The Senate today gave preliminary approval to a ballot measure that aims to dismantle the public financing of candidates in elections. Before voters can decide the fate of the public campaign financing system, the measure still needs the full vote of the Senate and must be approved by the House of Representatives.

For Tempe-based pollster Michael O’Neil, there are elections and then there are “real elections.”

He believes the race this year for the seat being vacated by Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl falls into the latter category.

If there is one thing the four major candidates for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat can agree on, it’s that Arizonans don’t want to elect a business-as-usual politician this November.

State Rep. Daniel Patterson is rejecting calls by Democratic legislative leaders and an Arizona Democratic Party official that the Tucson Democrat resign from the Legislature.

Arizona Republicans go to the polls this week in what could be one of the least-watched races in the presidential primary.

Proponents of a bill that would use state tax credits to encourage lenders to open their wallets for small businesses say they can help struggling entrepreneurs get access to much needed capital without invoking the most dreaded phrase in the debate over government incentives — “picking winners and losers.”

Until now, visions of Arizona homes powered by renewable energy have centered mostly on rooftop solar panels or huge solar power plants in the desert.

Corporations and other entities would be able to keep confidential reports they prepare on environmental problems under legislation approved by the Arizona House.

While fundraising has tightened of late, Romney has a strong lead so far among Arizonans who have opened their wallets in support. And donations from residents of Mesa and Gilbert, cities with large Mormon populations, are a big part of that, according to a Cronkite News Service review of Federal Election Commission data.

Several Republican-sponsored bills targeting government employee unions appear stalled in the Arizona Senate, a week after one such measure was approved.