The Arizona Republican leader instrumental in delivering her state for the 47th President of the United States is reportedly running for re-election for chair of her party.
Earlier this month, Garrett Archer, a journalist with ABC15 News, revealed that Gina Swoboda, the current chair of the Republican Party of Arizona, would be running for re-election to her post in January, and that she would be supported by President-elect Donald J. Trump.
The news quickly spread among Arizona Republicans, and several expressed their delight with this reported decision. Arizona Senate President Pro-Tempore T.J. Shope posted, “She has Donald Trump’s support and she has my support! Let’s all rally behind Gina Swoboda for AZGOP Chair!!!”
Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp added, “The Boss knows she is the best woman for the job! And so does Arizona! Looking forward to winning 2026 with Gina Swoboda as the State Party Chair!”
The Boss knows she is the best woman for the job! And so does Arizona! Looking forward to winning 2026 with @GinaSwoboda as the State Party Chair! https://t.co/1Db3wy4k8c
Swoboda was unexpectedly pressed into action as chair of state Republican party in January after a vacancy occurred. After quickly securing the endorsement of former President Donald J. Trump, Swoboda had no trouble sailing to victory in the snap election among state committeemen. Her top priority as chair was to re-deliver Arizona’s electoral votes for Trump in November, which she did last month for the General Election.
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!”
🚨AZGOP On Track for Huge Wins as Trump and Vance Claim Victory🚨
The @AZGOP proudly congratulates President-Elect @realDonaldTrump and Vice President-Elect @JDVance on their HISTORIC victory! As we await the final count of all ballots, the energy and enthusiasm for Republicans…
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.”
When Trump visited Tempe in late October, he made sure to address Swoboda’s tireless work to help turn out the votes for him and other Republicans across the state, saying, “This woman has done a job […] especially early voting, and we are doing record successful numbers, and I think it’s gonna stay that way. Gina Swoboda, great job – thank you!”
“The @AZGOP Chairwoman has done a job […] especially early voting and we are doing record successful numbers, and I think it’s gonna stay that way. @GinaSwoboda, great job, thank you.”
Under Swoboda’s leadership, Trump won Arizona with a greater margin than he did in 2016; Republicans expanded their majorities in the state House and Senate; incumbent Republican U.S. Congressmen held their seats; Republicans swept the three statewide Arizona Corporation Commission positions, and a key border security measure sailed to victory.
Swoboda’s reported intent to run for re-election for AZGOP chair would likely set up a match-up with State Representative Cory McGarr, who announced his decision to run for the party’s top post earlier this month after losing his seat in the Arizona Legislature. Former Republican candidate for Arizona Governor and U.S. Senate, Kari Lake, thanked McGarr “for getting in this race.”
The AZGOP chair for the next election cycle in 2026 will be critical for Republican efforts to take back major statewide offices – Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. Arizona Republicans will have the chance to decide who is the best fit to lead them forward when they reconvene in the new year at the annual AZGOP meeting in Phoenix.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
When President-elect Donald Trump named Linda McMahon as the next secretary of Education, he said McMahon “will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families” via a statement issued on Truth Social.
During Trump’s first term, McMahon led the Small Business Administration (SBA), where she favored pragmatic pro-growth policies that emphasized merit-based job opportunities and reducing government intervention in business practices with a nod towards no forced diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
With the selection of McMahon as education secretary, states should demand this administration make true educational freedom attainable, protect our female athletes by returning “girls only” to their sports teams and hold our public schools accountable against child predators.
States like Arizona eagerly await this changing of the guard to truly help protect women. While an enraged Michelle Obama spewed hate-filled propaganda in the last few weeks leading up to the November election by suggesting “women will become collateral damage” if Trump was to return to the White House, thankfully, voters did not buy that.
McMahon understands the importance of bringing education back to the states where it belongs and into the hands of parents, not government bureaucrats relying on zip codes to fill school buildings. While McMahon led the America First Works (AFW), the organization’s main goal was to achieve universal school choice across the country. Over the last several years, the school-choice movement has seen a dozen states achieve this status, but it cannot stop there. McMahon’s leadership role at the helm of AFW illustrates that she adamantly supports competition among our schools, including charter schools, private-school tuition scholarships, education savings accounts and homeschooling. Above all, McMahon believes supporting all educational options will lead to better outcomes for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
McMahon’s appointment couldn’t have come at a better time. Future Secretary McMahon could halt the Biden administration’s attack on women by rolling back its faulty rulemaking that was forcing publicly funded schools to allow transgender men to participate in women’s only sports by threatening to defund their Title IX funding if they refused. Hopefully, this war on women can end on Trump’s first day back in the White House. Women’s only sports face near extinction if we don’t prohibit biological men from competing in women’s sports. It is truly unfair for biological girls to have to compete with biological males in sports. Not only do males have bigger muscles than females, but males have the advantage of testosterone that no amount of training or talent can enable biological female athletes to overcome.
