Welcome to Arizona, where Republican hypocrisy is a way of life

From Arizona Daily Star, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services (emphasis added by me) -

DES chief: Fraud not fully behind huge SNAP drop in Arizona

At least some people who have lost their food stamps in Arizona probably are eligible, the head of the state Department of Economic Security says.

But Michael Wisehart said Friday that he can't quantify how many of the estimated 400,000 Arizonans who were dropped from the rolls since Congress approved its budget law last summer — including 180,000 children — actually legally qualify for benefits but have, for one reason or another, been turned away.

[snip]

"I think our massive decrease is caused by the fact that we had massive fraud in the system,'' said the Fountain Hills Republican.

[snip]

"But he seems to be staying willfully blind to large amounts of fraud, too,'' the senator said. And Kavanagh said most telling is that Wisehart, in explaining all the reasons for the sharp drop in food stamp recipients, doesn't even discuss fraud.

"Maybe we need a new director if that's the case,'' Kavanagh said.

I will give Kavanagh one thing - he's an expert on "...staying willfully blind to large amounts of fraud..."

Of course, his expertise is on ESAs/school vouchers, which is a program designed to help the wealthy, not on SNAP, which is a program designed help poor people.C

From KPNX, written by Craig Harris, dated 12/29/2025 (emphasis added by me) -

Influential Arizona Republican lawmaker wants to expand ESA vouchers as questions grow over taxpayer spending

For nearly two decades, John Kavanagh has been a constant presence at the Arizona Legislature, helping shape how billions of taxpayer dollars are spent. 

Now, as Senate Majority Leader, the influential Republican lawmaker is pushing to expand one of the state’s most controversial education programs—despite a 12News investigation of mounting questionable spending and growing calls for reform.

[snip]

In thousands of cases, 12News found parents used ESA funds to purchase items with little or no clear educational value—including diamond rings, flat-screen televisions, luxury clothing, appliances, vacations, and even lingerie.

Despite those findings, Kavanagh insists the program is working as intended.

“People who oppose the ESAs are misconstruing what’s happening to make it look like there’s all this fraud,” he said. 

It seems that Kavanagh is fact deficient with him being "..willfully blind to large amounts of fraud" in the ESA program but decrying "fraud" in the SNAP program, while not bothering to present facts to support his position.

He does seem to know the steps to the "hypocritical two step", a dance that may make him one of the leaders of the R caucus going forward.

While I expect that "going forward" will happen for him (until he actually loses an election, I won't predict that he will),  it's not outside the realm of possibility that he won't the state senator from his district.  He's facing challengers in both the primary and general elections.

From the Arizona Secretary of State -

One might think that someone like Kavanagh would garner more negative media coverage, but he's nice to reporters, to the point where they actually *like* him personally.

The aforementioned Harris was on KPNX's Sunday Square Off last week (couldn't locate it online, so I can't link to it).

He used words like "affable" to describe Kavanagh.

Plus, he used another word on his Twitter/X feed -

Given his liking for Kavanagh (and the fact that Kavanagh has an easily used title), it seems likely his use of the word "honorable" is less an honorific more an adjective.

I've got a word for Harris (and all other reporters) -

NEUTRAL.

Legislative schedule - week starting 5/3/2026

While silly season grinds on, there will be some loud posturing going on as legislative Republicans have approved a package of budget bills so bad for average Arizonans and the state that Governor Hobbs has already said that it's DOA if/when it reaches her desk.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally b, ad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill become a very bad one. 

On Monday, 5/4 

-

Senate Rules is scheduled to meet this week [9:30 a.m. Senate Caucus Room 1].  On the agenda: 16 bills.  All are part of the budget package of the Senate's Republican Caucus.

The Senate Caucuses will meet to hear about those bills.  No time is listed, either on the agenda or the website itself, but I presume those meetings will take place some time after the Rules meeting.

.

On Tuesday, 5/5, Wednesday, 5/6, and Thursday, 5/7 - Nada.

As in no committee meetings on the schedule (for now), though that may change next week.  However, there will be some preening and posturing on Tuesday -

The boy who cried "wolf"

I don't often do posts that are almost completely "copy and paste" posts, but Cheeto's press conference conducted in the aftermath of shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner inspired this.

