Maybe the new GOP symbol should be from Medium (note: I don't agree with the author's "both sides" premise. but I like the pic)-
From Arizona Capitol Times, written by Reagan Priest, dated 6/10 -
Freedom Caucus announces primary challengers for
Arizona Corporation Commission
Two Republican state representatives announced their plans to challenge two incumbent Corporation Commissioners in 2026, saying the two commissioners have not done enough to support President Donald Trump’s energy agenda and protect ratepayers.
Reps. David Marshall, R-Snowflake, and Ralph Heap, R-Mesa, were recruited by Arizona Freedom Caucus Chair and state Senator Jake Hoffman to run against Republican commissioners Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers. The two commissioners were first elected in 2022 and are eligible to run for a second term next year.
Note: Ralph Heap is the father of Justin Heap (R-MAGA), the current Maricopa County Recorder.
Hoffman recruited Marshall and Heap to run in the R primary because he feels that Thompson and Myers, as bad as they are, aren't Trumpy enough.
He's also recruited Kimberly Yee, the current (and termed out) AZ state treasurer, to mount a primary challenge to Tom Horne, the incumbent AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction.
He has recruited Rep. Alexander Kolodin to challenge incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes for AZ Secretary of State. Kolodin may face a primary is his quest to the R nominee for SOS.
Hoffman has endorsed Andy Biggs in the R primary for governor (Dear Leader hedged his bets and endorsed the two major candidates in that race which kind of obviates that move by Hoffman), Given Biggs' noted inability to fundraise means that he'll need Hoffman more than the basically self-funding Karrin Taylor Robson will.
In fact, the only race where Hoffman hasn't issued an endorsement (at least, not that I can find) is the race for AZ Attorney General. Fellow state senator Warren Petersen is running in that one. Or maybe I should say "Senate President Warren Petersen."
Hoffman isn't likely to do something to tick him off while both are members of the state legislature.
Note: as of this writing, neither Marshall nor Heap have formed committees for their runs at ACC slots; however, both have filed Statements of Interest with the SOS.
From Arizona Agenda, written by Hank Stephenson and Nicole Ludden
Horne gets flanked
The Freedom Caucus slate is almost complete.
Ever since MAGA candidates swept the polls in November, Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman has been preparing for 2026 by drafting or latching on to Republican candidates to take back the statewide offices the GOP lost in the 2022 midterm election.
Yesterday, Hoffman introduced his newest Freedom-Caucus-backed candidate: Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee.
[snip]
Her angle? Horne is too weak on school vouchers.
On 5/27, she filed a Statement of Interest with the AZSOS.
As of this writing she hasn't formed a new committee/updated an old one for this run.
Yee is looking to unseat Horne in the R primary for Hoffman, who went looking for a viler human being than Horne.
Apparently, he found one in Yee, who has pledged to continue the school voucher grift.
Interestingly, Hoffman, in a tweet on X, referred to the school voucher program as "wildly popular."
From the same article from Arizona Agenda (I'm not on X) -
"Wildly popular"?
Maybe with the people who benefit from the grift.
With the people who pay the freight?
Not so much.
Note: forming a committee and/or filing a Statement of Interest (SOI) with the AZSOS does NOT mean that will appear on a ballot going before voters.
Q: What do former politicos do when they lose a race?
A: Run for office again.
In 2022, legislator John Fillmore (R-Whackjob) lost his primary race for state house. Now he's filed an SOI for a run at Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton. As of this writing, he has not formed a committee with the FEC.
In 2024, soon-to-be ex-legislator Anthony Kern (R-Another Whackjob) came in fifth in a seven-way primary race for Congress (actually, one was a write in candidate, so he was fifth of six ballot candidates). Now he's looking to return to the legislature.
He hasn't formed a new committee with the AZSOS, but he may by using an old committee for this run.
It's not just former politicos, though.
Former placekicker (NFL and Arena Football League) Jay Feely (R-very Wide Right) has declared his candidacy to replace Andy Biggs in Congress.
His SOI, from the AZSOS -
All you need to know about him can be summed up in one pic -
 |
| From Sports Illustrated |
This pic may help him in his primary race, but I don't care.
One's not a surprise at all and one is a bit of surprise.
First up: the one that isn't a surprise.
From AZPM, written by Christopher Conover -
Adelita Grijalva enters CD 7 race
Adelita Grijalva announced Monday morning that she is entering the race to take her late father's place in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Grijalva has followed in her father's footsteps, serving on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board and on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
In a written statement, she said," I've spent my life as an advocate, fighting for the brighter future we all deserve."
As for the one that's a bit of a surprise:
From the statements of interest filed with the AZ Secretary of State -
From KJZZ, written by Camryn Sanchez -
Far-right candidate Rep. Alexander Kolodin joins 2026 Arizona secretary of state race
Far-right state Rep. Alexander Kolodin is challenging Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in 2026.
The Scottsdale Republican began his campaign on Monday dodging questions about his history of claiming elections aren’t safe.
