Arizonans tired of the politics surrounding the once-a-decade legislative and congressional redistricting process voted to pull the job from the Legislature in 2000 and give it to an independent commission. But getting politics out of the high-stakes game has proven difficult.

From philanthropists to business executives, Arizona’s elite dug deep into their pockets during an election season notable for the cash that filled campaigns coffers.

For the first time since the 1980s, Arizona Democrats had a fighting chance for a U.S. Senate seat.

And even though their candidate lost, Democrats are hoping Richard Carmona’s candidacy is a sign of a better future for them in Arizona, where Republicans have dominated for decades.

Hispanic politicos today lobbied the IRC with a simple goal in mind: keep CDs 4 and 7 in the hands of Arizona’s substantial Hispanic population – and Pastor and Grijalva.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake is lambasting his new GOP primary opponent over his position on federal spending, an issue that has been Flake’s calling card during his 10 years in Congress.

The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January has left Democrats in Arizona without a candidate for next year's U.S. Senate race even though party officials in Washington have declared the state a tremendous opportunity to pick up a seat.

The retirement of U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl will likely set off a chain reaction, as Republicans and Democrats position themselves to run for the open seat.

Most political observers believe U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Mesa, will soon announce he is running to replace Kyl. Other potential GOP candidates include U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, former U.S. Rep. John Shadegg and the entire slate of Republican statewide officeholders.

Napolitano, Pederson and Gordon were the most common Dem names bandied about for Kyl's seat, with Giffords getting frequent mention with the caveat that she would obviously have to be healthy enough to run for the seat.

Jim Pederson, who played a pivotal role in creating the IRC, told our reporter he was confident in how the redistricting process is shaping up this year, even though he was disappointed with the past results.

Faced with the task of bringing his party back from the worst defeat in its history, newly elected Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Andrei Cherny is looking toward the center.