From BBC -

The Boy who cried Wolf

A young boy gets a job with a shepherd looking after his flock of sheep and each day he takes them up into the hills to graze. If he sees a wolf he is to ring the bell he has been given and shout 'Wolf!'

Soon the boy is feeling bored: the days are long and there is no-one to talk to. So he decides to pretend there is a wolf. He rings the bell and shouts 'Wolf!' and the men from the village come running with their guns. The boy tells them the wolf has already run off and the men are pleased with the boy and pat him on the back.

A few days later the boy is feeling bored again and decides to cry 'Wolf!' once more. This time when the men arrive and discover no wolf they are unimpressed and the boy worries that they don't believe him.

Shortly after the boy is minding the sheep when a wolf really does appear and attacks the sheep. The boy rings his bell and shouts 'Wolf!' but no one comes. Down in the village the men hear the boy but presume he is lying. As the shepherd says that night: 'Nobody believes a liar…even when he's speaking the truth.'

LD7 State Representative: what's old may be* new again

* - OK, when I say "may be", I mean "probably will be" IMO.

Republican David Marshall Sr., the now former State Representative for LD7, resigned from the legislature in order to accept a job as Navajo County Recorder.  He's also ended his campaign for Arizona Corporation Commission (AZCC).

 

There have been some questions raised about his eligibility to hold that office, but it will take a lawsuit to make that determination.

He HAS resigned from the lege, though, and state law requires that the relevant county's Board of Supervisors (BOS) appoint a replacement from the same party as the person who resigned.

To that end, Republican Party PCs in that district have nominated three people to fill the spot and forwarded those names to the Navajo County BOS.

From an emailed press release from the AZ GOP -

Dewitt is a town council member in Taylor, AZ.

Carlisle is a Republican activist and PC.

Allen is a former legislator and member of the Navajo County BOS.

I know which one I think that the BOS will appoint (Allen), but regardless of who is appointed, that person will only hold office until the next session of the legislature - none are candidates in LD7 for the 2026 election.

The main benefit for Marshall resigning and ending his campaign for AZCC (for Marshall himself only;  the person who replaces him in the legislature/wins a seat on the AZCC will be just as right-wing as him [unless the AZCC winners are Democrats], so the people of AZ will reap no benefit) will be saving on gas costs - he no longer will have to travel to Phoenix.

Legislative schedule - week starting 4/26/2026

A (possible) break in the budget freeze at the Capitol this week, but don't hold your breath.

As of now, silly season continues at the Capitol.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally b, ad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill become a very bad one. 

On Monday, 4/27 

-

Senate Rules is scheduled to meet this week [1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1].  There are two bills on its agenda, however, the most interesting item on the agenda isn't a bill.

2. Request for permission from the Committee on Rules for the late introduction of bills relating to the budget

Hmmm... 

I don't yet know if this is for real or just for show.

My guess (and it's only that) is that they'll get a budget done by the middle of June - legislative Rs are scheduled to go to D.C. (on the taxpayer dime!) on June 15th - 17th.  While there, they'll be praising Cheeto and receiving their marching orders.

Senate Health and Human Service meets at 11 a.m. is SHR2.  On the agenda: no bills and one executive nomination - Dr. Lynette Livesay for the state's Board of Psychologist Examiners.

On Tuesday, 4/28, Wednesday, 4/29, and Thursday, 4/30 - nada scheduled (for now, anyway.)

Election challenges are (mostly) resolved but some are still ongoing

I do have one question (though I believe I already know the answer).

First, the challenges:

From the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS) (emphasis added by me) -

The "biggest" name to withdraw from a race after the candidate's nominating petitions were challenged was Eric Descheenie, former state legislator, who withdrew from the CD2 Democratic primary.

That sets up a general election contest of Jonathan Nez (now unopposed in the Democratic primary) and incumbent Eli Crane (unopposed in the Republican primary).

On a totally unrelated note, Arizona's "Sore Loser" law seems to preclude a candidate whose petitions were challenged from jumping races and running as a write-in candidate in another race. 

From ARS 16-312 -

F. Except as provided in section 16-343, subsection E, a candidate may not file pursuant to this section if any of the following applies:

1. For a candidate in the general election, the candidate ran in the immediately preceding primary election and failed to be nominated to the office sought in the current election.

