The AZ Political Podcast

KTAR News 92.3
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The AZ Political Podcast takes a look at the latest news and state of politics in Arizona. KTAR News' Jim Sharpe, also host of Arizona's Morning News, speaks with newsmakers each week plus gives his insight. 

  1. 5d ago

    Howie Fischer, Capitol Media Services Chief Correspondent

    You probably shouldn’t watch the entire AZ Political Podcast while you're in the voting booth on November 3, but this episode might be good to watch before you vote so you’ll know at least a little about each of the eight propositions you’ll find on your ballot this fall.   For something more in-depth, consider attending KTAR’s “The Issues That Matter Town Hall” on the evening of September 15 at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. You can join LaDona Harvey, Mike Broomhead, experts and local leaders, and… me!  Reserve your (free) spot through KTAR News’ partner Arizona Talks.     But back to the AZ Political Podcast, where Capitol Media Service’s Howie Fischer, who’s covered the Legislature since the ‘80s, goes through each prop with me, revealing the ones he thinks are designed to make our lives better and the ones designed to make Gov. Katie Hobbs look bad — by putting bills she vetoed in front of voters to approve.   And, yes, there are props on this year’s ballot that are designed to do both.   And there are bills that, while carefully designed, can have unintended consequences.    The props, if approved, would do a lot of different things, like:   • Prohibit the government from taxing you based on how much you drive;   • Stop local governments from taxing food sales — without voter approval;   • Forbid schools from allowing people to use a restroom, locker room, or shower area not designated for their (at-birth) sex;   • Ban non-voter-approved traffic photo enforcement systems (a bi-partisan favorite, by the way); and,   • Require most non-rural school districts to spend at least 60% of their budget on “direct instructional expenses.” Interestingly, non-compliance would leave districts with even less money to use anywhere.   I hope you take the time to watch the “Proposition Primer Edition” of the AZ Political Podcast. Just, please, don’t watch it in the voting booth — or while driving a motor vehicle.    That’s something that’s already prohibited by law.

  2. Sep 2

    Paul Bentz, Vice President of Research at Highground Inc.

    How is it possible that Republicans are the ones with a big registration advantage in Arizona, yet it’s a Democrat — Gov. Katie Hobbs — who has the advantage over Republican Congressman Andy Biggs in the race for governor?   This week on the AZ Political Podcast, we pause our parade of politicos to take a look at what you think of the candidates — by peering through a polling lens with Paul Bentz, the vice president of research at political firm Highground Inc.   While Highground’s latest poll shows Hobbs up by 15 percentage points over Biggs — including sizable leads among female (28%) and independent (35%) voters — Paul believes Hobbs’ lead will shrink as we get closer to Election Day. Whether Biggs can hit the finish line with a win depends on his ability to coalesce Arizona Republicans while convincing some independents to come along for the ride.   Currently, only 70 percent of GOP voters back Biggs. The remaining Republicans are divided between the undecideds (14%) and the GOP-ers that Hobbs has in her corner (12%).    Meanwhile, Hobbs enjoys 93 percent support among Democrats.   We also get a chance to look at the favorability ratings of candidates and leaders — from Hobbs and Biggs all the way to the nation’s tippy-top: Trump. And we take a look at how much he’s helping (or hurting) candidates in our state.   No matter which candidates you plan to choose this fall (and whether or not you think your mind can be changed) I hope you choose to catch the AZ Political Podcast — available at KTAR.com, the KTAR News app and everywhere you get your podcasts.

  3. Aug 24

    Jay Feely, GOP candidate for Congressional District 1

    Republican Jay Feely didn’t call his opponent in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District (CD-1), Dr. Amish Shah, a Democratic Socialist — but Feely did pretty much tell me on the AZ Political Podcast that Shah looks, walks and quacks an awful lot like one.    And says it’s “on him (Shah) to say ‘I don’t believe in those policies.’ He hasn’t done it.”    Feely points to Shah campaigning with, and for, Bernie Sanders and having “donated to these groups that advocate for those very policies… well over $30,000 to these groups and you articulate for these groups… the policies that those groups advocate for” as evidence of Shah’s socialist walking and quacking.    But here’s something that’s nice to hear as we head into what will surely be a hard-fought fall in CD-1: While saying that Shah should own up to his socialism, Feely doesn’t go as far as many Republicans in criticizing the people behind the policies.    Feely believes that the Democratic Party policies that he sees as being ineffective — or even making the problem worse— are born with good intent. That’s far different from many in the GOP who I’ve heard suggest that Democratic Party policies are designed to destroy America.   Jay Feely has no desire to get personal or down-and-dirty in the General Election. He got enough of that in the Primary.   He explains: “In the primaries... you're running against people that have similar beliefs, so it becomes very personal because if they're gonna beat you, they're gonna knock you down.” And he says he had to laugh because "right before the primary I was 'not a true Republican', I was a 'gun grabber', I was a 'Bill Clinton lover'… and then as soon as I win the primary, now I'm a MAGA extreme! You know, which one is it?”    I will leave “how MAGA” Jay Feely is, up to you, but when I asked him if he was trying to distance himself from President Trump’s endorsement (which helped him win the Primary but might be a liability in the General Election), Feely said: “I think what voters want most of all is transparency. So, they don't want you to be one way in the primary and then shift and be a different person with different ideals in the General. They want somebody who's gonna be honest about ‘hey this is who I am.’    “So, I'm not gonna try to pretend that President Trump didn't give me an endorsement and that we haven't been friends for the last two decades.” In fact, Feely sees that friendship as an advantage — especially when his viewpoints differ from the President's.   “I've talked to him about water over the last month… saying 'this isn’t a fair [Colorado River] deal for Arizona when the Upper Basin and those states aren't willing to make cuts' and trying to really advocate for our state.   “One of the advantages that I have is the ability to go and communicate with our president and talk to him because we have a friendship.”    A friendship, by the way, that was founded and fostered around golf — which is also something that serves as a sign that you can take the athlete out of the fight but you can’t take the fight out of the athlete: Jay Feely says he always tries to win when he plays the President — fighting spirit that could serve Feely well between now and Nov. 3.

