Rep. John McComish is on the short list of incumbents who won’t face an election challenge this year. McComish has neither a primary nor a general election opponent, which means he’ll join the Senate next year without having to go through the wringer.

In his quarter century in Arizona, Coughlin has either worked for or butted heads with nearly every big name in the state’s pantheon of political heavyweights. His reputation preceeds him at the Capitol, but even the fierce political infighter was once a novice.

Tom Betlach calls himself a “numbers geek,” which is a really good thing considering he’s in charge of managing Arizona’s Medicaid system while the state’s finances are in the gutter and while the federal government is requiring an even larger investment in health care.

Ed Bunch’s Senate career is remarkable not only because he was appointed to the Legislature at perhaps the worst time in state history but also because he vowed not to use the position to gain a foothold at the Capitol.

Public-relations consultant Jason Rose caught the political bug in 1992 as an intern for a Republican U.S. Senate campaign in California.

Never one to shy away from singing his own praises, Rose likes to tell the story about how he penned what he believes is still one of the best letters he ever wrote to the campaign manager and consultant of the candidate.

Rita Maguire has a long history with Arizona public policy. She began as an intern in the state Senate, helped draft some of the state’s major laws as a legislative committee analyst, led the Department of Water Resources and headed up a think tank.

Now a water attorney, Maguire recently represented Prescott and Prescott Valley in litigation with Salt River Project over a proposed water ranch near the Verde River.

Fife Symington has a lot of personas — businessman, governor, master chef and UFO enthusiast, to name just a few. More than a decade after leaving office, the former governor, who presided over the halcyon days of Arizona’s growth explosion in the 1990s, still looms large over the state. Many remember him as the governor [...]

They say there’s no such thing as a former Marine, and like the infantryman Romley served as during the Vietnam War, he says he has a plan to push forward now that he’s back in his old office.

After a brutal first legislative session, Gov. Jan Brewer ended her second on a couple of high notes.

While Melvin has remained solid on the core GOP agenda, he was rated lower on the conservative scale by the Pachyderm Coalition mostly because he sponsored bills that would have banned texting while driving, smoking in cars while children are inside and riding in the back of a pickup.