As of this writing, neither the FEC (in Grijalva's case) nor the AZ Secretary of State (in Kolodin's case) lists a campaign committee for either one one their respective websites.
In Grijalva's case, her entry into the Congressional race was long rumored; as for Kolodin, that was a bit of a surprise - the far right Freedom Caucus, of which Kolodin is a member, absolutely *hates* the current AZSOS, Adrian Fontes. and Kolodin wanted to be the first big name into the race.
My guess: he won't be the last. The KJZZ story goes on to talk about how Gina Swoboda, the current chair of the AZGOP, is looking at the race, too.
...On 3/4/2025, 2024 candidate for Congress, filed paperwork with the FEC to run again for AZCD1 in 2026. This isn't new news, as many outlets covered it last week.
On KAET's (Phoenix Channel 8) Horizon journalists' roundtable on Friday, a couple of the panelists speculated that her early entry into the race was due to two factors:
1. To forestall other entries into the race.
2. To help with her fundraising efforts.
I can't speak to her fundraising efforts, but I don't believe that her early entry won't stop anyone from entering the race - the incumbent, David Schweikert (R-Ethically Challenged), is widely seen as vulnerable, and any candidate with an ego will look at the race.
Caveat: this my district, and as in 2024, I won't make a voting decision until I see who actually on the ballot.
...On 2/3/2025, retired Marine JoAnna Mendoza filed paperwork with the FEC to run for AZCD6.
I didn't find any state-level or Maricopa County-level new committees of note.
Or, in some cases, *another* office, as some of these folks are current office holders.
Note: Just because someone has filed a Statement of Interest or form a committee for run for a particular office doesn't mean that person will appear on a ballot for that office. It's early yet and things can, and probably will, change before ballots are set.
Note2: This presumes that there will be elections going forward. With Cheeto and co-president Musk (and their hatred of democracy) running things, that's not a given.
All of the following is based on Statements of Interest (SOI) filed and committees formed.
Warren Petersen (R), the current president of the state senate, is running for Arizona Attorney General. He filed an SOI on 1/26 and amended an old committee for this run on 1/31.
Making official something everyone already knew, former candidate Karrin Taylor Robson (R) is running for governor. She filed an SOI on 2/12 and amended an old committee for this run on 2/12.
Jarrett Maupin (R) is running to unseat Yassamin Ansari (D) is CD3. He filed an SOI on 2/5. He hasn't formed a committee as yet.
No ally of Joe Arpaio should be allowed within even sniffing distance of an elected office.
I looked at Maricopa County statements of interest and newly-formed committees. I didn't find anything there - all of the SOIs were from people looking at the office of Justice of the Peace or Constable. There are a couple of former legislators on that list but they're running for re-election, so I'm going to ignore them. As for the county's committee listings? I didn't find anything there, though the County's search function is problematical and I may have missed something.
However, as I stated at the beginning of this post, it's still early, so I didn't worry about it too much.
Current president of the state senate, Warren Petersen, is "interested" in running for state AG.
From the list of statements of interest filed with the AZ SOS -
At this point. it's only an expression of interest of becoming a candidate for a particular office. A person expressing such an interest may not ever be listed on a ballot for that office. As of this writing, no committee has been formed such a run.
As of now, no other "big names" have publicly expressed an interest in an office (other than the ones I've written about), either at the state or Maricopa County levels. Also, no "big names" have yet formed an election committee, federal or state, for an office other than the one they hold now.
Both will change as the year goes on.
- First up, the Cash on Hand (COH) totals as of the end of September. This is NOT a prediction of who will win a given race, but COH numbers may be an accurate predictor of who will spend money for mailers and TV/radio ads as we approach the election.
The following is for federal races and select Maricopa County-level races. Ballot candidates only; no write-in candidates.
- Now for the suspicious part.
While doing this, I realized that no Libertarian Party candidate was on the ballot for a federal office in AZ or in Maricopa County. Where they might siphon votes from the Republican candidate in the race
Green Patty candidates? On the ballot is most federal races where the Democratic candidate will win or has even a snowball's chance in Phoenix...in July..of winning. Where the Green candidate may siphon votes away from the Democratic candidate in race.
Call me a cynic, but I don't believe in coincidences.
Especially since three of the Greens were write-in candidates in the primary.
Especially since all four Green have failed to file paperwork with the FEC.
If it *is* a scam foisted off on the voters of Arizona by the GOP, it's not a new one.
At least they aren't homeless kids this time.
In addition to the candidates, 27 districts will have bond, override, or "district additional assistance" questions on their ballots.
35 elections are slated to be canceled, either due to having no candidates or having a quantity of candidates that doesn't exceed the number of offices to be elected. The full list is here.
Ballot candidates, from the website of the Maricopa County School Superintendent -
"Official" (duly registered) write in candidates:
Notes:
This is NOT a comprehensive list. As this is primary season, it mostly includes candidates in primaries of interest.
Also, candidates who I don't believe have a snowball's chance in hell aren't included here.
Lastly, money is not votes. A candidate with less cash on hand may defeat a candidate with more COH.