2. For a candidate in the general election, the candidate filed a nomination petition for the immediately preceding primary election for the office sought and failed to provide a sufficient number of valid petition signatures as prescribed by section 16-322.

3. For a candidate in the primary election, the candidate filed a nomination petition for the current primary election for the office sought and failed to provide a sufficient number of valid petition signatures as prescribed by section 16-322, withdrew from the primary election after a challenge was filed or was removed from or otherwise determined by court order to be ineligible for the primary election ballot.

4. For a candidate in the general election, the candidate filed a nomination petition for nomination other than by primary election for the office sought and failed to provide a sufficient number of valid petition signatures as prescribed by section 16-341.

G. A person who files a nomination paper pursuant to this section for the office of president of the United States shall designate in writing to the secretary of state at the time of filing the name of the candidate's vice presidential running mate, the names of presidential electors who will represent that candidate and a statement signed by the vice presidential running mate and designated presidential electors that indicates their consent to be designated.  A nomination paper for each presidential elector designated shall be filed with the candidate's nomination paper. The number of presidential electors shall equal the number of United States senators and representatives in Congress from this state.

My question is this: Does this section of Arizona law apply to candidates for Congress?

I ask because someone was a Green Party candidate in CD1 whose petitions were challenged and withdrew from the race is now running as a write-in candidate in CD3.

From the AZ SOS (again, emphasis added by me)

I'm guessing that the "Sore Loser" law doesn't apply to candidates for federal office, but as I'm not an attorney, I don't really know.

Short Attention Span Musing: odds and ends edition

...One prediction: Congressman Paul Gosar (R-CD9) not only doesn't run for reelection in 2028, my guess is that he won't make it to 2028 as a member of Congress.

He spoke at a Turning Point USA fundraiser in Phoenix this past week, and he looked distinctly unwell.

This picture is from a video posted to Bluesky. I think the video may be on the website of Fox10 Phoenix, but I won't link to Faux News or any of its affiliates, so I advise readers who wish to view it to look it up themselves.

Assuming readers locate the video, they should ignore the words and focus on the physical and verbal tics (ignoring the words is easy - he's a nutjob.  He opened his speech by equating Cheeto to a god.)

Some folks online speculated that he has Parkinson's and others speculated that he might have been intoxicated.  I don't think he was intoxicated.  As for Parkinson's, I'm not a doctor (and wouldn't trust one who diagnosed someone based only on a video) and won't speculate.

If my prediction proves to be accurate and he doesn't run for reelection in 2028, once he's no longer a member of Congress or even a candidate, his title of "biggest bigot in Arizona politics" will go to someone else.  I'm leaning toward Congressman Eli Crane, but there other contenders for that title (this being AZ, there are *many* other contenders for that particular title.)

The district will almost certainly go to another Republican - the district is overwhelmingly Republican.

Voter registration numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State -

...In the fall elections, at least one Biggs will probably win (no, not Andy Biggs in his quest to defeat incumbent Governor Katie Hobbs).  Mylie Biggs, Andy Biggs' daughter, is running for the State Senate seat in LD14.  As she's unopposed in the primary and while she faces a Democratic opponent in the general, that district is also overwhelmingly R, so she'll almost certainly win the seat.

...Tyler Farmsworth, who may or may not be related current state senator David Farnsworth or former legislator Eddie Farnsworth (I couldn't find any definitive links indicating a close relationship...and "Farnsworth" is a common last name if that part of Maricopa County) is running for a State Representative seat in that same LD14.

While there's a contest in the primary (three candidates for two seats), the district is still overwhelmingly R, and the R primary winners there will almost certainly win in the general.

...In the "RFK Jr. must be so happy" department: Measles hasn't gone away.

From Arizona Department of Health Services -

Actually, the information on the state page is somewhat out of date.  It was last updated on 4/14/2026 and shows Maricopa County as having five cases.  On 4/17, the Arizona Medical Association broke news of a sixth case here.

Get vaccinated.

Legislative schedule - week starting 4/19/2026

Hurry up and wait season grinds on as Governor Hobbs and legislative leadership negotiate a state budget behind closed doors.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally b, ad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill become a very bad one. 

On Monday, 4/20 

-

Senate Rules is scheduled to meet this week [1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1].  There are five bills on its agenda.

