Businessman and sports mogul Jerry Colangelo threw his support behind Vernon Parker, giving the former Paradise Valley mayor a coveted big-name endorsement as the Republican field in the 9th Congressional District continues to grow.

Former intelligence operative Leah Campos Schandlbauer declared her candidacy for the GOP primary for the 9th Congressional District, joining a rapidly growing field in the competitive district.

Schandlbauer was an operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency until she resigned recently to run in CD9. The 39-year-old mother of four quit her job with the CIA’s National Clandestine Service after more than a decade on the job to pursue her campaign.

One of Andrei Cherny’s top campaign volunteers took to Twitter on Thursday to criticize the Democratic congressional hopeful’s opponents for running in a district where they don’t live.

Vernon Parker kicked off his campaign for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District with the aura of a frontrunner. In a race for a competitive but Democratic-leaning district, Parker is the only big name in the GOP primary so far. Heavyweights who were expected to get into the race such as Hugh Hallman, Steve Moak, Gary Pierce and Don Stapley have all opted out.

Paradise Valley Town Councilman Vernon Parker will make a “major announcement” on Wednesday and is expected to jump into the GOP primary for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District.

When Quayle cleared out of the CD9 race and opted instead to seek re-election in CD6, many observers thought the Republican field in the new urban district would fill out quickly, as potential GOP candidates had largely stayed on the sidelines until that point.

Retired Air Force pilot Wendy Rogers is the fourth Republican seeking her party's nomination in Arizona's newly created 9th Congressional district.

Businessman Steve Moak will not run for the Republican nomination in the new 9th Congressional District.

Moak said it’s “not the right time” to run for a variety of reasons.

Andrei Cherny, chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, is stepping down from his position in order to take on a “new and different task.”

He didn’t mention it in the letter he sent out today, but Cherny is expected to soon announce he is running for Congress in the new 9th Congressional District, which includes parts of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Mesa.

Senate Minority Leader David Schapira today announced he is exploring a run for Congress. In doing so, the 31-year-old Democrat can begin raising money and gauging his level of support in what is expected to be a Democratic-leaning district that includes his hometown of Tempe.