WASHINGTON – Shipbuilding may not seem like a vital issue for arid, landlocked Arizona, but Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale, joined the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus – along with 23 other caucuses and working groups.

WASHINGTON – With a year until the next election, Democratic freshmen in three competitive Arizona congressional districts are continuing to stockpile cash for their re-election bids, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

The iArizona Committee is headed by Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and backed by a broad coalition of local politicians, construction contractors and business interests. Their ultimate goal is to boost Arizona’s economy and status as a transportation hub connecting Los Angeles, Dallas and Mexico, as well as linking Arizona’s manufacturing and economic hubs to one another.

A National Park Service recommendation could bring federal designation to the building near downtown where farm labor leader César Chávez is said to have first uttered “Sí se puede.”

Horne could face bloody, expensive battle in 2014 attorney general race

Tom Horne has long maintained that he’s innocent of the campaign finance allegations against him, but he may not get a chance to prove it until after voters have decided whether to give him a second term as attorney general.

While the Arizona-based Center to Protect Patient Rights and the Americans for Responsible Leadership successfully settled to pay only a combined $1 million for failing to adhere to California’s campaign disclosure laws, the political committees that received millions of dollars from the Koch-associated groups still could face heftier enforcement actions.

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has reached a settlement with two so-called “dark money” groups in Arizona that will see them pay a combined $1 million in fines.

Twenty-one Tucson-based Arizona Air National Guard members have been indicted for fraud after using fake addresses to collect federal stipends meant for those who are traveling or on short-term orders, Attorney General Tom Horne said on Monday.

Statewide political warfare is usually reserved for even-numbered years, targets millions of Arizona voters and follows well-defined partisan boundaries. But the fight over solar energy in Arizona has broken all those maxims this year.

Libertarians, Greens will look to courts if election referendum fails

Even if the referendum drive against the omnibus elections measure HB2305 falls short, Greens and Libertarians may still be able to strike down a requirement in the legislation that dramatically increases the number of signatures they need to get on the ballot.