Senate Director Nominations meets at 11:30 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills, one director candidate to grill consider:

Ruvjit "Ruby" Dhillion-Williams for the Arizona Department of Housing.

On Tuesday, 4/21, Wednesday, 4/22, and Thursday, 4/23 - Nada on the schedule (for now, anyway).

Turnout matters

As we've seen from some recent elections, one international and one local, elections can turn out in ways that benefit the governed.

No matter that Cheeto and his enablers/sycophants want people to believe otherwise.

Even though one election was international and a right wing party won (though not as right wing as the strongman who lost the election) and one was local with some pro-clean energy people winning a majority on a local board, they share one thing in common - both had incredibly high voter turnouts.

From BBC (emphasis added by me) - 

Orbán era swept away by Péter Magyar's Hungary election landslide

Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power is over and a system condemned as an "electoral autocracy" lies in tatters, defeated by a 45-year-old former party insider who convinced a majority of Hungarians to bring it to an end.

"We did it," Péter Magyar told a crowd of cheering supporters beside the River Danube, overlooking Budapest's magnificent parliament on the other side. "Together we overthrew the Hungarian regime."

[snip]

[snip]

"Never before in the history of democratic Hungary have so many people voted - and no single party has ever received such a strong mandate," he [Magyar] said on Sunday night, after a record 79.5% of the electorate turned out to vote.

That's the international one.  The local one:

From KJZZ, written by Wayne Schutsky , dated 4/9/2026 (emphasis added by me) -

Clean energy slate claims victory over Turning Poin  t in Arizona SRP election

Turning Point USA’s political arm spent months pouring money and resources into a little-known utility election in Arizona, an effort that contributed to massive increase in voter turnout but ultimately failed to stave off a challenge from a slate of clean-energy candidates.

Salt River Project held elections on Tuesday for the boards and councils that set policy and make other decisions on behalf of its water and power utilities.

For years, those elections have flown under the radar due to a number of factors, including its unique electoral system that only allows landowners within SRP territory to cast votes. And, for most positions, those votes are allocated based on a landowner’s total acreage, giving large property owners more influence and leaving most homeowners with a fraction of a vote.

By comparison, the voter turnouts for the U.S. presidential elections in 2020 and 2024 were among the highest for a U.S. Presidential election (66% in 2020 and 64% in 2024), they were significantly lower than the other turnouts.

From Pew Research Center, dated 6/26/2026 -

[snip]

In short, people are best served by voting.  Not only that, they should urge their friends, neighbors, and family members to do so, too.

Democracy is NOT a "fire it up and forget it" operation.  When voters take the lazy way and sit out democracy in general and elections in particular, we end up with lousy human beings running things.

It's an election year. Candidate challenges are inevitable

One challenge has already been decided by a court (dismissed), and six candidates have withdrawn.  Per the AZSOS, 18 cases are pending (caveat: some of those cases may yet be consolidated and at least one involves a candidate who has withdrawn as the result of another case)

From the Arizona Secretary of State -

So far, the "biggest" name to withdraw is Christopher Ajluni, the No Labels candidate in CD1.  I expect that to change as the challenge process grinds on.

Schweikert bashes Biggs, and the Maricopa County Republicans remind people

Including me, because I generally avoid paying attention to the internal R machinations.

From Arizona's Family, written by staff and Dennis Welch -

Phoenix-area GOP reignites controversy in Republican governor’s race

A controversy that Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Andy Biggs hoped would fade has returned to the headlines after his own party stepped in.

About a month ago, Biggs found himself the target of a political attack. His Republican opponent in the governor’s race, Rep. David Schweikert, accused him of palling around with racists and anti-Semites. Biggs denied it and moved on.

But it was his own Republican Party that brought it back.

Also from Arizona's Family -

I don't claim to know how this all will play out, but two things seem obvious -

1. Observers should get out their popcorn, as this promises to be entertaining.

2. They should get out their seatbelts, too, as 2026 promises to be a bumpy ride.

This all does beg one question -

What is Schweikert thinking?  

Accusing Biggs of being a white supremacist won't exactly change the minds of the voters in an R primary, aka the people he needs to reach.  It seems to help Biggs more than it does Schweikert.

Legislative schedule - week starting 4/12/2026

Silly season drags on while everyone waits for a budget.

