Fourteen of the 15 legislative and county candidates who received endorsements and varying degrees of financial support from activist group LUCHA emerged victorious in last week’s primaries, a figure progressives say is evidence of the organization’s growing influence in Democratic circles.
Read More »LUCHA emerges as key PAC in Arizona progressive movement
Incumbents kill union ploy to shape Democratic caucus 
When Democratic primary voters rebuked a series of challengers to progressive incumbents and their allies on August 4, they weighed in on the identity crisis of a long-suffering party finally approaching the precipice of success.
Read More »Hope dims for 3 losing incumbents as vote results trickle in 
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.
Read More »Progressive lawmaker fends off challenge from center 
Juan Mendez appears to be headed for another term in the state Senate as he holds a commanding lead over a more moderate Democratic challenger in a bright blue Tempe district.
Read More »Progressives Salman, Hernandez lead LD26 primary race
Salman, D-Tempe, is coasting in first place, with 34 percent - eight points ahead of her running mate, Melody Hernandez. In third place is Debbie Nez Manuel, who’s only a point behind Hernandez, with Patrick Morales in last place.
Read More »Failed union legislation drives primary challenges to incumbent Democrats
The ghosts of defeat, of deals gone awry and of soured relationships are haunting House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez and several of her close allies in the party as influential labor attorney and lobbyist Israel Torres is flooding contested Democratic primaries with union cash
Read More »2018 law bars candidates from free association, Democrats say 
Candidates running with public funding through the Clean Elections program say a new voter-approved state law that prohibits them from paying political parties for services impedes their constitutional right to associate with whoever they choose. This is the first election ...
Read More »Few contested primaries for independents to influence
Independent voters don’t have many contested races in Maricopa County in which they can sway the outcome with Arizona primary elections roughly two months away.
Read More »Government bodies should drop the prayers and get to work
The sheer controversy that surrounds public prayer and the petty theatrics it seems to attract testify to the fact that Arizona can do better. Arizona’s humanists and atheists will show up and speak up for equal representation as long as our government opens official meetings with prayer, but we could all get along a lot better if we cut out the prayer and got down to business instead.
Read More »Senate panel approves per diem bump for lawmakers 
A proposal to more than triple daily allowances for lawmakers from far-flung counties cleared a key legislative hurdle on Monday.
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