  4. Aug 18

    Kris Mayes, Arizona Attorney General

    All I could get incumbent Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) to say about an investigative interview her office is seeking with Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), is that it’s Mayes’ “hope that we get all the answers we need from the governor’s office.”    The investigation surrounds allegations of a play-to-play scheme where Sunshine Residential Homes received a substantial rate increase from the Hobbs administration to operate foster care group homes after Sunshine donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hobbs’ inaugural fund and the state Democratic Party.   When I asked Mayes, my guest this week on the AZ Political Podcast, about the timeline of her office’s investigation, she told me, “We're moving deliberately as we can to get it completed.    “The way I handle all these cases — including the really high-profile ones — is I leave it to the investigators and our prosecutors… to complete the case and to tell me when they’re done. I don’t think it’s my job to rush anything.”   What if that doesn’t happen before the election? Is she worried that if the results don’t favor Hobbs, she’ll be accused of trying to protect a fellow Democrat?    It doesn’t sound like it: “We have prosecuted Democrats. We have prosecuted Republicans [and] independents. We’re going to call this as we see it. Wherever the facts lead us. That’s always the way I have operated.   “What letter is behind somebody’s name never factors into one of our investigations.”    By the way, Mayes and I talk about topics other than the governor — although, mentioning Hobbs’ unwillingness to debate her Republican opponent, Andy Biggs, prompted Mayes to assure me she will definitely debate her Republican opponent, Warren Petersen (my guest last week on the podcast).     Speaking of Republicans, we also discuss her former status as a Republican and which of her conservative principles migrated over when she switched to Democrat in 2019 and how they’ve colored her work as AG.    Also on this AZ Political Podcast:   •  Mayes’ latest lawsuit against tariffs, her winning percentage vs. the Trump Administration in court, and whether she regrets filing any of the more-than two dozen lawsuits she’s filed against the President   •  Her office joining a multi-state lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram operator Meta that could result in a $1 trillion+ judgment   •  If the AG’s office should play a role in combatting illegal immigration   •  Why she left a career in journalism to pursue a law degree and enter politics    That’s a path I definitely don’t see for myself. I enjoy doing the AZ Political Podcast way too much.

  5. Aug 13

    Warren Petersen, State Senate President and GOP candidate for AZ Attorney General

    Republican Warren Petersen believes the Attorney General’s Office (which he hopes to be elected to on Nov. 3) “should be focused on public safety rather than politics.” And he believes a political focus is what’s motivated incumbent Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes to sue the Trump Administration more than two dozen times.    That’s not to say that Petersen, my guest on the AZ Political Podcast, would be above suing the federal government if he’s elected. He just thinks it should be done with more prudence — and less partisanship.    In fact, Petersen, who currently serves as state Senate president, says he sees the AG’s office as “non-partisan.” And the decision to engage will be based on whether a federal administration “is abiding by the law or not.”    In contrast to his aspirational office, Petersen says his current office and legislative leadership position is partisan but believes that experience would serve him in a “non-partisan” role. That’s because it forced him to compromise with Democrats in order to get any legislation passed — including the state budget.     While we’re on the topic of the state budget, Petersen said that while he has the support of seven different law enforcement associations (and says Mayes has none), I passed along the displeasure I’ve heard from state troopers over the meager amount within the budget for the Department of Public Safety (DPS).    Petersen told me he tried to get more money for DPS but “we put it on the Governor’s desk, and she vetoed it.” I’m guessing that’s the side of compromise that Petersen will not miss.  (By the way, he does have the endorsement of the State Troopers Association.)   When asked if he would use the A.G.’s office to investigate the 2020 election, Petersen asked why Democrats are “so obsessed with 2020?” (Something Republicans could be asked too.) And claimed he’s never said Joe Biden didn’t win in 2020 — but he did say, that if elected, he’d focus on “election integrity.”   As for right now, Warren Petersen is focused on the 2026 election — trying to win it.