Schedules can, and frequently do, change at any moment when the legislature is in session.  So pay attention.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally b, ad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill become a very bad one. 

On Monday, 4/13 

-

Only Senate Rules is scheduled to meet this week (so far) [1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1).  There are four bills on its agenda.

 On Tuesday 4/14, Wednesday 4/15, and Thursday 4/16 -

Nada.

Online sigs v. in person sigs

This list was pulled from a .pdf that's available on the website of the Arizona Secretary of State.

Caveats:

"Arizona Independent Party" is now "No Labels".

I added the percentage (%) column.

Legislative races were not examined.  I'll wait until all challenges are dispositioned (one already has been)

Prediction: My guess is that while online nominating sigs are almost unchallengeable (at least according to Arizona Agenda), the Democratic candidates who lead their primary opponents in paper sigs will have a leg up in those primaries.  Assuming those sigs are legitimate, that means that doors were knocked and voters talked to (I make no such prediction in the primary contests for other parties.  With them, I'm usually wrong. ☺)

Apparently, for some people, a seat in the state legislature is a steppingstone

There are a large number of current and former state legislators who are candidates for offices that aren't in the lege.  To whit:

(at the state level)

Joe Chaplik (R) (former legislator) is running in CD1.

Amish Shah (D) (former) is running in CD1.

Eric Descheenie (D) (former) is running in CD2.

John Fillmore (?) (former) running in CD4.  He was an R in the lege, but is running in the No Labels primary.

Andy Biggs (R) (former) is running for Governor.

David Schweikert (R) (former) is running for Governor.

Katie Hobbs (D) (former) is running for reelection as Governor.

Alexander Kolodin (R) (current) is running for Secretary of State.

Warren Petersen (R) (current) is running for Attorney General.

Tom Horne (R) (former) is running for reelection as Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Kimberly Yee (R) (former) is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Ralph Heap (R) (current) is running for Corporation Commission.

David Marshall, Sr. (R) (current) is running for Corporation Commission.

(at the Maricopa County level)

Jeff Dial (R) (former) is running for reelection as Clerk of Superior Court.

Lupe Chavira Contreras (D) (current) is running for Justice of the Peace (JP) in the Agua Fria Justice Precinct.

Ken Cheuvront (D) (former) is running for reelection as Justice of the Peace (JP) in the Encanto Justice Precinct.

Michele Reagan (R) (former) is running for reelection as Justice of the Peace (JP) in the McDowell Mountain Justice Precinct.

JD Mesnard (R) (current) is running for Justice of the Peace (JP) in the San Marcos Justice Precinct.

Rebecca Rios (R) (former) is running for reelection as Justice of the Peace (JP) in the South Mountain Justice Precinct.

Judy Schweibert (D) (former) has filed an SOI to run for the At-Large slot on the Maricopa County Community College Board.  As this is a non-partisan race, it's not on the county's list of races subject to a primary election.

(on the Pima County level)

Andres Cano (D) (former) is running for a two-year term on the Board of Supervisors District 5.

Victoria Steele (D) (former) is running for reelection as Justice of the Peace (JP) in the Precinct 1 Justice Precinct.

I couldn't find an official list of candidates for Pinal County.

Nor did I examine the smaller counties, school board races, or municipalities.

I cannot speculate about what this means, but 22 current or former members of the lege are running for offices other than legislative ones in 2026 and expect that number to increase in 2028 (when county supervisor spots, county-wide offices, and the rest of the JP slots are up for election.)

Lastly, I do have one piece of advice for legislator making a first time run at a JP spot - it's a real job.

This is not a partisan thing, as some Democrats have turned out to be lousy JPs while some Rs have been decent ones, however, with a new one, there's always the fear that they'll bring their legislative work ethic with them (i.e. - work four days per week, work a little over three months per year, take lots of vacations, etc.)

Yes, 2028 has started

And I know that the 2026 primaries haven't yet taken place, but so what?  2028 will be upon us quickly.

Plus, Cheeto may (OK, almost certainly will) try to get rid of democracy.

But until he does, and succeeds in those efforts, posts like this will continue.

From Maricopa County Elections -

It's (very) early, and more statements of interest (SOI) will be filed.  Right now, most are from incumbents expecting to run to retain their current seats.