by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 11, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s Republican Party Chair accomplished her stated desire to help elect President Donald J. Trump to the White House.
Gina Swoboda didn’t have a lot of time for on-the-job training when she unexpectedly took the helm of the Republican Party of Arizona at the beginning of this year. However, despite the issues of a short runway to unite the party, raise money, and get out the vote for Republican candidates and values, Swoboda and her team managed to meet the daunting challenge before them.
When Swoboda was elected by a vast majority of Arizona Republican activists in January, she praised President Trump for his support and vowed her dedication to his election efforts. She said, “Arizona is the key to the presidency. I was proud to have the support of President Trump in this victory to lead the AZGOP into the most important election of our lifetime. Now it’s time to turn out every last vote for the 47th President DONALD J TRUMP!”
That mission was met in Arizona with President-Elect Trump capturing the state’s eleven electoral votes. While ballots are still being counted across most counties in Arizona, Trump will likely win by a larger number than he did when he won the state in 2016.
Barring a reversal in any of the races, all three of the Arizona Corporation Commissioner spots will be filled by Republicans, giving the party unanimous control of the important state panel.
Both the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives appear to be in Republican control after Tuesday’s elections, returning the state to a divided government for the next two years, and preventing Democrats from unrestrained power to dismantle Arizona’s broad school choice and Second Amendment freedoms – as well as other things that may be on their to-do list.
Additionally, Republicans are tracking toward significant victories in most of the posts for Maricopa County Offices, including County Attorney, Sheriff, School Superintendent, Recorder, and majority control of the Board of Supervisors.
On Election Night, Swoboda issued a statement of victory after seeing a number of positive results around her state, writing, “This victory is a testament to the grit and determination of Arizonans who believe in the American Dream. We focused on what matters – keeping families safe, bringing down the cost of living, securing our border, and reviving American greatness. We have sent a clear message to Washington: Arizona is red, and when we unite, WE WIN!”
One night later, after her state was called for Trump, Swoboda posted, “It has been the honor of a lifetime to help elect 45/47. Thank you for believing in me Donald Trump. Thank you AZGOP for allowing me to make history with our beautiful State 48.”
If Swoboda returns as the party’s chair next year, she again faces a tall challenge with most of Arizona’s statewide offices up for grabs. Republicans will be seeking to take back the Governor’s, Attorney General’s, and Secretary of State’s Offices, maintain control of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s and Treasurer’s Offices, and keep the state legislature.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
With Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs languishing at a 36% favorability rating and her efforts to flip the state legislature blue appearing to have failed, Arizona stands poised to hover in political limbo for the next two years. In effect, Hobbs, who has vetoed 216 bills since taking office, could now be a lame-duck governor.
In an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Hobbs confirmed her 216 vetoes to the host, proudly extolling the inaction of the log-jammed government in the most insulting terms possible.
“We have a legislature that is run by literal insurrectionists and indicted fake electors. And they didn’t get the message that voters wanted sanity over chaos, and so they kept sending extreme measures that I had to veto. But here’s the good news about our ballot. In addition to all the garbage that the legislature sent, we also had the chance to vote on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion in our state’s constitution.
Right now, the results of that are looking very good. So I’m optimistic about that passing and us being able to restore our rights here in Arizona. “
Dan Coulson of Citizens for Free Enterprise shared video of the moment on X writing, “In a really awkward interview, @KatieHobbs claims that Arizona Republicans ‘didn’t get the message’ from voters… Hobbs currently has a 36% approval rating and Republicans in the State Legislature expanded their majorities so I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about.”
Conservative Political Consultant Constantine Querard observed, “Among what Katie Hobbs calls ‘garbage’ that the Legislature sent to the ballot is border security, cracking down on those who traffic kids for sex, support for our police, and more. I see she’s in fine form as she launches Campaign 2026!”
As reported by AZCentral, unofficial election results showed Republicans poised to expand their advantage in the Arizona House. The State Senate also appears likely to remain in GOP control, as of this report.
Should these opposing forces in the legislative and executive branches of the Arizona government remain unchanged, then it is likely that even basic business of the government will be brutally fought, and no real reforms will be possible for either party, until the inevitable 2026 rematch for the Governor’s office.
