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In today’s edition, Ben Kamisar previews the key contests to keep an eye on as primary results roll in across Arizona. Plus, our White House team digs into a critical new phase of the Iran war for President Donald Trump.
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— Adam Wollner
What to watch for in Arizona tonight
By Ben Kamisar
Primary season picks back up today in Arizona, where President Donald Trump’s false election fraud claims continue to loom large nearly six years after his loss to Joe Biden.
Here’s what to watch.Governor: Rep. Andy Biggs is the front-runner in the GOP primary to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. The former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus has Trump’s endorsement in a race that includes fellow Rep. David Schweikert.
Biggs spent years casting doubt on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, but with his eyes now set on a November matchup in a key swing state, he has shied away from going after the issue with that same fervor. Republicans are optimistic about their chances of taking on Hobbs, one of the most endangered governors running for re-election this year. But Democrats believe that if Biggs is the GOP nominee, his alignment with Trump could give him trouble.
Secretary of state: Two Republicans, state Rep. Alexander Kolodin and former state party chair Gina Swoboda, are vying to take on Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes. The winner of the general election will be Arizona’s chief election officer during the 2028 presidential race.
Kolodin was deeply involved in the post-2020 challenges brought by Trump allies, and he’s backed by Turning Point USA and a handful of conservative members of Congress from Arizona.
Swoboda had previously received Trump support for a bid for Congress, but she then jumped over to this race. Trump has not formally waded into the secretary of state contest with an endorsement. Swoboda’s line on the 2020 election is that it was “stolen fair and square” in the courts and that there were issues with election administration.
1st District: The leading GOP primary contender in Schweikert’s district is former NFL kicker Jay Feely, who is backed by Trump.
The Democratic primary is more competitive and includes two candidates who faced each other in a tightly contested 2024 primary: former state Rep. Amish Shah and former journalist Marlene Galán-Woods.
Shah has the support of a handful of his former colleagues, including former GOP state House Speaker Rusty Bowers. But Galán-Woods has some powerful backers, including Sen. Mark Kelly, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Fontes. She also got a boost from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which added her to its list of top candidates and recently made a joint advertising buy with her campaign.
Trump enters an uncertain moment in the Iran war that threatens to become a quagmire
By Peter Nicholas, Garrett Haake, Gordon Lubold and Matt Dixon
The Iran conflict is entering a dangerous and murky new phase, with the regime showing it has retained enough firepower to kill and wound American troops, though President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the U.S. won the war.
Angered by the deaths of U.S. service members, Trump is vowing fearsome reprisals that could prolong the fighting indefinitely.
A senior White House official described the state of play yesterday as a “time of ambiguity.” A fragile ceasefire reached in April has collapsed, while the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that both sides signed last month hoping to end the war is in tatters, Trump administration officials said.
The uptick in the pace and ferocity of the conflict spells trouble for Trump at home and presents him with a conundrum abroad: A war of his choosing threatens to become both a military and a political quagmire.
He faces a stubborn foe in an Iranian regime that doesn’t need to defeat the U.S. so much as survive to fight another day. Furthermore, as the conflict spills into the midterm campaign season, Trump faces a restive American public that wants assurances the end is in sight.
🚢 Related: Strait of Hormuz traffic at a standstill as fears grow for global oil supply, by Chantal Da Silva and Matthew Mulligan
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- 🇨🇦 Trade wars: Trump imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, citing disputes over autos, alcohol and dairy products. Read more →
- 🗳️ Vote watch: Roughly 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote because of a “software error” between 2023 and 2024, with around 400 improperly casting ballots, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said. Read more →
- 🚫 Couldn’t be SAVED: Republican senators on both ends of the debate over the SAVE America Act said Trump’s election speech last week didn’t achieve its goal of helping pass the bill. Read more →
- 🔎 Maine event: Republicans — and some anxious Democrats — are digging into Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson’s long record in politics in search of potential liabilities. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Annelise Hanson.
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