We’re deep in the pocket of election season, and the heat is making a whole lot of politicians, staffers and talking heads go loco.
Everybody is pissed at each other for stupid reasons, people are being caught making up false claims and the general discourse is full of argumentative rot.
We’ve already reported that this year’s roadside campaign signs have been rife with preposterous stunts, false claims and general dumbassery.
But just in the past few days, the ridiculous news updates have been multiplying like fruit flies.
In the words of Tucker Carlson — or better yet, Jeremy Culhane’s SNL impression of him — what’s going on?!
So, instead of congesting our “In Other News” section, we’re dedicating this edition to the wildest, most bizarre election season updates.
On Tuesday, we learned that former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema — fresh off her extravagant art collection being destroyed by the ex-boyfriend whose marriage she allegedly wrecked — is quietly telling Arizona’s business and political leaders that she supports Republican Jay Feely in the battleground race for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, per Axios.
Backing the Trump-endorsed former NFL kicker is classic Sinema. While she built her career and brand as a progressive Democrat, she doesn’t seem to have a liberal bone left in her body.
Meanwhile, Feely and Republicans are trying to stir up outrage over a video of his opponent, Democrat and former Rep. Amish Shah, parking in a handicap spot during an event.
“My brother was in a wheel chair his entire life. We had to have a van with an accessible ramp for his wheel chair,” Feely tweeted. “Parking in a handicapped spot for your own selfish convenience is appalling to me.”
But the outrage was exposed as a manufactured attack.
The organization hosting the event actually told Shah to park exactly where he did. And Feely knew about it, the organization said.
Still, plenty of online people remain pissed about it.
Considering Shah is now being favored to win by both the Cook Political Report and betting site Kalshi, the desperation must be really setting in for the Feely campaign.
And we’re just gonna skip over what’s happening in the race to be the next state treasurer.
There’s been chicanery at the legislative level, too.
Republican Rep. Matt Gress — who’s facing challengers in a competitive legislative race — was exposed yet again for embellishing his record in a campaign advertisement.
On social media, Gress has been touting a "Maricopa County Excellence Award.” But as Axios reported, he was never given an award by the county’s board of supervisors — the certificate of recognition was handed out by a single supervisor, Mark Stewart.
Last month, we reported that a Gress ad questionably took credit for “passing” a bill that was sponsored by a Democrat and approved unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature.
Then there’s the governor’s race, where a recent poll by political consulting firm HighGround that shows Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs with a 17-point lead over Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs has everyone bent out of shape.
Chuck Coughlin, HighGround’s president and CEO, noted that Republicans are dramatically underperforming with their own voters, per the poll.
Republicans got fussy, questioning the firm’s motives in conducting and publishing the poll. Rep. Rachel Keshel even called the poll an attempt to “suppress Republican voter turnout.”
The numbers do seem excessive, but just about everyone — Kalshi included — is giving Biggs slim odds of winning. (The real action is on his margin of defeat.)
And finally, the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission has ratcheted up its battle against two candidates who infiltrated the Arizona Green Party to become its nominees for governor and secretary of state, the Mirror reports.
Risa Lombardo and Duwayne Collier, the nominees whom party leaders have called “sham candidates,” are being investigated for campaign finance fraud after they falsified $5 contributions from voters that allowed them to qualify for millions in public campaign funds from the commission.
They have filed a lawsuit against the commission in response to the investigation.
The lawsuit, which the Arizona Supreme Court is considering, claims that there’s nothing the Clean Elections Commission can do to take back funding it gives to candidates, even if it eventually discovers that the candidates committed fraud.
Clean Elections Commission Executive Director Tom Collins said Lombardo and Collier have been trying to “recklessly vilify public servants” via the lawsuit, as their lawyer Tim La Sota claimed Collins is going after his clients for political reasons.
What a sorry state of things. Not that this absurdity will go away after November 3, but we hope that everyone will take the temperature down once the dust settles on this election.
Maybe we can all agree to take a little post-election psychological break from the madness for just one week? Please??
