by Daniel Stefanski | May 27, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Former President Donald J. Trump continues to lead in the battleground state of Arizona, though his margin is not insurmountable over President Joe Biden for the November General Election.
Two polls were released last week, showing Trump over Biden in Arizona, whose eleven Electoral College votes will likely prove critical for the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election.
The first poll was from CBS News / YouGov. This result had Trump beating Biden by five percent (52-47) in their second head-to-head match-up. This poll was conducted between May 10-16 with a sample of 1,214 registered voters across the state.
In this poll, Trump’s high-level support was stronger than Biden’s. Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated that their support for the former president was “very strong” compared to sixty-one percent for Biden. The economy (82%), inflation (78%), and the state of democracy (70%) were the top factors in the individuals’ selections for president, followed by the U.S. Mexico border (61%).
The second poll was from Noble Predictive Insights. This result had Trump beating Biden by three percent, with fifteen percent undecided. This poll was conducted between May 7-14 with a sample of 1,003 registered voters across the state.
The Noble poll also factored in other third-party candidates in the race, showing that Trump actually grew his lead over Biden in Arizona with individuals like Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Jill Stein competing for a share of the votes. With these other candidates in the race, the poll showed Trump beating Biden by seven percent (43-36). Kennedy, Jr. took eight percent, and Stein garnered two percent.
NPI Chief of Research David Byler said, “In 2020, Biden argued that he would be a ‘return to normalcy’ president – restoring competence and confidence to a nation in the throes of a pandemic and bitter partisan fighting. Biden’s problem: COVID-19 is gone, but normalcy isn’t back. Americans are worried about inflation and immigration – and, as a result, he’s lost ground in key swing states like Arizona.”
According to the Real Clear Polling Average, Trump enjoys a 4.6% lead over Biden with different pollsters showing his current margin of victory in Arizona between three and six percent over the past few months. On this day in history on Real Clear’s site, Biden was up four percent over Trump in Arizona in average polling in 2020, and Hillary Clinton enjoyed a one percent advantage in 2016. Trump ended up surpassing Clinton in 2016 to capture the state’s Electoral College votes, while he narrowly lost the state to Biden in 2020.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | May 27, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., sent a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes asking the Democrat to drop her “frivolous lawsuit” against allies of former President Donald Trump by June 1.
“I just sent a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes demanding that she resigns and drops the frivolous lawsuit against former Trump officials for questioning the results of the 2020 election,” Breechen said in a post on X.
Brecheen’s letter to Mayes, joined by representatives Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Andy Biggs, R-Ariz, called for her to drop the lawsuit against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and other conservative activists indicted for questioning the results of the 2020 election.
“Not only is this a violation to the 1st Amendment, it is blatant interference in the 2024 election,” the Republicans wrote in a letter first obtained by Breitbart News.
An Arizona grand jury indicted Meadows, former Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arizona Republican Chair Kelli Ward, and others on May 24 for their roles in disputing the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Every American has the right to free speech, including the right to question the results of elections,” the letter reads. “Your choice to indict American citizens for expressing constitutional rights represents the worst of machine politics, and we intend to take every action available to Congress to rectify your decision.”
This comes as Trump leads President Joe Biden in the polls in several key swing states, including Arizona. Trump led by seven points in the Grand Canyon state, receiving almost 50% support from voters who said they would vote for him, while Biden received only 42%.
The indictments “rely on a shaky legal framework and are malicious in nature,” the representatives wrote in the letter, which breaks down the charges against the Trump allies.
“Clearly, your intention is not to follow the law but to initiate a political witch hunt,” Brecheen, Nehls, and Biggs wrote.
The congressmen promised to continue fighting lawsuits against Trump from Congress.
“If you do not, we the undersigned look forward to using the full extent of our authorized powers to rectify your abuse of office,” they said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 26, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The state spends billions more on wealthy students who attend public schools than through the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA), or universal school choice program, according to a new analysis of federal census data from the Goldwater Institute.
The study released earlier this month culminated data from the last five U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Surveys ranging from last year to this year assessing school enrollment types for K-12 children across various household incomes.
The Goldwater Institute found that together, the data revealed that nearly one-third of public school students came from households earning over $100,000, of which about half came from households earning over $150,000.
The study disclosed that the Census data, though aggregated, was limited as general approximations due to coming from sample sizes.
Over 80 percent of children from higher-income households enroll at taxpayer expense in Arizona public schools, at a much higher rate than the ESA funds. About 1.1 million students in all attend public schooling.
Goldwater estimated that the higher rate amounts to anywhere from $2 to $4 billion annually for children from households earning over $100,000, and anywhere from $1 to $2 billion for children from households earning over $150,000.
“[W]hen it comes to funding higher-income students in the public school, the state is being charged specifically for those students, whose collective presence in the public school system does add significant cost to the public school system: both variable and fixed costs, including the necessity to hire additional staff or construct or renovate for larger campuses,” read the report.
The minimum formula funding for one public school student is about $7,500 annually for a baseline. That number rises to $12,200 with the inclusion of other funds like district overrides, bonds, and school facilities funding. The minimum tops out at over $14,700 with the inclusion of federal funding.
By comparison, Goldwater reported that average ESA funds amount to about $7,400. These students also lose out on several sources of fixed and variable costs, such as the Classroom Site Fund, and those funds revert back to the public school system.
Overall, the institute estimated that it costs taxpayers 10 to 20 times more to educate students of wealthy families in public schools than it does for similarly-situated families in the ESA Program.
