PHOENIX — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is moving past the threats that came after she announced she would vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
The Republican win probability has doubled in Arizona.
Politicians talk about "witch hunts" so often that the occult has almost become cliche in American politics. But in Arizona, there's at least one candidate on the ballot who takes sorcery very seriously.
"Abolish ICE" appears to have abolished David Garcia’s campaign.
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
Jan Brewer would be an interesting choice for the Arizona Senate seat.
The establishment-backed former fighter pilot beat out two candidates who courted the lunatic fringe in Arizona's Senate primary.
But the temperamental Trumpists are losing to the Trump-loving establishment in 2018.
Plus, the phone booth baby finds his mom.
The model might be too high on Sinema. But it also might have a point.
SwingSeat update: We have updated forecasts in Texas, Arizona, and Florida.
In Kentucky, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona, and Colorado, teachers have refused to teach until lawmakers agree to raise their pay. Some have stormed statehouses; others have closed their schools and walked out. The mainstream press affords them lavish and highly sympathetic coverage, and…
Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, senior writer Michael Warren and deputy online editor Jim Swift join host Charlie Sykes to discuss whether or not Dr. Ronny Jackson, President Trump's pick to lead the VA stands a shot at getting confirmed by the Senate, Mick Mulvaney's views on lobbyist…
Debbie Lesko underperformed Trump by about 16 Points—that's not a great result.
The Most Special Election Yet
"How many of you drive for a living? How many of you want to?" That's the question Michael Crow, the president of Arizona State University, posed recently to an audience assembled in Washington, D.C., to learn about the future of driverless cars. Crow, who participated in a discussion called…
In less than three weeks, the 2018 election will head to Arizona. Republican Rep. Trent Franks resigned late last year amid a scandal involving money, staffers and surrogacy (it's a bizarre story), triggering a special election in Arizona's 8th District. In a normal year, this district would be…
She doesn’t say so, but 2018 has been a tricky year so far for Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward. After months of polling strongly as an uncompromising, Trump-loving alternative to unpopular incumbent Jeff Flake, the conservative firebrand now finds herself squeezed between two new challengers:…
In 2015, Arizona became one of the first states to adopt an intrastate equity crowdfunding policy, which permits state residents to buy stock in a startup. Arizona State Representative Jeff Weninger, a small business owner who knew firsthand the need for new ways to raise capital, authored a…
Uncovering the TUSD Deep State. Imagine if your local school district had a secret document. The purpose of this document is to blacklist and retaliate against employees. That's what the Arizona Daily Star's Hank Stephenson uncovered at the Tucson Unified School District.
Will Republicans hold the Senate in 2018?
Election wonks don’t play favorites with polls. We love them all equally. (Translation: We do our best to judge them impartially based on their past accuracy, methodology, question wording, context and other relevant factors.) But it’s hard not to have a soft spot for surveys that offer something…
Bisbee, Arizona, is at the center of a jurisdictional tussle with the state government, a kerfuffle that may prove whether there’s room in a conservative state for local self-determination—even liberal local self-determination.
In a speech on the Senate floor on October 24, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) announced his intention not to seek reelection in 2018. We regret his decision and the state of affairs that led him to make it: Flake is a solid conservative and a decent man, an implacable critic of government waste and a…
Bisbee, Arizona, is at the center of a jurisdictional tussle with the state government, a kerfuffle that may prove whether there’s room in a conservative state for local self-determination—even liberal local self-determination.
In a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) announced his intention not to seek reelection in 2018. We regret his decision and the state of affairs that led him to make it: Flake is a solid conservative and is a decent man, an implacable critic of government waste and a…
Arizona senator Jeff Flake announced Tuesday that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2018. When an incumbent senator decides not to run again, it’s usually easy to gauge the electoral consequences—sitting senators usually perform better than non-incumbents, so if a senator retires in a…
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Attention all history buffs and antiquarian booksellers: The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, a recently founded center at Arizona State University, is in the market for great books relevant to American political philosophy and civics. They’ve already acquired a first collected…
Scottsdale, Ariz.
It’s a classic case of man bites Blue Dog. The southern Arizona chapter of the Indivisible Project, a leading organizer of anti-Trump progressives, protested outside Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran’s office Tuesday for supporting a crime bill making it easier for the government to deport…
One of the primary challengers to Donald Trump’s top Senate rival says she’s sticking with the president after his immigration deal with Democratic leaders.
