Election

Both candidates have characterized each other as too extreme for the 6th Congressional District that covers southeastern Arizona and sweeps through parts of Tucson, the Sonoran Desert, national forest and includes part of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Democrat and former Phoenix mayor is banking on his relatively moderate voting record, strong name recognition and a sizable war chest to fend off Republican political newcomer Kelly Cooper, a restaurant owner and Marine veteran.

Arizona’s vast 2nd Congressional District will be a key factor in determining which political party has the majority in the state’s delegation and, ultimately, which party controls the U.S. House.

A voter initiative rolling back Republican-backed election law changes and expanding voting access will not appear on the November ballot, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday, issuing a final death knell after an on-again off-again series of court rulings.

The lawsuit was filed against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee for governor, and the elected supervisors of Maricopa and Pima counties, who oversee elections in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas.

Two of the initiatives — one limiting so-called predatory debt collection and Goddard’s political spending transparency measure — easily survived court challenges to their signatures.

Arizona GOP leaders are urging the state Supreme Court to overrule lower court judges and block three voter initiatives from the ballot.

An attorney representing opponents of the Free and Fair Elections measure said his analysis shows the measure now falling about 10,000 signatures short.

The rulings are not the last word, however. Attorney Kory Langhofer, who represents the business groups that brought the challenges, said he’s already filed appeals notices.

A Missouri man has been indicted after authorities say he left an Arizona election official a threatening voicemail. If convicted, Hoornstra Jr. could serve up to five years in prison for making a threatening interstate communication and up to two years in prison for making a threatening phone call.