Safety in our sports is not the only area this next administration needs to lead. All children should feel safe on their school’s campus. Sexual abuse cases in our public schools continue to generate headlines. Even though teachers and school-district employees are mandatory reporters, they don’t always appropriately record allegations of sexual abuse.
The Trump administration needs to step up in protecting the safety of our kids by requiring all public-school districts and charter-school districts to record all sexual abuse allegations and share these written reports with its state education department. The Department of Education should centrally house a database documenting sexual abuse allegations in our schools so that when district and charter schools are conducting background checks on future employees, they can consult this much needed resource. The teachers’ unions will push back against this proposal. We should all agree, all students should be free from predators, especially in their individual learning environments. Each year public schools report their campuses’ crime data to the Office of Civil Rights under the Department of Education. Schools should be committed to keeping our kids safe and want to be held accountable by reporting any sexual abuse allegations.
Shawnna Bolick is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and has served in the Arizona Legislature since 2019. She served four years in the Arizona House until 2022. In July 2023, she was appointed to the State Senate, District 2, to fill a vacancy. Bolick has signed onto an amicus brief supporting both Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and Arizona’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. She has sponsored or cosponsored legislation pertaining to weeding out sexual predators in our public schools.
Arizona Republicans are weighing in against an ongoing effort from the outgoing presidential administration to offload materials at the border ahead of the transfer of power in January.
Last week, The Daily Wire revealed that “Biden is racing to auction off unused border wall materials weeks before Trump takes office.” These materials were left over from the first Trump administration, when President Biden halted construction on the wall spanning parts of the southern border in various border states as one of his earliest actions in the White House in early 2021.
According to President-elect Donald Trump at a recent press conference, “The (Biden) administration is trying to sell it for five cents on the dollar – knowing that we’re getting ready to put it up.” Trump added that “what they’re doing is really an act – it’s almost a criminal act.”
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey responded to the news, saying, “Right here in AZ, Joe Biden is attempting a last-ditch effort to keep America’s borders open by selling off materials the Trump Admin will use to finish the wall. This decision from President Biden is reckless, will make Arizonans less safe, and should be reversed – immediately.”
Right here in AZ, @JoeBiden is attempting a last ditch effort to keep America’s borders open by selling off materials the Trump Admin will use to finish the wall. This decision from President Biden is reckless, will make Arizonans less safe, and should be reversed — immediately. https://t.co/GRmVAvvEGc
In an interview with The Daily Wire, U.S. Congressman Eli Crane said, “The Biden Administration is well aware they shouldn’t have reversed construction of the border wall. If it’s true, they’re purposefully hamstringing an incoming president, it wouldn’t be shocking. Why would they want to see President Trump succeed with policies they aggressively sabotaged?”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen told AZ Free News, “This brazen behavior from Biden is a slap in the face to the law-abiding citizens who voted for a secure border. It’s because of his reckless policies and his administration’s evasion of the law that countless Americans have suffered the dire consequences of criminals pouring across the border into our communities. I’m hopeful the courts will take action against this sale.”
As Petersen mentioned, Republicans around the country are searching for a legal theory to try to stop the Biden administration from continuing with these actions. President Donald Trump takes the oath of office one month from this week on January 20.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Republican Party cast its votes for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
“With a decisive victory, Arizonans delivered a clear mandate: return to common sense, security, prosperity and liberty,” said the Arizona GOP. “God bless America and let the Golden Age begin!”
Today, the @AZGOP and Chair @GinaSwoboda proudly cast their votes for President Trump and J.D. Vance!
With a decisive victory, Arizonans delivered a clear mandate: return to common sense, security, prosperity and liberty.
Trump won Arizona with over 52 percent of the vote (over 1.7 million votes) to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’s 46.7 percent (over 1.5 million votes).
As a swing state once again this election, Arizona delivered 11 electoral votes for Republicans. The flip from the 2020 election marked a key victory in an overall decisive comeback for Trump.
The president-elect not only secured but swept all seven battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Trump won 312 electoral votes over the 226 pulled by Harris.
Trump won with a greater margin than Joe Biden did in 2020. In the last presidential election, Biden won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. Democrats flipped the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump matched Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton (both securing 306 electoral votes), meaning Trump outdid his 2016 performance in addition to his comeback from his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s victory didn’t translate to flipped congressional seats in Arizona. Incumbents held their seats within their parties. However, Republicans did expand their slim majority in the state legislature.
The open Senate seat vacated by independent Kyrsten Sinema was nabbed by Democratic candidate Ruben Gallego, who emerged victorious with 50 percent of the vote (an 80,600-vote lead) to Republican candidate Kari Lake’s 47 percent.
