The Veridus BLOG

The race for Arizona Governor began in earnest this week as the Hobbs campaign launched a slate of broadcast TV ads it characterized as “the earliest ever for an Arizona gubernatorial race.” The 30-second biographical spots are airing in English and Spanish and highlight Governor Katie Hobbs’ working-class background, as well as her focus on affordability issues.

Governor Katie Hobbs lifted her bill moratorium Thursday, clearing lawmakers to once again begin sending her bills to sign or veto. The announcement ends a legislative blockade that she began a month earlier, and is fueling optimism among Capitol-watchers that a budget deal is moving closer.

Nearly 3 out of 4 Arizona ballots were cast by mail during the 2024 General Election. Now, a local group is mounting an effort to protect mail-in voting by enshrining the practice in the Arizona Constitution.

As expected, Governor Katie Hobbs today vetoed a GOP-led budget package for fiscal 2027. The $17.9 billion spending plan passed the Arizona House and Senate via party-line votes, and Governor Hobbs had already signaled her opposition. With a statement accompanying the veto, she called the legislative proposal “unbalanced and reckless,” and likened it to “Washington-style budgeting.”

Today, the Arizona State Senate approved the Republican majority’s $17.9 billion budget package for fiscal 2027. It will be transmitted to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who has raised objections to the spending plan and is widely expected to veto it. The same proposal passed out of the House last week, clearing both chambers by a GOP-only, party-line vote.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a six-decade-old section of the Voting Rights Act - effectively outlawing the practice of taking into consideration the racial makeup of voters when drawing legislative and congressional district lines.

Wednesday afternoon, the Arizona House of Representatives via a party-line vote advanced the GOP majority’s spending plan for fiscal year 2027. The proposal was introduced earlier this week.

The election year is well underway, and political observers recently got their first look at fundraising progress via candidates’ filing of Q1 campaign-finance reports. Below is a snapshot of reports filed by candidates for statewide offices.

Nearly 2,000 bills were introduced to begin the Arizona legislative session. Most have now reached their eternal resting place. Today was the last chance for House and Senate committees to meet (except for Appropriations committees, which have one more week of work). That means, for the vast majority of bills, this was the deadline to clear committee and move to the full House or Senate for consideration.

This fall, Arizona voters may face competing initiatives to reform the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. The dueling proposals are now in a sprint to collect the just over 250,000 valid petition signatures necessary to qualify for the November ballot. Deadline: July 2.

The latest signal that federal investigators are examining results of the 2020 election came this week as the Arizona State Senate complied with a grand jury subpoena for results of a Senate-led audit of the presidential contest. Information handed over is believed to include digital scans of ballots cast by Maricopa County voters in that election.

This marks the first time in 12 years that Arizona won’t play host to a U.S. Senate race, but that doesn’t mean our state won’t take center stage in 2026. Multiple Arizona House seats are in play, and the delegation will see at least two new faces as longtime GOP Congressmen Andy Biggs and David Schweikert depart in order to run for Governor.

Controversial state legislation is dead - for now - that would have required county officials to “provide for the presence of federal immigration law enforcement personnel” at polling locations.

The Republican field opposing Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs shrank this week as Arizona businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson bowed out of the race.

This week, former Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda said she’s considering dropping out of the race for CD-1 and running for Secretary of State instead. That would pit her against state Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), a Freedom Caucus favorite. The GOP nominee, of course, would face Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in November.

It took only five weeks, but the newly minted Arizona Independent Party has its first entrant in what’s already a crowded field for Governor this year. Arizona health care executive Hugh Lytle joined the race Tuesday, vowing to “bridge the partisan divide.” He accused the Democratic and Republican parties of being “trapped in a fight that never ends. They argue, they posture, they divide, but they don’t solve big problems.”

The Arizona State Capitol revving to life wasn’t the only political news in recent days. Statewide candidates also filed their Q4 campaign-finance reports, giving us a good idea who’s got cash as the 2026 election year gets underway.

Today, Governor Katie Hobbs released her fiscal 2027 Executive Budget, a $17.7 billion General Fund spending plan that prioritizes her affordability agenda - including a $236 million tax cuts package.

Today, the 57th Arizona Legislature assembled for the 2nd regular session at the Arizona State Capitol as Governor Katie Hobbs delivered her fourth State of the State address.

The 2nd Regular Session of the 57th Arizona Legislature convenes Monday at the State Capitol, with Governor Katie Hobbs set to deliver her fourth State of the State address as the headliner of Opening Day.