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 Daniel Stefanski | Oct 7, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican State Senator is bringing attention to the work she and her colleagues have accomplished for Arizonans in the recently completed legislative session.
State Senator Janae Shamp released a statement last week to mark the bills that went into effect in the Grand Canyon State this September. For most bills passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by the governor each legislative session, those policies go into effect ninety days after the adjournment of the state House and Senate.
“Bills signed into law during legislative session this year officially took effect in September, with a few exceptions,” said Shamp. “Senate Republicans championed impactful laws that will combat issues such as child abuse, retail theft, and the use of artificial intelligence for malice, as well as laws to help support patients with serious mental illness and prospective homebuyers in Arizona.”
The first-term lawmaker highlighted one of her own bills that became law last month – SB 1232. Shamp added, “I personally made it my mission to help protect Arizona’s most vulnerable population from predators. I had several bills signed into law to protect our children and inform our communities, and I’m proud to say life imprisonment is now on the table for criminals who commit the most heinous crimes against our children! Sexual misconduct with a minor is now considered a class 1 felony punishable by natural life imprisonment if the child is 12 years old or younger and suffers serious physical harm.”
In the Fifty-Sixth Legislature – Second Regular Session, there were 259 chaptered bills that became law in Arizona. That number was up from the previous year’s session, when there were 205 chaptered bills that became law.
However, the number of bills becoming law in a divided state government, with Republicans controlling the Arizona Legislature and a Democrat in the Governor’s Office, was far lower than when Republicans had full control of government. In 2022, the last year of Republican Governor Doug Ducey’s administration, 388 chaptered bills became law. And in 2021, there were 447 chaptered bills that became law.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 9, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Two ballot referrals from the Arizona Legislature may be on thin ice as voters prepare their decisions for November’s General Election.
A poll released this week from Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) showed that both Proposition 135 and Proposition 137 were underwater with respondents, though many voters remain undecided.
According to the Arizona Secretary of State, Prop 135 would “terminate governor’s emergency powers, except for powers relating to war, fire, or flood, 30 days after the governor’s proclamation, unless extended by the legislature; [and] requires the governor to call a special session upon presentment of a petition signed by at least one-third of the members of the legislature.”
The NPI survey shows that 29% of respondents support the measure, compared to 32% who are opposed. Thirty percent of respondents are undecided on how they would vote.
“Many conservatives haven’t forgotten COVID,” said NPI Chief of Research David Byler. “Memories of lockdowns – combined with a Democrat in the governor’s mansion – make sense of the partisan divide we see on this issue.”
The Arizona Legislature referred this proposal to the Secretary of State on June 13, 2023 (HCR 2039).
According to the Arizona Secretary of State, Prop 137 would “eliminate judicial terms and regular retention elections and nullif[y] the results of the 2024 judicial retention elections, for Arizona Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeals Judges, and Superior Court Judges in counties with over 250,000 persons.”
For this proposition, the NPI poll shows that 31% of respondents would support the measure, compared to 38% who are opposed to it. Twenty-four percent of voters appear to be undecided.
“While about 1 in 10 voters say they wouldn’t vote on Prop 135 or 137, the large shares of voters who are still unsure how they will vote on each measure will determine whether or not these measures pass come November,” said Mike Noble, NPI Founder & CEO.
The Arizona Legislature referred this proposal to the Secretary of State on June 13, 2024 (SCR 1044).
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Aug 29, 2024 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit against Arizona State University and the Arizona Board of Regents for “unlawfully mandating racist DEI training for faculty.” The lawsuit was brought by Dr. Owen Anderson and the Goldwater Institute. The Arizona Board of Regents brought a motion to dismiss the case, which Petersen and Toma are urging the court to reject.
In the text of the brief, Petersen and Toma establish first and foremost that the case brought by Goldwater and Dr. Anderson “is a civil rights case,” citing Arizona Revised Statutes “enacted in part to prohibit discriminatory state and local government practices, including conduct that could qualify as, or lead to, a discriminatory work environment and even liability for the State.”
Sharing the brief, the Arizona Republican Party wrote in a post to X, “We refuse to normalize discrimination in higher education, or anywhere in the state of Arizona.”