Lake’s loss didn’t take her out of the political arena, however. Lake secured a spot within Trump’s administration as the director of the federally funded Voice of America (VOA), an entity within the U.S. Agency for Global Media. VOA’s current director is Michael Abramowitz, formerly the president of the DC-based nonprofit Freedom House and longtime reporter with The Washington Post.
Incumbent Democratic Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Greg Stanton defended their seats from Republican challengers. Likewise, incumbent Republican Reps. David Schweikert, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Juan Ciscomani, and Paul Gosar defended their seats from Democratic challengers.
Although his seat was hotly contested, Ciscomani fended off a challenge from repeat Democratic candidate Kirsten Engel.
Abe Hamadeh, a Republican, secured the open District 8 seat left by Debbie Lesko. Unlike Lake, Hamadeh successfully navigated the loss of a statewide seat in 2022 to nab a higher seat this year.
In the state legislature, Arizona Republicans flipped a net total of three seats: one in the state senate, and three in the state house (another seat in the house flipped blue). Republicans expanded their majority from 16-14 to 17-13 in the senate and from 31-29 to 33-27 in the house.
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) claimed in a statement on the legislative expansion that Arizona Republicans outperformed Democrats despite leftwing groups having spent over $9 million.
The inauguration is scheduled to take place on Jan. 20, 2025.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
One of the highest priorities for the incoming Trump administration should be to end the Democrats’ weaponization of powerful government agencies against taxpayers and businesses they don’t like. Nowhere has this mission been more pernicious than the party-line vote to fund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with nearly $80 billion and hire tens of thousands of new tax snoops.
By the way, according to the IRS press office, the additional audits have so far raised less than $2 billion, far less than the additional expenditures. So how is this program “paying for itself”?
This was never about seeking tax fairness as liberals claimed. It was about unleashing an aggressive, permanent and unchecked enforcement assault on U.S. taxpayers to rake in more tax dollars to pay for liberals’ political agenda. The American people voted to end such madness, and the IRS should now act accordingly and immediately by ignoring the Biden administration’s 11th-hour efforts to ram through a slew of costly new rules and regulations as they now head toward the exit.
Progressive leaders made wildly erroneous claims that a supersized IRS would raise nearly $1 trillion over 10 years from stepped-up enforcement against higher-income earners and businesses. And they attempted to justify their proposals by broadly portraying entrepreneurs, small businesses, family-owned private enterprises and the wealthy as tax cheats.
The entire exercise was designed to harass lawful taxpayers and threaten them as guilty parties until they could prove themselves innocent.
Fortunately, most voters saw their efforts for what they were: a liberal fantasy grab of other peoples’ money and an attempt to assert greater control over their livelihoods. Democrat leaders did not help themselves by immediately oversteering the car. This included efforts to have the IRS spy on personal bank accounts and require income reporting for basic Venmo payments among friends, as well as punitive measures on those whose incomes are derived from tips or numerous other types of transactions.
Another target for IRS harassment has been business partnerships. Such businesses are one of the most common and practical ways to structure private enterprises of all sizes. A simple analogy might be when one party owns an available tractor and another has available land, and they go into business together to farm the land.
All told, there are an estimated 4.5 million business partnerships in America. Collectively, these partnerships generate more than $12 trillion in revenue and employ millions of U.S. workers.
Yet the IRS, before President-elect Donald Trump returns to office, is now stealthily attempting to implement new rules that threaten the future viability of such partnerships. These proposed changes to the tax code impact what is known as “basis shifting” — a routine and legal practice that business partners use to adjust the tax basis of their respective assets. In short, the proposed rules would deliberately embed uncertainty and subjective IRS interpretations of how taxable assets are treated when one transfers or sells their interest in a business partnership. Basically, the opposite of tax fairness.
Meanwhile, the multibillion-dollar bounty the Biden administration claimed their newly armed IRS would secure through added enforcement and new tax rules has completely failed to materialize. The IRS recently disclosed that just $1 billion had been recovered since their aggressive campaign went into effect two years ago, and there is no way of knowing if that would have occurred with or without it.
How ironic and sad is it for taxpayers to learn that the vast amount of the $80 billion Democrats awarded to the IRS to recover or find new “savings” is instead on pace to serve as a massive cost to the U.S. Treasury?
The last thing voters now want is for the IRS to impose any more costly last-minute tax changes that will make problems even worse for taxpayers, workers and employers. Accordingly, the Biden team and the IRS should put down their pencils.
And if they persist with these fourth-quarter rule changes, the Trump team should be prepared to immediately repeal them in January.
Stephen Moore is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. His new book, coauthored with Arthur Laffer, is “The Trump Economic Miracle.”