  6. Aug 6

    Sine Kerr, candidate for Lieutenant Governor and running mate to Andy Biggs

    Former state senator Sine Kerr, Republican Andy Biggs’ pick for lieutenant governor on Arizona’s gubernatorial ballot this fall, says, instead of criticizing her on water issues, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs should be pointing the finger at herself.    Kerr told me on the AZ Political Podcast that Hobbs “too little, too late” water policy means we’ll be getting too little water from the Colorado River to meet the needs of a growing Arizona — a state Kerr has lived in since she was 3 years old (and whose family has farmed in for almost as long).    The old saying, "whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting," isn't about water pistols at pool parties — it's about the age-old tug-of-war over water in the West. And this fall, the fight over Colorado River water won’t just happen among the seven states that share it — it’ll also take place in the political ring of the governor’s race.   Kerr defends her decision to resign from the Governor’s Water Policy Council in 2023 by calling it a “sham of a council” that Hobbs hoped would produce policy of a “predetermined outcome.” She says that Hobbs put “radical environmental groups” that were anti-agricultural on the council — forcing Kerr, a former chair of the state Senate Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee, to quit.     We do talk more about water, but Kerr and I also talk about:   • The border and how cross-border labor affects agriculture   • Her family’s history (which included her mother crossing the border from Mexico)   • Whether gender is important in politics (we’ve had more women governors than any other state, after all)   • Data centers and their place in Arizona’s economy   •  Her unusual first name (pronounced like “Tina,” by the way)   I hope you enjoy getting to know Sine Kerr, because whether you’re a fan of her politics or not, she will always have a place in Arizona political history as the first-ever lieutenant-governor nominee.

  7. Aug 6

    Sine Kerr, candidate for Lieutenant Governor and running mate to Andy Biggs

    Former state senator Sine Kerr, Republican Andy Biggs’ pick for lieutenant governor on Arizona’s gubernatorial ballot this fall, says, instead of criticizing her on water issues, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs should be pointing the finger at herself.    Kerr told me on the AZ Political Podcast that Hobbs “too little, too late” water policy means we’ll be getting too little water from the Colorado River to meet the needs of a growing Arizona — a state Kerr has lived in since she was 3 years old (and whose family has farmed in for almost as long).    The old saying, "whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting," isn't about water pistols at pool parties — it's about the age-old tug-of-war over water in the West. And this fall, the fight over Colorado River water won’t just happen among the seven states that share it — it’ll also take place in the political ring of the governor’s race.   Kerr defends her decision to resign from the Governor’s Water Policy Council in 2023 by calling it a “sham of a council” that Hobbs hoped would produce policy of a “predetermined outcome.” She says that Hobbs put “radical environmental groups” that were anti-agricultural on the council — forcing Kerr, a former chair of the state Senate Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee, to quit.     We do talk more about water, but Kerr and I also talk about:   • The border and how cross-border labor affects agriculture   • Her family’s history (which included her mother crossing the border from Mexico)   • Whether gender is important in politics (we’ve had more women governors than any other state, after all)   • Data centers and their place in Arizona’s economy   •  Her unusual first name (pronounced like “Tina,” by the way)   I hope you enjoy getting to know Sine Kerr, because whether you’re a fan of her politics or not, she will always have a place in Arizona political history as the first-ever lieutenant-governor nominee.

  8. Aug 4

    Dr. Terry Ruiz, democratic candidate for state superintendent of public instruction

    As someone who started her career as a 7th grade math teacher, Dr. Terry Ruiz is hoping the numbers work in her favor in this November’s General Election for Superintendent of Public Instruction — when she’ll face state Treasurer Kimberly Yee, the Republican nominee.   The numbers certainly added up for Ruiz in the Democratic Primary Election: She beat Brett Newby, her challenger in that race, by nearly 60 percentage points and with almost twice as many votes.    Ruiz, my guest on this week’s AZ Political Podcast, is also hoping that she can make the numbers line up to increase spending on public education in Arizona.    And get the math a little more in line when it comes to how she feels money should be spent through Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program — but she didn’t express a desire to end ESAs. Instead, she says she just wants to “follow the rules.”   Interestingly, when prompted, she admitted the state superintendent has somewhat limited power to affect change. For instance, she can’t increase spending on Arizona schools — that’s the job of the Legislature.    She can’t pay teachers more — that’s something determined by the state budget and individual schools and districts.   And, she can’t really add staff to the Department of Education — but, she says, good administrators move staff into place to focus on the problems at hand and she sees overspending within the ESA program — and underspending on public education — as problems.   Her other priorities include setting up an office for rural and small schools; working on teacher retention and getting more certified teachers in classrooms; and, she wants to see Arizona’s 13 Career and Technical Education districts expand their programs.   As someone who is a product of Arizona’s K-12 and post-secondary educational systems — and as someone who has served within both those systems (including her last job as president of Glendale Community College), Terry Ruiz believes she’s not only up for the job of superintendent, but she also has the education under her belt to help do it.

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The AZ Political Podcast takes a look at the latest news and state of politics in Arizona. KTAR News' Jim Sharpe, also host of Arizona's Morning News, speaks with newsmakers each week plus gives his insight. 

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