President Donald Trump on Monday defended his pardon of Arizona’s Joe Arpaio, who as sheriff of Maricopa County defied a court order to stop his hardline immigration policing and earned a citation for contempt of court last month. Trump’s comments came at a joint press conference with the president…
On the eve of Hurricane Harvey making landfall in Corpus Christi, President Trump pardoned former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Donald Trump has been president for just over seven months.* The 2020 election is more than three years away. So why is his chief pollster asking if Republicans would vote for him in a presidential primary today? That’s what Tony Fabrizio asked 1,500 self-described Republican or Republican-leaning…
The president’s speech at his political rally in Phoenix Tuesday night was a disjointed ping-pong between a prepared address and Donald Trump’s own extemporaneous comments. In other words, it was a typical Trump campaign speech.
A group backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., launched a new ad campaign Tuesday against Kelli Ward — the primary opponent of Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. — attacking her over "crazy ideas" and "embarrassing behavior" during her time as a state senator and her primary campaign…
The school choice movement finally has the federal platform it never really needed. Donald Trump, in campaign mode, pledged to invest $20 billion in private school vouchers for poor children—an epic sum that will likely fund a federal version of the tuition tax credit scholarships 17 states already…
Hillary Clinton could do worse than to take up the trombone.
Hillary Clinton could do worse than to take up the trombone.
He is 80 years old now. He was 31 when his A-4 was hit by a missile over Hanoi on October 26, 1967. You wonder if it occurred to John McCain, on the anniversary of that date, how improbable his life has been since then. How fortunate, in fact, he is to have had a life at all. He could have drowned…
Executive editor Fred Barnes discussed Tuesday's tightest and most significant congressional primary races with the Wall Street Journal's Mary Kissel.
CNN released a new poll Wednesday evening showing John McCain leading Kelli Ward in the August 30 Arizona Senate primary by 26 points (55 percent to 29 percent).
Aetna announced this week that it will no longer be providing Affordable Care Act "marketplace" insurance plans in nearly a dozen states, including Arizona. Aetna joins other insurers, including Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, and Health Net in dropping Obamacare…
Since when did Arizona become a swing state? Since Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president.
Arizona governor Doug Ducey signed legislation into law this week that eliminates some of the state's onerous professional licensing requirements. Now free to make a living without first getting government approval are citrus packers, "assayers," driving instructors, and yoga-teacher trainers.
Tucson
A poll of Arizona Republicans conducted last week but released today shows Donald Trump leading Ted Cruz 31 percent to 19 percent, with John Kasich and Marco Rubio tied at 10 percent.
The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on tonight's Super Tuesday election.
Phoenix
We never thought we would find ourselves stocking a pantry in Arizona. But now that Phoenix is our winter base, there we were, on line at the deli counter of a supermarket located in one of the ubiquitous strip malls that we love because they are home to thrusting small businesses as well as huge…
President Barack Obama's brief trip to Phoenix Thursday included an off-schedule trip to a housing development and a policy speech at a local high school. But, as NBC affiliate KPNX noted in its report, the president's motorcade drove past the campus of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital, which…
President Obama is in Phoenix Thursday, and his motorcade drove past that city's Veterans Affairs hospital without stopping. Politico's White House correspondent reports:
The latest fundraising email for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was sent out this afternoon by Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman who was shot in the head in 2011.
Democrat Fred DuVal of Arizona has made his business experience and knowledge a centerpiece of his campaign for governor. But it appears that either DuVal or a company he co-owns—or both—is in violation of Arizona corporate law.
A new poll of the Arizona governor's race commissioned by a conservative group called American Encore has found Republican Doug Ducey leading Democrat Fred DuVal in what remains a tight race for the open seat. Forty-six percent of likely voters said they support Ducey, compared to 37 percent for…
After finishing the season ranked #29 last year, the Arizona Wildcats — hot off their upset win at Oregon — have claimed the top spot in the inaugural 2014 Anderson & Hester Rankings. The second and fourth spots are held by two schools from Mississippi — #2 Mississippi and #4 Mississippi State —…
Arizona Republicans are in a tough fight to keep the governor's mansion. Their candidate, state treasurer Doug Ducey, is effectively tied with Democrat Fred DuVal. Since voters in the state generally lean toward the GOP, DuVal has cast himself as a moderate outsider, a businessman who seeks…
PHOENIX — In the waiting room of Maricopa County’s Tent City Jail, a weathered screen flashes red, green and yellow words with a euphoric fireworks effect worthy of an early 2000s Word document.
