The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast
Helping 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 reporter Ron Hansen and state politics reporter Mary Jo Pitzl. You can find them on social media at @ronaldjhansen and @maryjpitzl. Amanda Luberto is the producer of the show.
Episodes
July 3, 2025 • 26 mins
When Hobbs was elected in 2022, she pledged to bring sanity over chaos. But the Democratic governor has tried to navigate working opposite a Republican-controlled Legislature over the last three years.
This year's session was no exception. Hobbs vetoed 174 bills this year, a new single-year record that surpasses her 143 vetoes in 2023.
But her vetoes aren't the full story, even if they are record-breaking. She also signed 265 bil...
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July 2, 2025 • 11 mins
On July 4th, 1776, 56 men signed a document declaring the newly formed 13 colonies as one United States of America. By this charter, they formed a new country, one free from Britain's rule.
The Declaration of Independence showcased the rights and beliefs of the new country. It was a written record of what America would stand for, and it was signed by the nation's founding fathers.
Today, to honor the country's sovereignty, the ga...
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June 25, 2025 • 14 mins
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl speak with Republic reporters Stacey Barchenger and Ray Stern to explore the politics of this unusual Arizona Legislature budget cycle.
Email us! thegaggle@arizonarepublic.com
Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804
Follow us on X, Instagram and Tik Tok.
Guests: ...
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June 18, 2025 • 15 mins
Early voting begins June 18 in the only federal race this year in Arizona. An election to fill the seat of the late U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva is underway in Arizona's Congressional District 7.
The race in southern Arizona has produced competitive primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides, but most of the attention has been focused on three of the five Democrats seeking their party’s nod.
This week on The Gaggle, a weekl...
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June 11, 2025 • 30 mins
June 2025 marks a decade since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. The landmark 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges resolved a long-standing national debate and brought together a conflicting patchwork of state laws.
Eight months before the SCOTUS decision, the Republican-dominated state of Arizona legalized same sex marriages, though the road to get there was rocky.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by T...
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June 4, 2025 • 43 mins
Gov. Katie Hobbs announced in May that she would not submit any more agency director nominations to the state Senate for confirmation, blaming what she called the "circus" environment for vetting her nominees.
Hobbs has been battling the state Senate since she took office for her director nominees, who have gone through a rigorous and unprecedented vetting process.
State Sen. Jake Hoffman heads the Committee on Direction Nominat...
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May 28, 2025 • 29 mins
The state's Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes is focused on the Republicans who tried to help sidestep Arizona's certified election results.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge recently ordered Mayes to take her evidence back to the grand jury to inform them of a key legal argument made by the electors. This ruling may — or may not — undercut Mayes' case enough to reconsider a matter she has framed as protecting democracy...
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May 21, 2025 • 28 mins
The Trump administration has only been in office for a few months, but the early days seem to make good on a promise of stricter immigration reform and border security.
But an intimidating defense along the border is not the only reason detention numbers have decreased. And deportations in other parts of Arizona — like Phoenix — are actually increasing.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azce...
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May 14, 2025 • 21 mins
As lawmakers are on break, work is going on behind the scenes on an education-related bill that would raise teacher pay and maybe provide constitutional protections for Arizona’s private-school voucher program.
Despite widespread agreement that the funding stream from the trust fund should continue, how to get the plan over the finish line is being hotly debated behind closed doors.
This will leave a new version of what is common...
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May 7, 2025 • 25 mins
Currently, Republicans have only a seven-seat advantage over Democrats, and that is likely to shrink by two seats after this year's special elections to fill vacancies.
Republicans are standing strong behind Trump, but Democrats are eagerly using this to their advantage. But will that work in Arizona and its two swing districts, Congressional District 1 and Congressional District 6?
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by ...
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April 30, 2025 • 27 mins
At the 100-day mark of Trump's second term, his approval ratings are the lowest for any newly elected president in over 50 years and economic warning signs are pointing toward a recession.
This should be a clear sign that Democrats will be successful in the 2026 election as they try to flip the House, but infighting might be getting in their way.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.co...
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April 23, 2025 • 23 mins
National economic uncertainty is impacting Arizona lawmakers and their budget deadline. But this year, there may be good reason to push to the last minute. Fluctuating tariff policies and Congress' want for billions in savings has made it unclear how much money Arizona can spend quite yet.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl take a look at Arizon...
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April 16, 2025 • 19 mins
Arizona's purple-state status has made residents accustomed to arguing at the state Capitol. But this time, the feud is between Trump-supporting Republicans and themselves.
A bill that would criminalize false claims of military service has Rep. Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake) and fellow veteran Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) in a heated personal drama is playing out in the Capitol. A claim of purposeful blocking, the owner of a Trump merc...
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April 9, 2025 • 33 mins
Probably more notably than any other Arizona politician, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is opposed to President Donald Trump. Currently, she involved in 11 lawsuits challenging the administration and she is still pursuing the fake electors case from the 2020 election overturn efforts.
Mayes has her work cut out for her, but the 2026 election looms large already, and she will have to face voters with her record as a counterbal...
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April 2, 2025 • 22 mins
For some politicians, like Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne, Trump's attacks on DEI, transgender students and dismantling the Department of Education come as good news. It follows rhetoric that he's been pushing for years. But for others, like Attorney General Kris Mayes, a lawsuit is in order.
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 tw...
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March 26, 2025 • 25 mins
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been trying to revamp Chase Field for years now. So far, that journey has left them without the proper funds to renovate the 27-year-old stadium. A new amendment to House Bill 2704 proposes a 50-50 split between Phoenix and Maricopa County to provide as much as $500 million a year from the sales taxes collected at the stadium – a change that prompted the county to oppose the bill.
This week on The Ga...
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March 19, 2025 • 19 mins
Raúl Grijalva, the dean of Arizona’s congressional delegation who spent more than 40 years in public service, succumbed to lung cancer last week. He was 77.
His loss is felt by his family, friends, colleagues and constituents. But the search for his replacement has already began. Gov. Katie Hobbs has set a date for the special election to fill his empty spot in Congress and notable names like Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and A...
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March 12, 2025 • 21 mins
Scottsdale residents voted in a new mayor and new City Council in the 2024 election. Almost immediately, the new faces at City Hall started kicking up dust in a city that calls itself “The West’s Most Western town.”
Eliminating DEI measures against residents' wishes, a controversy over a parking garage, an ethics complaint about the new mayor and more have Scottsdale City Council feeling more like reality television than C-SPAN.
...
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March 5, 2025 • 38 mins
Congress is looking to make room for trillions in tax cuts that are titled to corporations and the wealthy. Now, America's health-care program for the disabled, pregnant women and low-income earners is up for possible large federal funding cuts.
More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid, with 2 million of them living in Arizona.
The magnitude of the potential cuts, and the consequences for the people who rely on Medicaid, are...
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February 26, 2025 • 20 mins
Trump and his self-created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, after the internet meme, is attempting to rein in the amount of national spending and the size of the federal government.
About 32,000 of the 3 million federal employees are Arizonans, and the number of layoffs and buyouts offered by the Trump administration remains unclear. Most agencies that The Arizona Republic has reached out to for information about layof...
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