House Republicans’ hopes of passing a budget Tuesday were dashed when the Democrats boycotted the morning’s floor session.

The travel of several lawmakers and a string of bad luck for two others slowed the House’s business and threatened the Republicans’ ability to pass controversial bills with their narrow margin.

House and Senate seats have only flipped when fewer than 10 percentage points separate voter registration numbers for the two major parties. This year, that holds true in nine districts.

Democratic PACs are beginning to spend on the general election, spreading money far and wide in an effort to support the party’s attempted takeover of the Legislature.

Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix declared victory over incumbent Sen. Heather Carter Thursday evening, in a win for ideological purity over the pragmatism practiced by the more moderate Carter.

Struggling incumbents in too-close-to-call races didn’t see much change as county elections officials began making a dent in the roughly 210,000 mail ballots that remained to be counted after Tuesday’s primary.

Former House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro is struggling to mount a successful comeback in Legislative District 13, trailing behind both of the district’s incumbents in tonight’s Republican primary.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s announcement in his State of the State Address that he would be shutting down the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence astounded criminal justice advocates and the town itself.

Early voting poll results show Frank Pratt handily defending his seat in the Arizona Senate against a Democratic challenger.

After all the talk of a split state Senate, with Republicans and Democrats evenly matched in voting power, the status quo reigned supreme.