The Goldwater Institute issued the study on the heels of Governor Katie Hobbs’ January announcement of a budget plan to revoke ESA Program scholarships from nearly 50,000 students.
Aggregated data collected by Goldwater in the course of their research further suggested that about 20 percent of private schoolers came from households with an income under $50,000, while about 50 percent came from households with an income under $100,000.
As for homeschoolers, the institute found that nearly 60 percent of those students hailed from households with income levels under $100,000.
In addition to state and Census Bureau data, the report relied on research from the National Center for Education Statistics, Reason, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | May 26, 2024 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
One of Arizona’s official tutoring programs for the state’s children is getting results.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne recently highlighted the success of the Arizona Department of Education’s Achievement Tutoring Program, noting that “student registrations total 17,324 over three six-week sessions so far this year.”
In a statement to champion this news, Horne said, “So far, more than 20 percent of those students tested have seen academic gains representing half a school year of learning within six weeks of tutoring. This helps these students to be better prepared for success at the next grade level. Other students have seen smaller gains, and some have exceeded a half-year’s progress, but every increase in the proficiency rate is important.”
The state’s schools chief added, “I urge parents of public-school children to take advantage of this opportunity. It is available at participating schools or through private tutoring services at no cost to the parents. A child who is struggling in reading or math deserves this chance to be more successful in the classroom and children already doing well can do even better.”
According to the department’s website, the Achievement Tutoring Program is “a new tutoring program designed to provide reading, writing, and mathematics tutoring for students in grades K-12. The tutoring is provided by both public school districts or charters and approved tutoring providers with the goal of increasing student proficiency on the statewide AASA in alignment with Arizona State Standards as well as improving reading, writing, and math in every grade level.”
The department offers this program to “any student enrolled in a public or charter school in grades K-12 with an emphasis on those who tested below proficient in reading, writing, or mathematics on the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) and are not eligible for an existing support service the Arizona Department of Education offers.”
Horne’s release shared several testimonials about the success of this program. One was from “a parent who reported her first-grade son received tutoring at his elementary school and is ‘now the fastest reader in his class… This program is revolutionary…very, very powerful and successful! Keep it up!’”
Another was from a tutor who “said her student faced ‘just the right amount of challenge. He is so cute, he said ‘There is no stopping me’ – and his mom said she can really see his confidence growing!”
Another was from a parent who said, “I just want to take a moment to thank you all for this amazing program! Our oldest child was at risk of failing this year math and thanks to the tutoring program is now scoring at 82% (was at 23%)! The impact has been tremendously positive!”
The program was started late last year, “using federal dollars earmarked to address learning loss due to the COVID pandemic” – per the information from the Arizona Department of Education.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | May 25, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A bipartisan bill to protect sex trafficking victims was recently signed into law by Arizona’s Governor.
This week, Governor Katie Hobbs signed HB 2623, which “removes the requirement that a prostitution offense be committed by a person before July 24, 2014 in order for the person to apply to have the conviction vacated due to the person’s status as a sex trafficking victim” – according to the overview from the Arizona House of Representatives.
According to the press release issued by state House Republicans, “under the previous law, victims of sex trafficking could apply to have their prostitution convictions vacated if they could prove that the conviction was a direct result of being trafficked. However, this was only appliable if the offense occurred before July 24, 2014. HB 2623 removes the date restriction, allowing victims to apply regardless of when the offense occurred.
State Representative Matt Gress, the sponsor of the legislation, issued a statement following the governor’s positive action on his bill, writing, “Not every victim of sex trafficking is ready or able to share their story at the time of their prosecution. Coming forward is often a long and difficult process. That’s why this new law is important for victims, ensuring they can seek justice and clear their names, no matter when their exploitation occurred.”
Gress added, “I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Sheri Lopez, founder of the non-profit organization Pearl at the Mailbox, a resource for victims of human trafficking. “Sheri testified before several legislative committees, bravely sharing her personal story to educate legislators about the present-day horrors of human trafficking. Her advocacy has been instrumental in bringing about this important legislative change, and her heart to help and heal other victims is an inspiration for us all.”
In February, the bill passed the Arizona House with a 57-0 tally (with two members not voting and one seat vacant). The Arizona Senate amended the proposal in April and approved of the latest version with a 26-1 vote (with three members not voting). The House then concurred with the Senate’s changes with a 57-0 vote (with three members not voting), before sending the legislation to the Governor’s Office for Hobbs’ decision.
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, Arizona Association of Counties, Middle Ground Prison Reform, Arizona National Organization for Women, and State Conference NAACP signed in to endorse the bill.
HB 2623 will go into effect 90 days following the conclusion of the 2024 legislative session.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | May 25, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., offered scholarships to the students in his district who won awards in the Congressional Art Competition.
The U.S. House of Representatives sponsors the Congressional Art Competition, a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in every congressional district in the nation, each spring.
Crane represents Arizona’s second district, which is the northeastern part of the state.
The Phippen Museum in Prescott displayed all submitted artwork. Local judges visited to view and evaluate each piece.
Hannah Pryor, a student at Miami High School, won first place this year for her piece “My Cat.” Hannah will fly to Washington, D.C. for an awards banquet and have her award-winning artwork displayed for a year in the U.S. Capitol.
Grayson Edwards of Mingus Union High School won second place for his piece “The Professional.”
Trinity Christian School student Ethan Orr, who was last year’s first place winner, placed third for “A Stroll in Seoul.”
Clay Witten of Trinity Christian School received Honorable Mention for “Downtown Prescott.”
The People’s Choice award went to Lydia Minjarez from Mingus Union High School for “Zebra Eye.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
