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
August 6, 2025 • 32 mins
Rep. Yassamin Ansari has spent her freshman year in Congress making national headlines.
She made national headlines for her travel to El Salvador where she tried, unsuccessfully, to meet with a man who was deported to that country as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort.
At the same time, she’s thinking about her political party – from who will run for president in 2028 to who is signing up new voters.
This w...
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July 30, 2025 • 19 mins
Alfredo Gutierrez, a nationally known migrants-rights activist and prominent politician, has died. At 79 years old, he succumbed to esophageal cancer on Tuesday, July 29.
Through his long service in the state, Gutierrez exhibited an activist's DNA despite his role inside the government. He sought social justice with his dual passions of civil rights and educational access, especially for immigrants.
This week on a special episode...
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July 23, 2025 • 30 mins
Arizona Democrats have held the spotlight this month with two very different votes.
One elected legacy politician Adelita Grijalva for the party's representation in the CD 7 race to fill her late father's seat in Congress.
The other was to oust their state party chair, Robert Branscomb II.
Arizona Democrats are riddled with political infighting after losing the presidential election in 2024, and soon the party will need to com...
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July 16, 2025 • 24 mins
While the rest of the U.S. Senate will go on its annual break in August, Arizona freshman Ruben Gallego is heading to Des Moines to meet with middle America to potentially gauge his chances in what is expected to be a crowded field of Democratic contenders.
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 Des Moines Register politics reporter Br...
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July 9, 2025 • 19 mins
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law in a Fourth of July ceremony, making tax cuts he passed during his first term permanent.
It offsets those revenue losses to the government with steep cuts to services like the Medicaid program, requiring states to be responsible for funding food stamp programs and delivering tax cuts to the wealthiest taxpayers.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by Th...
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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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