Latest news with #ArizonaPolitics
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
A former Arizona lawmaker is indicted on charges that he forged nominating petitions
PHOENIX (AP) — A former Republican lawmaker in Arizona has been indicted on charges that he forged signatures on his nominating petitions for his 2024 reelection campaign. Austin Smith represented an Arizona House district in the suburbs northwest of Phoenix for one term before dropping his reelection bid in April 2024 when questions arose about signatures on his nominating petitions. He also resigned at the time as a leader of the conservative group Turning Point Action. In campaign literature, Smith voiced support for a Republican-backed review of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County that ultimately ended without producing proof to support President Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election. The indictment released Tuesday by Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes' office charges Smith with four felonies, including one count of fraudulent schemes, and 10 misdemeanor counts of illegally signing election petitions. The Associated Press left a voice message and email with Smith seeking comment. Last year, he cast the allegations as a coordinated attack by Democrats that was 'silly on its face,' but said he would drop out to avoid racking up legal bills. Smith had been a senior director of Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of the youth organizing group Turning Point USA, which has become a major force in Arizona Republican politics.
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Carville shreds Dem state chair, tells progressives to start their own 'pronoun' party
Veteran Democratic campaign strategist James Carville advised the new chairman of Arizona's Democratic Party to "shut up" or start a new progressive party. The Democratic Party has been struggling to re-define itself since the election, as leaders debate over whether to moderate or double-down on far-left identity politics. Carville, a frequent critic of some of the party's more progressive members, noted that the Democratic Party is doing unusually well in the red state of Arizona, where they have a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators. However, he warned that far-left politics and in-fighting may endanger this rare opportunity. Carville read from a recent New York Times article, headlined, "A Vulnerable Governor and an Intraparty Feud Signal a Bumpy Road for Democrats." The Times reported that Arizaona Democratic chairman Robert Branscomb had been "clashing with staff members over personnel decisions and accused them of sabotaging him by withholding financial documents." The article also claimed Branscomb, "wrote to party members detailing the infighting and attacking Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, both Democrats, for criticizing one of his staffing choices." Carville praised Kelly and Gallego, arguing to Branscomb, "You ain't been elected to s---. So why don't you shut up?" He went on to argue in his video posted to the Politicon YouTube channel, "that's the problem with this, these people from the 'progressive' whatever the f--- that is, that come into these state parties that didn't do anything that have outstanding Democratic elected officials. He's fighting with the governor. We finally have a Democratic governor, and this guy exemplifies to me what's wrong with that wing of the party." He noted one quote attributed to Branscomb, where he reportedly declared, "I will not be coerced, and I will not be silenced," and offered a barbed response. "Well why don't you just shut up anyway? Because you haven't gotten elected to anything. And why don't you pay attention and work for the people that are out there who are not just trying to win elections but are actually winning elections?" Carville asked. Carville argued this is part of a larger problem, sharing another purported example in Nevada, in which he called "one of the most successful state parties in the history of the United States," until the majority women state legislature took command of the party and turned "it into a useless glob of nothing." "You got one goal, dude, that's to win elections, not run your jackass mouth, which is all this guy Branscomb is good for," Carville said. He suggested that Democrats need to confront these members of the progressive wing of their party and propose an important question. "They need to really consider whether they're Democrats or not," he said. "Maybe they ought to go join the pronoun justice – social, I don't know, equity party or whatever they're doing." Carville continued, "When you don't respect people who go out and win elections and work and put their names out front and dare to lose then there's no use for you in Democratic politics. That's my view." The Arizona Democratic Party didn't immediately respond to a request for a comment.