Last week, things reached a fever pitch in Arizona as legislators tried to clarify existing religious liberty protections in state law in light of incidents, in which Christian business owners have been sanctioned for refusing to participate in gay weddings. The bill in question was immediately…
The Scrapbook has devoted plenty of column inches over the years to detailing the incestuous relationship between public employers and public employee unions. Every election cycle, union dues—paid with taxpayer dollars—go to Democratic politicians, who, when in office, thank their donors with…
At least for now (although a statewide referendum may be pending), Arizona governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, has succeeded in her efforts to implement a key part of Obamacare in her state. Brewer has very aggressively — and entirely voluntarily — spearheaded the charge to implement Obamacare’s…
Jon Kyl, the Republican senator from Arizona, delivered his farewell address to the Senate Wednesday afternoon. Kyl is retiring at the end of this term after 18 years in the Senate and 8 years in the House of Representatives. Read his speech below:
A new ad for Republican Senate candidate Jeff Flake of Arizona, which features Republican senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, prompted a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to call the spot a "hostage video."
In an interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, retiring Republican senator Jon Kyl raised some possible reasons why Democrat Richard Carmona, one of candidates vying to win the Arizona Senate seat Kyl is vacating, might be seeking public office. If a past interaction Kyl had with Carmona reveals a…
The U.S. Senate race in Arizona to replace retiring Republican Jon Kyl was supposed to be an easy hold for the GOP. But the last several polls have shown the race is tightening between the Republican candidate, Congressman Jeff Flake, and his Democratic opponent, Richard Carmona, a former U.S.…
Republican congressman Ben Quayle of Arizona may have received the most critical endorsement of his primary against fellow congressman David Schweikert. Black civil rights activist Reverend Jarrett Maupin of Phoenix has endorsed Quayle over Schweikert, the Phoenix New Times reports, with some…
In separate interviews, Arizona congressmen David Schweikert and Ben Quayle shake their heads and shrug their shoulders at their political predicament. The freshmen members are running against each other in a Republican primary for the House in what local and national observers alike have labeled…
U.S. Senator John McCain has endorsed Ben Quayle over David Schweikert in the Republican primary for Arizona's Sixth Congressional District. McCain endorsed Quayle, a House freshman and the son of former vice president Dan Quayle, in a press conference Wednesday in Phoenix. Dan Nowicki of the…
Jared Lee Loughner, who killed six people and injured thirteen others (including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords) last year near Tucson, cut a deal yesterday: By agreeing to plead guilty to perpetrating the massacre, federal prosecutors in return spared the 23-year-old from the death penalty.
Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano celebrated the Supreme Court's Arizona decision in a statement. But Napolitano expressed concern in a statement that a key component of the law, which allows law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of folks who are…
President Obama praised the Supreme Court decision that struck down part of the Arizona illegal-immigration law, but expressed "concerned about the practical impact of the remaining provision of the Arizona law that requires local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone…
Arizona senators Jon Kyl and John McCain released the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling today on tht state's immigration law:
Democrat Ron Barber defeated Republican Jesse Kelly yesterday in Arizona’s special election for the House seat formerly held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Barber received 52 percent of the vote—to Kelly’s 45 percent—and will serve out the remainder of Giffords’s term, before coming up for reelection…
The special election to fill the last six months of Gabrielle Giffords’s term in the Eighth Congressional District of Arizona is rapidly approaching. Although the race looks close, no one can say that the candidates are neck and neck. At 6’8”, Republican Jesse Kelly stands head and shoulders above…
More Democrats seem to be distancing themselves from President Obama. Politico finds this nugget from a debate between Democrat Ron Barber and his Republican opponent, Jesse Kelly, in Arizona's Eighth Congressional District (Gabby Giffords's home district):
Speaking after his 3-point loss (41 to 38 percent) to Mitt Romney in Michigan, which will net him between 12 and 15 of the 30 delegates in Romney’s native state, Rick Santorum said:
After months and months of campaigning, Mitt Romney is finally sounding like a conservative. It took the strong challenge by Rick Santorum in Romney’s home state of Michigan to produce this transformation. But it worked as Romney overcame a double-digit Santorum lead to win yesterday’s Michigan…
Here's the text of Mitt Romney's victory speech tonight, as prepared for delivery:
As the polls close tonight in Arizona, NBC News immediately calls Arizona for Mitt Romney. No precincts have been counted, but the exit polling must look great for Romney, which is completely consistent with the most recent polls. Rick Santorum has been polling well behind Romney there.
