The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

Early ballots are being packaged up to be sent out to Arizona voters by October 9th. This year is the big one. From contentious mayoral races to electing a new Maricopa County recorder, the local elections will come to define how the state runs.

On the national scale, Arizona has one of the most watched Senate races in the country and both Presidential candidates know how crucial winning Arizona will be to putting them in the White House. 

From now until your ballot arrives, The Gaggle, a politics podcast by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, collaborated with our politics team to connect with candidates so you can hear them make their case in their own words.

This is part of a series of bonus episodes featuring Q&As on the state’s most important races.

In this episode, reporter Stephanie Murray sat with VP Kamala Harris' senior advisor, Jen Cox, to discuss their plan for Arizona. Former President Donald Trump's team declined to participate.

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Early ballots are being packaged up to be sent out to Arizona voters by October 9th. This year is the big one. From contentious mayoral races to electing a new Maricopa County recorder, the local elections will come to define how the state runs.

On the national scale, Arizona has one of the most watched Senate races in the country and both Presidential candidates know how crucial winning Arizona will be to putting them in the White House. 

From now until your ballot arrives, The Gaggle, a politics podcast by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, collaborated with our politics team to connect with candidates so you can hear them make their case in their own words.

This is part of a series of bonus episodes on the state’s most important races.

In this episode, all 6 candidates running for Arizona Corporation Commission debate on why they deserve your vote. Audio is brought to you by the Arizona Media Association.

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The 2024 ballot will be one of the longest in recent history with 13 propositions to vote on.

Among things like police power at the border and abortion access, nearly one third of the measures deal with how elections function in the state.

There are four measures on the November ballot that are directly related to elections procedures, further enforcing that how democracy is run is a hot-button topic this election season. Two propositions come at primaries from the opposite side, one introduced by the Arizona Legislature and one introduced by the people. The other two directly impact how citizen initiatives make it onto our ballots.

This week on Election Dissection, an elections series of The Gaggle podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com hosts Mary Jo Pitzl and Sasha Hupka go through the nuances of these measures, explain the pros and cons and help you understand a typically confusing section of your ballot.

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Early ballots are being packaged up to be sent out to Arizona voters by October 9th. This year is the big one. From contentious mayoral races to electing a new Maricopa County recorder, the local elections will come to define how the state runs.

On the national scale, Arizona has one of the most watched Senate races in the country and both Presidential candidates know how crucial winning Arizona will be to putting them in the White House. 

From now until your ballot arrives, The Gaggle, a politics podcast by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, collaborated with our politics team to connect with candidates so you can hear them make their case in their own words.

This is part of a series of bonus episodes featuring Q&As on the state’s most important races.

In this episode, reporter Maritza Dominguez asks Mark Freeman and Scott Smith about key topics and why they deserve your vote this November.

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Along with everything else that’s on the ballot this election year, so is the U.S. House of Representatives. All nine seats of Arizona’s congressional delegation are before voters, but in reality, only two are expected to have any suspense.

Congressional district 1 features a showdown between Republican Congressman David Schweikert and Democratic Dr. Amish Shah. Congressional District 6 is a rematch between Republican Juan Ciscomani and former state Sen. Kirsten Engel.

This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, host Ron Hansen is joined by one of the Republic's national politics reporters Laura Gersony to talk through who the competitors are for these districts and how they define themselves.

Later, Kyle Kondik joins The Gaggle. He is the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. He clues us in on how the results of Arizona's election will have a seismic impact on who holds power in Congress for the next two years.

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Arizona being called for Joe Biden early on election night 2020 became the start of a movement: the state was officially a swing state.

Trump speaks to the state’s conservative roots. But continuous election denialism and disinterest in John McCain-style conservatism has some Arizonan Republicans questioning their support. 

When President Biden dropped out of the race this July and Harris took over as the Democratic nominee, polls showed a more competitive race in Arizona. Her stance on abortion and border security aligns with a newer set of voters coming to the polls. 

But independent voters are now one of the largest demographics for Arizona politics. So how are the two presidential candidates vying for Arizona’s vote? 

This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by Republic reporter Stephanie Murray to discuss the state of play in the presidential race in Arizona. Later in the episode, Inside Politics' deputy editor Jacob Rubashkin joins the hosts to analyze what Arizona’s role is in the national picture. 

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This November, voters have the choice between Democratic nominee Ruben Gallego and Republican nominee Kari Lake. Neither are new to politics or campaigning, but both are new to the Senate race.

Lake is bringing her national recognition from former President Donald Trump to the table, while Gallego could consolidate his party's support. But neither can call themselves a centrist, so what are less partisan diehards to do?

This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl break down where the race stands now and offer some insight into each candidate. Later in the episode, Cook Political Report editor Jessica Taylor joins the hosts to analyze how this race fits into the national picture.

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It goes without saying: You must be a U.S. citizen to vote in U.S. elections. Even so, the idea of proving your citizenship has been hotly contested.

Proponents say it's crucial to prevent non-citizens from voting in U.S. elections. Opponents say that this creates roadblocks that disenfranchise voters.

In Arizona, the Legislature sought to reinstate a state law requiring residents to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state Republicans' request on Aug. 22. The request is also backed by the Republican National Committee.

However, the court turned down a request to reinstate the portion of the same law that would bar federal-only voters from participating in federal elections.

So what does this all mean?

In this episode of The Gaggle's monthly series, Election Dissection, hosts Mary Jo Pitzl and Sasha Hupka explain the law and explain who's effected by it.

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The general election is less than seven weeks away on Nov. 5, and the presidential race is gaining the most attention. However, for Arizonans, there are some really important races down your ballot that you don't want to skip over.

In Maricopa County in particular, there are four races worth your attention: county recorder, sheriff, board of supervisors, and superintendent.

In this episode of The Gaggle, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl sit down with the Republic's county watchdog reporter, and co-host of The Gaggle's Election Dissection series, Sasha Hupka. 

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For the first time in 10 years, Mesa has to choose a new mayor.

Politically, Mesa is a study in contrasts. The current mayor, Republican John Giles, is known for his relatively moderate views and willingness to cross party lines, as he has again in the presidential election this year. But it’s also the political base of U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, a MAGA conservative. 

Mayoral candidates Scott Smith and Mark Freeman will be on the ballot for voters in November in a runoff election after what started as a five-way race.

This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by reporter Maritza Dominguez, who covers Mesa and other East Valley cities. They compare the two candidates, get a sense of where Mesa is headed politically and hear about what current Mayor Giles thinks of his two possible replacements.

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