After taking advantage of an anti-incumbent mood that swept the nation and secured supermajority control of both chambers of the Arizona Legislature two years ago, Republicans are now poised to lose their veto-proof hold at the state Capitol.

A deep field of primary candidates in the new 9th Congressional District mostly steered clear of intraparty battles and spent a two-hour forum at Chandler City Hall jabbing across the aisle over the Bush tax cuts, energy policy and the federal health care overhaul.

With his first full session as speaker of the House under his belt, Andy Tobin is feeling pretty pleased with the way things turned out: a balanced budget, money in the “rainy day” fund, and a second economic development package all signed by the governor.

A federal judge assigned to a politically-charged Arizona redistricting case represented Republicans in a similar case a decade ago.

Republicans passed a budget this week and, as usual, we did so without the help of Democrats. Despite the fact that we made no cuts in essential services while providing $150 million for statewide K-12 education funding, $21 million for universities and $100 million for health & welfare programs, there never seems to be enough spending to satisfy all their demands.

Democrats are hailing first lady Michelle Obama's visit to Tucson as the latest sign that Arizona will be up for grabs in November's presidential election, but Republicans insist that the state will go red just like it has the past three election cycles. Obama is expected to deliver remarks at a fundraiser in the southern Arizona city on Monday evening as part of a four-state campaign push in the West, with other stops in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

Brewer may be facing a budget mutiny, as Senate Republicans are said to be exploring a deal with Democrats. One Republican source told our reporter that Biggs reportedly met with Schapira and Landrum Taylor yesterday for about two hours to discuss the possibility of a deal to override a potential Brewer budget veto.

Legislators are advancing a compromise to scale back a controversial bill on health plan coverage for contraception.

An embattled Tucson lawmaker this morning formally left the Democratic Party and became the Legislature’s only independent.

Republicans and Democrats in the Senate sparred Thursday over sweeping anti-abortion legislation that generally bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and institutes new disclosure requirements, including one that requires women to look at a state-run website with images of fetuses at two-week intervals.