The first wave of patients to take advantage of Arizona’s new medical marijuana law may be compelled to apply for home-growing operations because the drug will not be available in licensed dispensaries until late summer, opening the door for thousands of household marijuana gardens.

Incoming Senate President Russell Pearce will concurrently chair the powerful Senate Rules Committee, one of the most sought after chairmanship positions in the chamber. He also named the rest of the committee chairs for the Senate.

Many candidates who spent big and lost big this election cycle were bound by one thread — they’re Democrats.

Indeed, Democrats in several races outraised and outspent their opponents by tens of thousands of dollars while others benefited as much by independent spending aimed at helping their campaigns.

The fate of three close statewide propositions may not be known until next week as Maricopa County elections officials need more time to process early and provisional ballots.

Arizona’s medical marijuana proposition is still losing by more than 3,300 votes, a gap that has stayed relatively steady over the last 24 hours. But it’s still too close to call Proposition 203, as 78,000 early and provisional ballots remain to be counted.

Voter turnout sputtered in the general election after a strong showing in the primary. About 52 percent of the state’s registered voters cast ballots in the general election, according to the latest tally. And while the breakdown of voters by party registration is still unavailable, the lower numbers appear to have hurt Democratic candidates, according to political consultants and pollsters.

Senate candidate Robert Thomas, a Phoenix Republican who is touting himself as a successful businessman, filed for personal bankruptcy in 1994 and he was a wanted man in Mississippi for four years after a judge found him in contempt of court for failing to pay his daughters’ medical bills.

The Rios family has represented Pinal County in the Arizona Legislature for the past three decades, establishing a Democratic dynasty that has withstood numerous challenges over the years. But this year a Republican with Tea Party leanings has rousted a surprising level of support in a district that has been a Democratic stronghold ever since the lines were drawn.

For a candidate who has trailed by as much as 22 points in recent polls, even a sliver of good news is cause for celebration. Every poll taken over the past few months has shown Republican Gov. Jan Brewer beating Democrat Terry Goddard by double digits, with some showing him down by as much as 22 points. But though they all show different margins of victory for Brewer, a couple polls have shown Goddard narrowing the gap as Election Day approaches.

The majority of spending that can be directly attributed to the landmark legal ruling that allows corporations, unions and other groups to spend freely on candidate campaigns largely affected Republicans in the Arizona primary election.