The AZ Political Podcast

Jim Sharpe sits down with the next Arizona Senate president, Priya Sundareshan, following the midterm election results, in which Democrats won the majority in the state Legislature. What will the priorities be for the Arizona Legislature now that Democrats have control of both chambers and the governor's office?

Fresh off reelection, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes dodges questions about his future with trademark candor and talks election funding, taxes and why Republicans got routed.

Yes, he just won another statewide election as part of the biggest winning year for Democrats in modern Arizona history. Sure, he beat his opponent, Alexander Kolodin, by more than 10 points and 255,000 votes. And, yes, he’s still two months away from even starting his next four-year term in office.    But, still, I had to ask my guest on the AZ Political Podcast — recently r...

We’re calling this week’s show “A Special Edition of the AZ Political Podcast,” because I got e special ly lazy: repurposing some interviews that I did during an Arizona Votes Election Special. But it’s also a special edition because the folks I talked to are special people who are e special ly knowledgeable about Arizona elections, like Matt Salmon.   I chatted...

As a gunnery sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, JoAnna Mendoza considered herself a “servant leader.” Now, she wants to lead by serving in the U.S. House of Representatives — which will only happen if she’s leading Juan Ciscomani after the votes are counted.   Mendoza, the Democrat challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Ciscomani in Arizona’s Sixth Congressio...

Democrat Jonathan Nez told me on this week’s AZ Political Podcast that a lot has changed since the fall of 2024. I’m pretty sure Nez is hoping that a lot of that change took place in the minds of Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District (CD2) voters.    2024 is the first time that Nez, the former president of the Navajo Nation, ran to replace Republican Congressman Eli Cran...

I’m glad that my guests this week on the AZ Political Podcast didn’t take offense when I told them that, normally, I wouldn’t have you people on the podcast.   Not very PC — but what I meant was that John Crow, Ryan Carraciolo and Susan Winder are not candidates for an office that would normally rise to the level of awareness for most voters. In fact, their races are s...

During the AZ Political Podcast, Alexander Kolodin, the Republican nominee for Arizona Secretary of State, doubled down on the most contentious claim made in his debate with Democratic incumbent Adrain Fontes: that Fontes was a “lawyer for the Sinaloa drug cartel.”   Here are the facts: In 2011, Fontes represented Manuel Celis-Acosta as a defense attorney after Celis-Acosta was ac...

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes believes that letting his Republican opponent, state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, win in November (becoming chief elections officer for Arizona) would be tantamount to handing the “keys of the kingdom to the weirdos.”   Fontes, my guest on this week’s AZ Political Podcast, says that Kolodin “doesn’t want to reform...

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 Matte...

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 &mdas...

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&rsqu...

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 substantia...

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 Pet...

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&r...

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&r...

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 chall...

Even though the color of Arizona’s statewide offices were 100-percent ruby-red Republican at the completion of 2010’s election cycle, could 2016 see a complete color change to through-and-through blue?     That’s a possibility laid out by political consultant Chuck Coughlin, my guest this week on the AZ Political Podcast. The fact that Chuck — who oversaw Rep...

Could something that was once unthinkable: Republican Rep. Andy Bigg’s 5th Congressional District flipping to Democratic control, become a reality? And could it come true due to Republican infighting?   With 2026’s Primary Election fast approaching (it’s this Tuesday, July 21), Stacy and Stan, my favorite politically polar-opposite tactician twosome, join me for a special A-...

Jim Sharpe sits down with Congressman Andy Biggs with less than two weeks to go until the primary election for Arizona governor. Biggs discusses his campaign strategy, the urgent need to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud within the state's recovery industry and how he manages to balance a statewide campaign with his duties in D.C. He also shares his Day 1 vision for reaching across the aisle to w...

Seeing Democrats and Republicans work together “really well” — even “collaboratively" —  in an election year , is not only encouraging, but it can also give you faith in our system of government. Too bad that getting to this place politically requires tackling an issue awful enough that it can cause one to lose faith in humanity.   Republican state Senator C...

Will the  second time  be the charm for Marlene Galán-Woods? Will her  second  attempt to win the Democratic nomination in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District (CD-1) lead to her being Arizona’s  second  Latina in Congress? (Adelita Grijalva became the first when she won last year’s special election in CD-7.)    Galán-Woods wo...

Nothing’s more important on Arizona’s political calendar this week than the Republican gubernatorial debate. So much so that not only will KTAR News carry it live on-air and online (at 6 PM Wednesday), doing a preview of the debate on the latest AZ Political Podcast was a no-brainer.    I also didn’t have to use much brain power to pick the guest for this topic: Republi...

Will you get to decide if firing squads will be part of a list prisoners can choose from when they’re executed in Arizona? How do you feel about mail-in voting? Would you vote by mail to enshrine into the Arizona constitution the right to vote by mail?   Those are just a couple of the dozens of examples of what you could be voting on this year. That’s because Arizona is one of a h...

For Republicans. Daniel Keenan is the "Mark Lamb alternative" in Arizona's 5th Congressional District. Keenan joins Jim Sharpe for the AZ Political Podcast where they discuss his reasoning to run for office, his background, and the recent Mark Lamb controversy.