Arizona Politics & News
The Daily Signal covers Arizona politics and news with analysis, commentary, and conservative perspectives on elections, immigration enforcement, and border security debates.
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- News
What This Arizona Sheriff Sees While Border Crisis Worsens
A border sheriff in Arizona says his county has hit a crisis point with the surge of illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. “We went from a year ago manageable [and] calm to unmanageable chaos and crisis,” Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Wednesday. “Checkpoints are…Rachel del Guidice -
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Election ‘Safety’ Grants May Have Swung Arizona to Biden, Report Finds
Money from the founder of Facebook touted as being for safe elections during the pandemic may have affected the outcome of the presidential race in Arizona by driving up Democrat turnout, according to a government watchdog report. The grant from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan focused more on “voter education” than…Fred Lucas -
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Justice Department Won’t Oppose Arizona Election Reform Before Supreme Court Hears Case
On the cusp of Supreme Court arguments about Arizona’s ban on the controversial practice of ballot harvesting, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department pulled a surprise maneuver—inaction. The Biden administration in effect maintained the same position, for now, as the Trump administration regarding a major election integrity case. In a carefully worded letter to the Supreme…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Arizona Congressman Shares What US-Mexico Border Is Like Now
Construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border stopped Jan. 20, thanks to President Joe Biden’s executive order, issued the day of his inauguration. What does this mean for the safety of Arizonans and many families who have ranches along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona? Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, joins the…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
What You Need to Know About Election Litigation in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and Arizona
Even though former Vice President Joe Biden has claimed victory in the presidential election, the Trump campaign has filed lawsuits contesting the results with current litigation in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona. In Pennsylvania alone, there are at least 21,000 dead people on the voter rolls. Is there a possibility that some of these…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
What You Need to Know About Arizona’s Election Day ‘Sharpiegate’
Laurie Aguilera says her polling place gave her a Sharpie marker to fill out her ballot on Election Day in Maricopa County, Arizona, despite what her lawyers call state guidelines directing that “felt-tip writing utensils not be used.” Ink ended up bleeding through Aguilera’s ballot and election officials would not accept it. The Public Interest…Rachel del Guidice -
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Arizona Voters Approve Proposition 207 to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Products
Arizona voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana products Tuesday, allowing individuals over 21 to legally possess up to 28 grams of cannabis and smaller quantities of concentrates, The Associated Press reported. Proposition 207 followed four years after a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana use was defeated, the AP reported. Republican lawmakers previously rejected changes…Kaylee Greenlee -
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Why Arizona Looks Like Ground Zero in Battle Over Election Integrity
The overblown rhetoric of Democratic state election officials accusing Republicans of trying to suppress voting could dangerously undermine elections, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich told The Daily Signal. Brnovich has pushed back against the top election official in Arizona, a state that is shaping up to be ground zero in a battle over election integrity…Fred Lucas -
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Arizona Lawmaker Outlines Steps to Secure the Border
An Arizona lawmaker says he sees three concrete steps that should be taken to further secure the southern border with Mexico. “No. 1, I make sure we do get the fence,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., co-chairman of the House’s Border Security Caucus, told The Daily Signal in an interview. Chief Rodney Scott, the 24th chief…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Arizona GOP Leader Explains Why Area Voted Against Sanctuary Status
When talking about the immigration issue, more focus is often given to those coming into the country illegally, while citizens who live in border towns and cities are more often left out of the conversation. On today’s podcast, I speak with Chris King, the first vice chairman of the Pima County Republican Party, who talks…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
How ‘the Road Less Traveled’ on Teacher Certification Makes ‘All the Difference’ in Arizona
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / and sorry I could not travel both. / And be one traveler, long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could,” poet Robert Frost wrote in “The Road Not Taken.” As with Frost’s path, two means of certifying schoolteachers have also diverged in…Jude Schwalbach -
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Arizona Drops Nike Investment After Betsy Ross Shoe Is Scrapped
Gov. Doug Ducey revealed on Tuesday that the state of Arizona will be withdrawing all of the financial incentives provided to Nike following the company’s decision to pull an American flag-themed sneaker it deemed offensive. “Today was supposed to be a good day in Arizona, with the announcement of a major [Nike] investment in Goodyear,…Molly Prince -
- Opinion
This Arizona Policy Change Is Robbing Navajo Kids of School Opportunity
Three thousand and one hundred feet. That’s the distance between Hilltop Christian School in New Mexico and the Arizona border—but for students in the Navajo Nation, it might as well be 3,100 miles. A change in policy by the state Department of Education means Navajo Nation students living on the Arizona side are no longer…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
Arizona Case Shows the Difference Between Campus Free Speech and Harassment
Three Arizona students may soon learn a valuable lesson: There’s a difference between exercising your free speech on campus and blocking someone else’s attempt to do the same. In March, three University of Arizona students shouted down a group of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, and then chased them to their cars, hurling insults…Jonathan Butcher -
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Arizona Lawmaker Calls National Debt an ‘Existential Threat’ to the Country
A House Freedom Caucus member is working to help Congress and America realize the urgency of the country’s national debt, which hit $22 trillion last month. “Our tremendous national debt, our annual structural deficit, is really … an existential threat to the United States of America,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said on the third installment…Rachel del Guidice -
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Arizona Lawmakers Stand Up for Students Wearing ‘MAGA’ Gear in Dispute With High School
Some Arizona lawmakers are raising free speech concerns after a group of students and parents said high school officials called on students to remove pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” gear. The incident occurred March 1 when Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona, hosted its “Party in the USA” Spirit Day. Heidi Jones and Jennifer Farris,…Ginny Montalbano -
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Trump Has Authority to Declare Emergency for Border Wall, Arizona Lawmaker Says
President Donald Trump does have the authority to declare a national emergency in order to build his promised border barrier between the United States and Mexico if gridlock in Congress makes it necessary, a Republican lawmaker says. “He has the authority, and it’s not unique,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said Wednesday at Conversations with Conservatives,…Rachel del Guidice -
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Kyrsten Sinema Defeats Martha McSally in Arizona Senate Race
Democratic Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema has emerged victorious in Arizona’s hotly contested Senate battle, helping her party make gains in the upper chamber of Congress. Following a hotly contested race where both candidates led in differing polls, Sinema—Arizona’s 9th Congressional District representative—has defeated Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally after nearly a week since Election Day. The back-and-forth…Jason Hopkins -
- Opinion
Education Savings Accounts Remain a Choice for Arizona Parents
Leading up to Tuesday’s election, Arizona’s teachers union and its allies were more bombastic than strategic. But despite the campaign against families’ ability to choose how and where children learn, hundreds of thousands of Arizona parents still can customize their children’s education. Arizonans’ “no” vote on Proposition 305—a position backed by the teachers union and…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Are a Role Model for School Choice
Who would you rather have choose your child’s school—a politician or a bureaucrat? If you answered “neither,” you’re in good company with the conservatives in Arizona who passed a law last year that allows any of the state’s K-12 students to apply for an Empowerment Scholarship Account. In so doing, Arizona policymakers put parents in…Emily Maxson