Stay ConnectedHelping you keep up with what matters in Arizona’s political news. Each week we interview politicians, public figures or journalists to break down one local issue and how it affects your life in Arizona.
Coming to you every Wednesday morning, The Gaggle is hosted by The Arizona Republic’s national political reporters Ron Hansen and Stephanie Murray, and is produced by Amanda Luberto.
Votes are still being counted in Arizona; 470,000 to be exact. While there are some races in the state that have yet to be called, our knowledge about the results continues to grow.
The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast is dropping a bonus episode to chat about the evolving results and biggest headlines since Tuesday's election.
Hosts of the Gaggle podcast Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen will update you on the presidential race and the Congressional District races.
In this episode you'll also hear from:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 2020 election cycle torpedoed through a nation upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and grappling with partisan animosity, but in Arizona the season culminated in an election day marked by high voter turnout and sparing reports of disruption at the polls.
Voter turnout in Arizona surpassed 2016 numbers, but was not fully known by the end of Tuesday. Nearly 2.64 million early ballots were cast by Monday. Those votes, combined with in-person election votes, are expected to push turnout to record-breaking levels.
Full results in some races were left undetermined by the end of the night, including various Congressional Districts, state House and Senate races and Prop. 208, an education funding measure. But the Associated Press called the presidential race in Arizona for former Vice President Joe Biden. It also said that Democrat Mark Kelly ousted Republican Martha McSally from her Senate seat.
This week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast from The Arizona and azcentral.com, breaks down what we know, what we don't know and what comes next.
Here's what we know as of Tuesday night:
Arizona entered battleground status nationally in 2018 after constituents elected Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat, to the U.S. Senate over Republican candidate Martha McSally. Arizona had not had a Democratic senator since 1994 prior to Sinema's victory.
In 2020, pollsters and political operatives shifted Arizona to "swing state" status for the 2020 election, with Democrats betting on the population's changing demographics to elect presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden. President Donald Trump and his campaign worked fiercely to get out the vote among Arizonans, visiting the state seven times in 2019.
To find out more about how Arizona became a swing state, listen to our podcast, "Rediscovering: SB 1070."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In one week, people will be awaiting results from the 2020 election races. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are breaking down the information you need to know before Tuesday's election.
They take a look at early voting turnout and what the latest polls are saying (plus, if the polls can be trusted). Also, hear an analysis about statements made by candidates in the final stretches of the election and whether or not they're true.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The race for Maricopa County Attorney has grown heated and competitive this year.
Facing off are candidates Allister Adel, a Republican, and Julie Gunnigle, a Democrat.
Allister Adel, the sitting county attorney, was appointed to the office in October 2019 by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. This came after her predecessor, Republican Bill Montgomery, was named to the Arizona Supreme Court by Republican Governor Doug Ducey. She’s received the support of police unions and several Republican politicians.
Her opponent, Julie Gunnigle, grew up in Arizona before becoming a prosecutor in Illinois and Indiana. She’s been vocal in her support for criminal justice reform and has the support of various left-leaning organizations and even received a shoutout from celebrity singer John Legend.
To give you a better picture of these candidates and their philosophies, The Gaggle podcast spoke with each of them about criminal justice reform, reproductive rights and marijuana legalization.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Arizona's 1st Congressional District was designed to be competitive.
The district is immense. It stretches from the Navajo Nation in the northwest corner of the state, to the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. From there, it heads south, covering Show Low and Globe. Then it switches west to include Casa Grande and the city of Maricopa, just south of Phoenix.
It's covers such an incredible land mass that it's actually larger than 26 states.
In 2016, the district went to President Donald Trump by one point. That same night, it voted in Democrat Tom O'Halleran to Congress.
Four years later, how do voters in the district feel? Which issues are most pressing to them? And how will they vote come November? We talked to Rep. O'Halleran and voters in the district to find out.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Can a lengthy ethics investigation and a charismatic opponent mean the end for Rep. David Schweikert, a Republican from Arizona's 6th Congressional District?
Schweikert's district is home to some of Arizona's wealthiest residents. It's also home to a host of working-class entrepreneurs, he said. Topping their list of important issues this election are the economy, COVID-19 response, health care, and education. Facing off against Schweikert is Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, a Democrat who's made ground appealing to voters across the aisle.
This week, listeners will visit two congressional districts. Congressional District 6 and Congressional District 1. These races are expected to be the most competitive of all nine in Arizona.
We hear how Republican, Independent and Democrat voters in the districts feel about the incumbent candidates and their challengers.
It's part of a miniseries The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast launched this year. Leading up to the election, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen introduce you to the district leaders and residents, explaining how the most pressing issues for voters could affect the 2020 election.
NOTE: A previous version of this description misspelled Dr. Hiral Tipirneni's name. It has since been corrected.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The race between retired astronaut and Democrat Mark Kelly and Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) could determine the control of the Senate and makeup of the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday night, voters heard from the candidates directly. In a debate hosted by The Arizona Republic, Arizona PBS, KJZZ-FM (91.5) and Arizona Public media, the candidates responded to questions about health care, guns, China and national security.
The debate came after the release of a statewide Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network poll released Friday that showed Kelly led McSally 49-40 among likely Arizona voters.
Will the debate impact voters choice? How did Kelly and McSally respond to topics about the COVID-19 pandemic? In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen break down the top moments from the U.S. Senate debate.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Patriot Movement AZ was once seen as a fringe group within the Republican Party. Now they are impacting local policy while garnering national attention for their public actions. Investigative reporters Rob O'Dell and Richard Ruelas spent six months diving into the history of the group and reviewing thousands of online posts to learn how the group thinks.
O'Dell and Ruelas chat with Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen hosts of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, to breakdown the findings of their investigation.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Once a reliably red state, Arizona has become increasingly purple over the last decade.
When it comes to the 2020 election, it's districts like Arizona's 9th Congressional District that could swing outcomes on the federal level.
The 9th Congressional District falls in the heart of the Valley. It includes east Phoenix, Tempe, south Scottsdale and parts of Mesa and Chandler. It's home to some of Arizona's largest employers, such as State Farm Insurance and Arizona State University.
The district was originally drawn as one of three competitive House seats in Arizona. Back when it was created, Republicans had a 3 percentage point advantage. Today, Democrats have an 8-point edge.
What does that shift mean for President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden? How could changing sentiments in one congressional district shape the outcome of November's election?
To find out, we talked to Representative Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), who has served the district since 2018. We also talked to three different voters — one Democrat, one Republican and one Independent — to get their pulse on 2020. We asked them about which issues matter most to them, including climate change, health care and the Supreme Court vacancy. And we found out who they'll vote for in November.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As the 2020 election draws near, Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden are racing to shore up support from suburban voters in the battleground state of Arizona.
Analysts say suburbanites will be the decisive voting faction in this year's election, making them the most important group for each of the presidential candidates to win over.
But the suburbs aren't a monolith. The residents make up diverse populations with different concerns, backgrounds and religious affiliations. So how are the Trump and Biden campaigns going after them?
This week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, breaks down the two campaigns' strategies and efficacy. Plus, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen examin how the candidates are polling among Arizonans.
Audio in this episode courtesy of the azcentral.com video team.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