As reported by Goldwater, the crux of the complaint by Dr. Anderson is that Arizona State University is using taxpayer funds to mandate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training among the university’s faculty. And that Dr. Anderson’s refusal to participate in the inherently discriminatory training has left him open to discipline from his superiors.
“I shouldn’t be forced to take training and affirm ideas with which I disagree as a condition of employment,’” Dr. Anderson said. “This ‘training’ is simply racism under the guise of DEI. It goes against my conscience, and I want no part of it.”
Goldwater Staff Attorney Stacy Skankey noted, “Arizona state law prohibits mandatory training for state employees and use of taxpayer resources to teach doctrines that discriminate based on race, ethnicity, sex, and other characteristics.”
“But the ‘ASU Inclusive Communities’ training teaches discriminatory DEI concepts, including things like ‘how…white supremacy [is] normalized in society,’ how to ‘critique whiteness’; ‘white privilege’; ‘white fragility’; and the need for ‘transformative justice.’ Even ‘seemingly innocuous questions and comments’—like asking people where they’re from or commenting on their hair—can be deemed ‘racist.’”
Skankey and co-counsel Parker Jackson, representing Dr. Anderson, alleged in the complaint that the Arizona Board of Regents and ASU are “using public money to prepare and disseminate mandatory faculty and staff training for its employees that presents forms of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex, in violation of state law.” They add that the University is “compelling the speech of public employees by requiring faculty and staff to take an examination following a training that presents forms of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex, and answer with Arizona State University’s ‘correct’ answers, in violation of the Arizona Constitution.”
The training included slides containing these objectively racial and gender discriminatory statements and concepts:
- “[A]cknowledging the history of white supremacy and the social conditions for it to exist as a structural phenomenon.”
- “How is white supremacy normalized in society.”
- “[G]iven the socio-historical legacy of racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of structural inequality, perceptions of authority and control are not always granted to minoritized [sic] faculty.”
- “White Fragility.”
- “What is White Privilege, Really.”
- “Explaining White privilege to a broke white person… .”
- “7 Ways White People Can Combat Their Privilege.”
- “Racism … can take the form of … and include seemingly innocuous questions or comments, such as asking people of color where they are from … .”
- “Sexual identities are linked to power, and heterosexuality, the dominant sexual identity in American culture, is privileged by going largely unquestioned.”
A video segment of the training includes the statements via transcript:
- “[I]t scares people to talk about white supremacy or to be called a white supremacist. But if we start thinking about it in terms of whiteness as something that is culturally neutral and we’re moving it from that neutral space into a critical space.”
- “[W]e also have to open the space to critique whiteness.”
- “[W]hite supremacy … referring to here is the period between the 1500’s and the 1800’s that encompasses both Spanish colonization and Euro American colonization. And what colonization did, was it really created this system of binary thinking. There were folks that were inherently good and folks that were inherently bad, and that led to the systems of superiority that were then written into the foundation documents of our nation.”
The original complaint summarizes: “The Inclusive Communities training provides discriminatory concepts including, but not limited to: white people are inherently racist and oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; heterosexuals are inherently sexist and oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; white people should receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of their race or ethnicity; white people bear responsibility for actions committed by other white people; land acknowledgement statements are a way of holding one race or ethnicity responsible for the actions committed by other members of the same race or ethnicity; transformative justice calls for an individual to bear responsibility for actions committed by other members of the same race, ethnic group or sex; and dominant identities (whites or heterosexuals) are treated morally or intellectually superior to other races, ethnic groups or sexes.”
Skankey explained, “ASU is essentially forcing its employees to agree to a certain type of speech, which violates the Arizona Constitution’s broad protections for free speech.”
Speaking with Fox & Friends in March, Dr. Anderson explained, “I was told I need to ‘decolonize my classroom.’”
In a statement responding to the lawsuit, an ASU spokesman told Fox producers, “The Goldwater Institute suit misleads the court and misrepresents both the content and requirements of this training to make an argument the represents a political perspective but is not based on the law. ASU’s commitment to providing a support and welcoming educational environment for students of all backgrounds will continue and the university will respond appropriately to the Institute’s tactic.”
The case is currently awaiting a response from the Arizona Board of Regents.
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.
