Republican lawmakers’ dormant war with the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is flaring up anew, as House Speaker Andy Tobin has introduced a host of measures that would set a special election so voters could decide whether to use legislative and congressional maps drawn by the Legislature instead of those approved last month by the volunteer panel.

Gov. Jan Brewer’s office says she has until Saturday to schedule a special election for 8th Congressional District voters to pick a midterm replacement for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Jesse Kelly, the Republican who narrowly lost to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2010, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission today to run for the seat she is vacating.

Retired Phoenix police officer Paul Penzone announced Tuesday that he’ll challenge Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in November.

The husband of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords reiterated Monday that he will not run for her seat in 2012, telling a University of Nebraska-Lincoln audience that he is focusing on his wife’s recovery.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ surprise announcement on Sunday that she would resign from Congress leaves prospective candidates with an extremely short timeframe to decide their political futures.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona announced Sunday she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt a little more than a year ago.



According to officials in Washington, her resignation, first disclosed on the congresswoman’s Facebook page, is expected to take effect on Monday.

Recall candidate Olivia Cortes’ campaign may have been contrived, phony, aided by illegal means and designed to fool the public, but that doesn’t mean that she or the perpetrators of the backfired plot to help former Senate President Russell Pearce will face any punishment.

Arizona is preparing to launch a new signature-gathering system that will fundamentally change the way political candidates go about qualifying for the 2012 ballot.

Beginning Feb. 1, voters will be able go online to sign nominating petitions for candidates who want to run for statewide office and the Legislature.

A state House committee on Thursday will consider a Senate-approved bill that was proposed because of delays in Arizona’s redistricting process.