Tucson Politics

  Southern Arizona political roundup: Trump endorses Ciscomani; congressional fundraising; challenging moments in CD7 GOP primary; state Democrats have party problems

  President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday targeting local cities the administration claims are not cooperating with his immigration crackdown, and another targeting non-citizen college students who receive in-state tuition.

  A recent court ruling challenges the long-held presumption in Arizona that supervisors have no discretion when certifying election results.

  Detectives are investigating after a man being held at the Pima County Jail died Monday, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said.

  The Trump administration is contemplating shrinking six national monuments and opening them up for mining and oil drilling, including the 129,000-acre Ironwood Forest National Monument near Tucson.

  Democrat Chris Elsner will remain in the race for Tucson City Council after a lawsuit challenging his candidacy was dismissed on a legal technicality.

  The Sahuarita Town Council will vote Monday on a tiny land exchange and a town-initiated rezoning. Oro Valley will discuss long-term capital budgets during a Wednesday study session. And that's about it for local government meetings around Tucson this week.

  The military to has taken control of a 60-foot wide strip of federal land along the border from the Pacific Ocean to New Mexico — except for a 62 mile stretch of Pima County controlled by the Tohono O’Odham Nation.

  Arizona’s developmentally disabled community breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday, as a bipartisan solution to an impending budget cliff was finally signed into law.

  Scammers are targeting Arizonans looking for work in the form of fraudulent job listings and spam messages, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes warned in a statement Thursday.

  Arizona’s Mohave County plans to add security features to its ballot paper for the 2026 midterm election, a measure officials hope will improve voter confidence.

  Archaeology Southwest, a Tucson-based nonprofit, faces staff layoffs after a Trump administration official said the National Endowment for the Humanities is clawing back a $350,000 grant.

  Just seven days before the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities is expected to run out of money, the Arizona House of Representatives voted 48-11 to pass a supplemental funding bill

  U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly heard from veterans who are worried about VA services

  While a federal judge considers granting a temporary restraining order against Trump administration officials, a new group of Arizona university students is suing the federal government for suddenly terminating their visas, leaving them vulnerable to arrest and deportation.

  Tucson may hold a special election in November in which voters can decide on a franchise agreement between the city and Tucson Electric Power, but progressive advocates are pushing for a publicly owned utility option.

  The Tucson City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday  to move forward with a process to replace Councilman Richard Fimbres, filling the Ward 5 seat through the end of the term in December.

  A vacant basketball court in Nogales, Sonora, has transformed into an unwilling refuge where deported migrants and displaced families from the United States are now forced to call home.

  Except for a half-dozen Border Patrol agents, a section of Arizona's border wall remains strikingly quiet — a counterpoint to the Trump administration's declarations of a "national emergency" requiring an expanded role for the military and the turnover of thousands of acres of public land.

  Tell me I'm wrong and the Regional Transportation Authority Board did not just treat Tucson Mayor Regina Romero like a hysterical woman ranting and raving as she accused the RTA's chief of "hatred" for the city. They're too smart for that, right? Except, I think they did.

  Chris Elsner, a Democrat who is making his first run for public office, is facing a lawsuit over the validity of his nominating petitions in Ward 5

  A measure that would have waived certain state regulations to allow data centers and other large industrial energy users to build small nuclear reactors in rural Arizona was vetoed last week by Gov. Katie Hobbs.

  Republican lawmakers in Arizona want to force law enforcement agencies, city officials and even school leaders to make it easier for ICE to deport people — and they’re threatening to go to the ballot to do it.

  The Apache Generating Station is among 66 power plants nationwide granted exemptions by the Trump administration from updated standards on mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic pollutants.

  Karrin Taylor Robson entered the 2026 governor’s race with the endorsement of President Donald Trump. But on April 21, 2025, Trump also endorsed U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, her chief rival for the GOP nomination.