Bullshit in Bullhead: President Donald Trump continued his pre-election tour of Republican strongholds with a stop in Bullhead City yesterday, where he called Gov. Katie Hobbs a “dumb person” and rambled about election conspiracies, China and more. Republican congressional candidates Jay Feely and U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, both running in competitive districts, were noticeably absent from the festivities. Their campaigns chalked it up to scheduling conflicts, though a political consultant suggested appearing alongside Trump could be “political suicide” as his sinking poll numbers threaten to drag down Republicans, the Republic’s Laura Gersony reports.
Red alert: Trump’s Bullhead City rally has put Arizona’s reddest counties in the national media spotlight, where reporters are finding even longtime Trump supporters frustrated with his economic policies. Yavapai County residents report worsening food insecurity, including a retired Trump voter who once donated to a Prescott food bank but now relies on it to feed her family, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports for the Atlantic. The Republic’s Stephanie Murray spoke with former MAGA diehards in Mohave County who have soured on the president, while the Washington Post found Bullhead City retirees struggling with soaring grocery prices and utility bills as demand for food assistance has increased.
May the best man win: Both of Arizona’s Democratic U.S. senators — Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego — are on a potential collision course for the 2028 presidential nomination, the Republic’s Stephanie Murray reports. Gallego joked that the two are “probably gonna just like, dance around it forever” until one of them “blinks first.” Gallego abandoned his 2020 Senate ambitions to avoid a nasty primary after Kelly entered the race, but he appears less willing to step aside this time.
Pulling the strings: A Cave Creek political operative has spent decades quietly shaping ballot measures across the country, and this year, his handiwork includes Arizona’s Prop 318, which would expand restrictions on transgender students in school sports, Lookout’s Lorenzo Gomez reports. Tim Mooney is running a similar anti-transgender ballot measure in Colorado this year, and said his campaigns are “organized months, even years in advance.” Of the 62 ballot measures he’s worked on nationwide, 55 have passed, and his companies have received more than $22 million in campaign payments since 2010.
Fuel for thought: Hobbs issued an executive order temporarily allowing farmers and ranchers to use cheaper, tax-free diesel while waiving permit fees for heavier agricultural trucks on state highways, Capitol scribe Howie Fischer writes. Diesel fuel is running more than $6 a gallon, which Hobbs attributed to the war in Iran. Democratic Sen. Brian Fernandez sent out a statement lauding the decision, noting “how critical agriculture is to my district and our state’s economy,” though it’s unclear if he actually lives in the Yuma-area district.
Holy smokes: Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing Tolleson for making firefighters pay $15,000 if they leave their posts within three years of being hired, the Republic’s David Ulloa Jr reports. The lawsuit alleges the Glendale Fire Academy charged the city just $4,500 per firefighter, but Tolleson required recruits to sign agreements to repay more than three times that amount if they left early.
Inside the Issues is a nonpartisan series from the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission about the issues shaping Arizona's future — the ones that are complex, consequential, and easy to overlook.
Each episode brings voters into the conversation with experts, public officials, and community leaders who explain what's actually at stake and what decisions are ahead. No pundits, no party line — just the context you need to walk into the voting booth informed instead of guessing.
Yesterday, some Arizona Republicans learned the hard way that a Trump endorsement comes with the possibility of getting roasted on national television.
During his meandering Bullhead rally speech, President Donald Trump eventually remembered he was there to drum up support for Arizona Republicans ahead of the midterms.
The president kicked off his list of shout-outs with Republican gubernatorial hopeful Andy Biggs, whom Trump invited onstage by making it clear how little he wanted to hear from him.
“Andy, I watch you speak, and I want you just to come up for one minute because we don’t want to hear you for two minutes, three minutes, just one minute,” Trump said.
Trump eventually worked his way down the ballot to Republican secretary of state hopeful Alex Kolodin, whom he praised as “a warrior for election integrity.”
And after presumably finding Kolodin in the crowd, Trump remarked:
“You look good, central casting, actually. You want a secretary of state to look exactly like that — a little bit nerdy, and that’s good.”
We hope Kolodin is feeling seen.