The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

Arizona is one of the nation’s newest swing states — and one of the most competitive.President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Arizona had the smallest margin of any state in the country. Arizona is working on its fourth straight cycle with a competitive Senate race, which could be a three-way contest next year.U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party to register as an independent earlier this year, and the No Labels and Forward parties are raising their profiles across the state.Tech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang was in Phoenix last weekend to promote his Forward Party, just days after the No Labels Party qualified as a new political party in this state.Third parties are nothing new to Arizona or U.S. politics. But they are often viewed as spoilers by both Democrats and Republicans. This week on The Gaggle, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by AJ Simmons. He is the research director at the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois, Springfield, and an Arizona native.He joined the show to discuss the effects of third parties and different voting processes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It didn’t take freshman Congressman Juan Ciscomani long to draw attention in Washington D.C. The Republican who took over a Tucson-based seat from retired Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, prominently threw his backing for the House speakership to Kevin McCarthy, when three of his fellow Arizona Republicans had misgivings.McCarthy rewarded Ciscomani’s loyalty with a coveted seat on the House Appropriations Committee. It was only last year that Ciscomani made his first run for office, narrowly defeating former state Sen. Kirsten Engel to win a seat in the House of Representatives.Today on The Gaggle, Congressman Juan Ciscomani joins hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl on Zoom to talk about the work he's doing in Congress.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s 2023, but if you listened to some of the events around the annual Conservative Political Action Conference or a hearing at the Arizona Legislature in recent days, it could feel like we’re stuck in 2022 or even 2020.Arizona’s lawmakers need to reach an accord with the governor on an annual budget, and there is no shortage of issues to deal with in Washington, D.C. But prominent Republicans remain fixated on election denialism.In this episode of The Gaggle, the political podcast of The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl talk about how the Republican Party looks to move ahead with governing in Arizona and how it will talk to voters about the issues that matter to them before they go to the polls in 2024.Joining them are John Thomas, a Republican strategist who is helping amplify the message of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is all but declared as a GOP presidential candidate, and Ray Stern, who covers the Arizona Legislature for The Republic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

City Council candidates Sam Stone and Kevin Robinson are running to replace longtime seat holder Sal DiCiccio. The NAACP, the National Coalition of 100 Black Voters and the League of Women Voters hosted the District 6 candidates in a public debate. Here it is in full.For analysis on the Phoenix runoff election, be sure to listen to our episode with Republic reporter Taylor Seely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Councilman Carlos Garcia is defending his seat against challenger Kesha Hodge Washington. The editorial department of the Arizona Republic hosted the District 8 candidates in a public debate. Here it is in full.For analysis on the Phoenix runoff election, be sure to listen to our episode with Republic reporter Taylor Seely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last November, no candidate in Phoenix City Council District 6 or District 8 received enough votes to win the election outright.Residents now get a second chance to try to put their favored candidate onto the council in a runoff March 14. Candidates are Kevin Robinson and Sam Stone in District 6 and incumbent Carlos Garcia and Kesha Hodge Washington in District 8.This week on The Gaggle, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, host Mary Jo Pitzl is joined by Arizona Republic reporter Taylor Seely, who covers Phoenix City Hall.Together they discuss the candidates, the issues, and the mechanics of voting in the election. They also go through the details of who will be on the ballot, what they stand for, and what you need to know to vote in the election.Follow The Gaggle and all azcentral.com podcasts on Twitter here.We’re looking to hear from you! Send us a note or a voice memo via email here.Reach the reporter at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandaluberto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited the Arizona-Mexico border for his first time since his election to that position. With him were other GOP House members, including a new lawmaker from Arizona, Rep. Juan Ciscomani. This stop was seen as an indicator of how Republicans plan to handle border security and immigration issues. They now hold a House majority in a split Congress.This week on The Gaggle, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by Arizona Republic reporter Rafael Carranza. He was in Cochise County during the visit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 14 years since Arizona last had a Democratic governor. At that time, just like today, Arizona’s legislature was ruled by the state GOP. As Gov. Katie Hobbs settles into the business of governing, she’s battling a Republican-controlled legislature she hopes will turn Democratic next year. Today we’re talking to reporters in two states where Democratic governors have been hard to find — and their legislatures took two different paths.In this episode of The Gaggle, national politics reporter Ron Hansen and state reporter Mary Jo Pitzl sit down with two reporters from states whose recent history looks similar to Arizona's present: Michigan and Kansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everywhere you look, it’s clear that the Super Bowl is here. Murals and banners are up, cities are cleaning up, and the fans are flying in.Many guests are staying and partying in Scottsdale. Football-themed events and entertainment are transforming downtown Phoenix, and the game itself is in Glendale.Experts predict that a large percentage of the people attending these events will be tourists, and the state is projected to make hundreds of millions of dollars from Super Bowl 57.The last time Arizona hosted the Super Bowl in 2015, the Pro Bowl also kicked off the next weekend. That year, the state made more than $700 million in 10 days, according to an estimate from Arizona State University.But the Super Bowl's effects can be uneven, and it does come with costs, too.This week on The Gaggle, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by Arizona Republic reporter Corina Vanek to discuss what goes into putting on a mega-event like the Super Bowl.Ryan Brewer, associate professor of finance at Indiana University, joins the show to break down the costs and economic benefits of hosting the Super Bowl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego announced he was running for U.S. Senate, the Arizona Democrat made clear that it’s in part because of what he views as the misguided priorities of U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema, now an independent, has long made clear she views raw partisan politics as a policy dead end.But the bad vibes between them aren’t really new. It’s part of a split that began 17 years ago that has only widened in recent years. In today's episode of The Gaggle, we take a closer look at how these two politicians operate, and which might appeal more to Arizona voters should they go head-to-head in November 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices