against climate change and advance America’s economic competitiveness,” said Wright. “Our membership of over 350 U.S. Mayors is ready to do its part to achieve our national target and build on the progress we’ve made over the last decade.”
The organization’s climate change initiatives include electric vehicle expansion, data collection on each city’s emission levels, a tracker for federal funding and grant opportunities, and provision of grants for partnerships between local governments and nonprofits.
Climate Mayors launched an electric vehicle purchasing collaborative in 2018 to expand city governance control and influence into county governments, transit agencies, port authorities, and colleges and universities. The coalition also committed to electrifying at least 50 percent of municipal fleets by 2030, and increasing electric vehicle chargers by at least 500 percent by 2035 (with 40 percent at least benefitting “disadvantaged” communities).
Last week, Climate Mayors announced a framework to develop equity-oriented electric vehicle plans. The coalition developed the framework alongside UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and Environment, The Greenlining Institute, and Forth Mobility. According to the framework, electric vehicle infrastructure should prioritize lower-income, non-white communities.
The coalition partnered with C40 Cities and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network to organize allocation of federal funding at the local level. Climate Mayors’ webpage for this planning links to the C40 Cities Knowledge Hub, which indicates that C40 Cities leads on the agenda for this initiative.
Gallego also sits on the steering committee of C40 Cities, serving as the North American representative on the international scale. As reported previously, a priority of C40 Cities is to eliminate meat and dairy consumption, new clothing purchases, and private car ownership.
Climate Mayors was founded in 2014 by three top Democrats: Biden’s ambassador to India and former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, president/CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and former Houston mayor Annise Parker, and former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter.
Several other Arizona mayors retain memberships within Climate Mayors: Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow, Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado, and Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett.
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The Arizona State Board of Education (AZSBE) placed a Phoenix-area school district into receivership over mismanagement of funds.
Isaac Elementary School District (IESD) had a budget shortfall amounting to over $12.3 million, which included over $9.3 million in unrestricted capital and nearly $3 million in maintenance and operations.
In a special meeting held earlier this week, AZSBE voted unanimously to place IESD into receivership.
🚨🚨BREAKING NOW – EMERGENCY MEETING OF AZ STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION – BANKRUPT SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH $12,344,641 BUDGET SHORTFALL TO GO INTO RECEIVERSHIP ▶️ Auditor General presents SBE on timeline of overspending and refusals to comply with internal controls and financial… pic.twitter.com/CGCzhswztt
— TheLegalProcess (v3.0 | Instruction Not Therapy) (@ALegalProcess) January 14, 2025
The auditor general’s office reported during the special meeting that IESD remained among the highest risk districts since December 2020. IESD was also determined to present consistently high risks in change in weighted student count, budget limit reserve, and their financial position.
Despite five years of meetings with IESD to assist with improvements on its deficit general fund balance and loss in student-count-generated revenues, the auditor general’s office reported that their efforts failed to yield improvements.
In a letter to AZSBE last month, the auditor general reported that Maricopa County School Superintendent’s Office and ADE were unable to determine IESD overexpenditure amounts due to IESD submitting an annual financial report for the 2024 fiscal year that was “unreliable and inaccurate.” The auditor general further reported that IESD improperly moved millions of dollars in expenditures into certain funds lacking sufficient cash to support spending, causing those funds to report millions in deficits.
IESD Superintendent Mario Ventura said the auditor general’s findings were “shocking” to him and the school board. Ventura claimed that the 2024 fiscal year was the first time that their district had overspent. Ventura said that the loss of key personnel resulted in their overspending: the district’s grant specialist and two business managers. Ventura also claimed that the rush to spend federal relief funds caused the district to become lax on spending controls.
IESD argued in the special meeting that the outcome of November elections, specifically a proposed bond, could provide an alternative remedy to receivership.
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) referred IESD to AZSBE for the funds mismanagement.
ADE submitted a letter to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education last week advising that IESD failed to submit its completion report for federal COVID-19 relief funds by the end of December 2023. This resulted in IESD forfeiting nearly $8.9 million which they had spent but not requested reimbursement. Therefore, ADE petitioned the Department of Education to open the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to reimburse IESD.
“Because these expenditures were not reimbursed before the end of the liquidation period, the Isaac Elementary School District was required to find other sources of funds to cover these expenditures,” stated ADE Chief Financial Officer Tim McCain. “The overall result of this has been that the Isaac School District is in deep financial hardship that may result in teachers not being paid their salaries to instruct students in the school district.”
Maricopa County Treasurer John Allen warned that IESD staff and educators should deposit or cash any existing paychecks, expressing insecurity over the county’s ability to keep IESD schools open. Allen said that payments would stop in a week’s time.
“I don’t have the money,” said Allen. “It’s not a county responsibility to keep schools open, it’s a state responsibility. I wish I had better news from my office to the constituents of that district.”
Once appointed, a receiver will have 120 days to investigate and submit a report to AZSBE on how to improve IESD finances and a timeline for solvency.
IESD says its day-to-day operations will continue as usual under the receivership.
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Arizona Republicans are pressing pause over the latest proposal from the state’s Democrat governor.
On Friday, Governor Katie Hobbs released her Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2026. In a statement that accompanied her announcement, Hobbs said, “To realize the Arizona Promise, we must deliver opportunity, security, and freedom for Arizonans. My Executive Budget reflects my commitment to continuing our strong economic growth, lowering costs, keeping communities safe and securing the border, and protecting Arizonans’ fundamental freedoms. We are connecting Arizonans to good jobs, lowering the costs of housing, child care and groceries, and protecting our veterans. I’ll continue being a strong steward of taxpayer dollars, cutting waste, fraud, and abuse and investing in the critical services that improve life for everyday Arizonans in every corner of our state.”
While Republicans had limited time to review the governor’s proposal, they did have initial thoughts about Hobbs’ latest budget for the state. Newly minted Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Steve Montenegro said, “While we share a commitment to improving the lives of Arizonans, the Governor’s budget proposal as presented raises concerns about parental choice, fiscal responsibility, public safety, economic growth, and the undue burdens it places on the backs of taxpayers. Our House Republican Majority remains focused on policies that support hardworking families, encourage job creation, and strengthen Arizona’s future. I look forward to working together on a serious and responsible budget that addresses these goals, but it’s clear that there is a long way to go.”
“While we share a commitment to improving the lives of Arizonans, the Governor’s budget proposal as presented raises concerns about parental choice, fiscal responsibility,… pic.twitter.com/SdBxcB0F0l
A spokesperson for the Arizona Senate Republicans told AZ Free News, “We share the same concerns about some of the same issues the Governor has raised in her budget proposal. However, the Governor’s solutions are going to be a burden to the taxpayer and won’t deliver results. Senate Republicans have a fiscally responsible budget that will ensure the core functions of government are funded, will provide relief to the taxpayer, and will ensure our state is not creating unsustainable government programs.”
The FY 2026 budget proposal from Hobbs represents the third installment from the Democrat governor in a divided state government with legislative Republicans. Over the past two years, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and his counterpart in the House of Representatives have forced Hobbs to make major concessions and ensured that key Republican priorities and interests were protected in the final budgets. Republican lawmakers will be counted upon again to stand strong against Governor Hobbs’ continued attempts to enact elements of her radical agenda on Arizona.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