Derek Thompson: "The Collapse of Print Advertising in 1 Graph"
Arizona governor Jan Brewer endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney this morning on NBC's Meet the Press.
PPP reports on its latest poll of the Republican primary race in Arizona:
Restore Our Future, the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC, has released a new ad that will air in Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio. The ad portrays Santorum as a "big spender" and a "Washington insider," citing his voting record when he represented Pennsylvania in the Senate. Watch the ad below:
I wonder if three features of the race as it stands today aren't being a bit neglected:
A reporter for the Arizona Republic notes that the state's Republican legislature is set to outdo Wisconsin with their attempt to curb public employee unions. According to the report, the bill would:
ABC News: "Obama Administration to Delay New 15-Cent Christmas Tree Tax"
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has earned the endorsement of Arizona congressman and 2012 Senate candidate Jeff Flake. From a Romney press release:
Phoenix—There is something bracing about a trip away from Washington, a town in which it is widely accepted that no person of prominence means what he or she says. The president says that he will not sign on to any significant spending cuts, and the Republicans say they will not sign on to any tax…
After Susana Martinez signed an executive order empowering state police to inquire about the immigration status of criminals, while at the same time “protecting victims and witnesses of criminal acts,” New Mexico Democrats accused America’s first Latina governor of “[promoting] racial profiling”…
Americans don't really need another reason not to link the senseless actions of a deranged individual in Tucson to the tenor of American political discourse, but it is worth considering how accusations that the lunatic shooter in Tucson was influenced by our political rhetoric feed directly into…
President Obama’s speech in Tucson was fine, as far as it went. The protocol in such circumstances seems to require presidents to call for healing, unity, civility, fellowship, and a determination to move forward, as well as a shout-out to heroes and victims. The president appears to have done all…
Perhaps the most powerful moment of President Obama’s moving address yesterday came when he announced that Representative Gabrielle Giffords had opened her eyes for the first time during a visit from some of her colleagues in Congress.
As prepared for delivery:
Jennifer Rubin wonders whether the planned memorial service tonight in Tucson is appropriate. As the Washington Post reported yesterday, "The service is set for 8 p.m. Eastern time at the University of Arizona's basketball arena, the school said. It will include a Native American blessing, a moment…
Sarah Palin has posted the full text of her address on her Facebook page:
Just when it seemed like everything that could be said about the Tucscon massacre had been said, Charles Krauthammer has written the definitive column:
In response to Saturday's shooting spree in Tucscon, Rep. Peter King (R, N.Y.) has announced that he's planning on introducing legislation to make it illegal for American citizens to knowingly carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress. King told THE WEEKLY STANDARD over the phone…
There has been no shortage of individuals and institutions that have sought to capitalize on the shootings in Tucson. Add Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to that list.
The AP reports:
George Will writes in the Washington Post:
As Jared L. Loughner opened fire on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and a small crowd of supporters, killing at least 6 and wounding many others, there appears to be at least three people who, in the face of horror, performed unimaginable heroic acts: Bill Badger, Daniel Hernandez, and Patricia…
Even before anything at all was known about Jared Lee Loughner, who went on a deadly shooting spree outside a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, a narrative was beginning to take shape.
At a news conference moments ago, a spokesman at the hospital where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been taken said that Giffords is out of surgery after being shot through the head. The spokesman said he is "very optimistic about recovery" and "about as optimistic as I can get in this situation."
Scottsdale, Arizona
Amid the controversy arising from the federal district court's decision to strike down portions of Arizona's Senate Bill 1070, one must keep in mind the fact that the case is at its most preliminary stage. Judge Bolton, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, did not issue a final…