State numbers are taken from the summary pages of candidate filings. Also, I don't know if Q2 Money raised amounts include Q2 Loan totals as none of the listed candidates reported loans in Q2.
Notes:
This is NOT a comprehensive list. As this is primary season, it mostly includes candidates in primaries of interest.
Also, candidates who I don't believe have a snowball's chance in hell aren't included here.
Lastly, money is not votes. A candidate with less cash on hand may defeat a candidate with more COH.
State numbers are taken from the summary pages of candidate filings. Also, Q2 Money raised amounts do include Q2 Loan totals.
Notes:
This is NOT a comprehensive list. As this is primary season, it mostly includes candidates in primaries of interest, though there is an exception to that (Ruben Gallego, I'm looking at you :) ).
Also, candidates who I don't believe have a snowball's chance in hell aren't included here.
Lastly, money is not votes. A candidate with less cash on hand may defeat a candidate with more COH.
Federal numbers are taken from lines 11e, 13c, and 27 of candidate filings. Also, Q2 Money raised amounts do not include Q2 Loan totals (state-level numbers are different is this regard).
Note: this is based only on signatures submitted and could (and probably will) be changed by legal challenges.
From Maricopa County's list of primary candidates -
Note2: The "Signatures Needed" column info is from Maricopa County here.
All countywide seats have challengers (which is a good thing for democracy) and only one race will be decided in the primary as all candidates for that office are from one party (County Treasurer with only two Republican candidates)
The 2026 election cycle has already started; some potential candidates have already filed statements of interest for offices up for election then. Countywide offices up for election will be this year so the statements of interest for 2026 are only for constable and JP races. So far.
Note3: Just because a candidate expresses "interest" in a particular race doesn't mean that they will be on a ballot.
And the first one out of the gate (the first serious candidate to form a committee) is....Dawn Grove.
She lost the race for the R nomination for AG in 2022. She ended the race with $0 on hand.
She hasn't formed a committee for a run as yet, but Republican Karrin Taylor Robson may be running for governor again in 2026. She was in the legislative chamber when Governor Hobbs gave her State of the State speech at the opening of the 2024 session of the state legislature.
While the panelists on channel 12's Sunday Square Off thought she was just making an appearance at an event where most politicians and wanna-bes show up.
Personally, I think she was reminding folks she has raised money for of her presence.
Well, almost..
First, the update -
Initially, I thought this was a misfile on the candidate's part as I thought he's running for a seat in the AZ Senate. However, I've seen his introduction video and he's actually running for U.S. Senate.
Normally, I wouldn't cover a quixotic candidate (I believe that he's got a snowball's chance in Phoenix...in July...of winning that primary) except for his (apparent) oopsie.
Ummmm...U.S. Senate seats are statewide seats, not districted.
First up Toma.
From the website of the FEC -
This wasn't a closely-held secret as most observers expected him to get into the race and he filed a statement of interest with the AZSOS.
Now, the only question is when, or even if, Toma resigns as Speaker of the AZ House or his position in the House.
My guess is that nether will happen unless he feels he has a real shot at winning the primary.
Another entrant into the race is something of a surprise - former member of Congress Trent Franks.
From KJZZ, written by Camryn Sanchez, dated 11/1 -
Infamous former lawmaker Trent Franks enters congressional race
Former Congressman Trent Franks resigned from Congress in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment. Now, the West Valley Republican is launching a new campaign to win back his old seat.
Franks represented Congressional District 8 from 2003 until 2017, when he abruptly resigned after reports came to light that he offered a female employee $5 million to be a surrogate mother for his children. At the time, Franks acknowledged discussing surrogacy with a second female staffer.
He resigned in late 2017 amid allegations of inappropriate behavior toward female subordinates. He was replaced by Lesko
I'm guessing he wants back in for two main reasons -
1. They've elected a Speaker who may be as socially extreme and radical as he is.
2. He resigned in late 2017, and if he wins next year's election, he'll take office again more than seven years later, in 2025. In terms of Congressional staffers/interns, that's like four generations. In other words, there are many female staffers/interns who haven't heard his "surrogacy" patter.
From the website of the FEC -
Republican Winn is a former senior campaign staffer for current State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. She's running is CD6, currently held by Republican Juan Ciscomani, setting up a primary.
Republican Jasser is running in CD4 for the seat currently held by Democrat Greg Stanton. He's best known as a Muslim who hates other Muslims.
Democrat Newman seems to be a quixotic candidate for POTUS.
Last month, Axios thought this poorly-kept secret was a big deal; now, it's Politico.
Former newscaster and failed 2022 candidate for AZ Governor (she lost in the general election, even though she is still insisting that she didn't).
From Politico -
Kari Lake to launch Arizona Senate bid next month
Arizona Republican Kari Lake will launch a Senate run as soon as early next month, according to three people familiar with her plans.
Lake, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump who refused to concede her narrow loss in Arizona’s governor race last year, has been hinting at a bid for months. She has been active in national politics since her 2022 loss and this week alone she’s headlining events in Iowa and Michigan.
