David Schweikert, U.S. representative and candidate for Arizona Governor

Stan Barnes, Copper State Consulting

Nothing’s more important on Arizona’s political calendar this week than the Republican gubernatorial debate. So much so that not only will KTAR News carry it live on-air and online (at 6 PM Wednesday), doing a preview of the debate on the latest AZ Political Podcast was a no-brainer.    I also didn’t have to use much brain power to pick the guest for this topic: Republican political consultant Stan Barnes, who is long-time friends with the two top candidates fighting to face Democratic incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs this fall, Congressmen Andy Biggs and David Schweikert.    With so many similarities between Schweikert and Biggs, Stan believes they won’t debate policy — nor does he think there’ll be any personal attacks between the two. So, he thinks the debate will come down to one thing: a candidate’s electability versus Hobbs.    Stan tells me that, at his core, Shweikert believes he is the guy to hobble Hobbs and that if he loses the nomination (the direction polling is pointing), Hobbs not only beats Biggs, that defeat could also lead to Democratic majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature — a political place Arizona hasn’t been in since 1966.    For those who think it’s unfair that lower-tier candidates don’t ever get mentioned, Stan and I do talk about Ken Miceli and Scott Neely: two East Valley businessmen who will be on the GOP ballot and the debate stage with Biggs and Schweikert.    Stan thinks they’ll likely have their biggest impact on Wednesday night when he presumes they’ll go after the front-runner, Biggs. Will they score enough points to move Schweikert up? Or will they just make it look like it’s three against one?    You can get answers by watching the debate on KTAR.com [http://ktar.com/], but I’d suggest doing that after you watch the pre-game show: the AZ Political Podcast.

Stacey Pearson, co founder of Lumen Strategies

Will you get to decide if firing squads will be part of a list prisoners can choose from when they’re executed in Arizona? How do you feel about mail-in voting? Would you vote by mail to enshrine into the Arizona constitution the right to vote by mail?   Those are just a couple of the dozens of examples of what you could be voting on this year. That’s because Arizona is one of a handful of states where you get to be a quasi-legislator and partake in direct democracy by creating (or rejecting) laws in the voting booth.    On this week’s AZ Political Podcast, I get to talk with political consultant Stacy Pearson of Lumen Strategies not only about the ballot measures you could see this fall, but also the four types of ways they end up on ballots: two that are initiated by citizens and two that are referred by the Legislature to voters.    Stacy’s firm is engaged in trying to get an initiative called the “Constitutional Right to Early and Mail-in Voting Amendment” on Arizona’s ballot and there are some big hurdles to get there: State law requires that almost 384,000 signatures need to be gathered (and tens of thousands of extras to make up for those ineligible to sign) and submitted by July 2. And there are potential legal challenges to the signatures as well as challenges to the wording of the initiative.   Whew! It takes a lot of initiative to get an initiative in front of voters.   We also discuss what happens when two opposing ballot measures pass; how it’s possible for two similar ballot measures to split the vote and both fail; and the electoral track record of ballot measures.    Initiatives and referendums make for fascinating politics because it’s voters making government “of the people” and “by the people” by bringing “power to the people” to create law.

Daniel Keenan, Republican candidate for Arizona's 5th Congressional District (CD-5)

For Republicans. Daniel Keenan is the "Mark Lamb alternative" in Arizona's 5th Congressional District. Keenan joins Jim Sharpe for the AZ Political Podcast where they discuss his reasoning to run for office, his background, and the recent Mark Lamb controversy.

Andy Biggs, US representative and candidate for AZ Governor

Do Andy Biggs' connections in Washington and Mexico make him a good candidate for Arizona's top job? Joining the AZ Political Podcast is Rep Andy Biggs who says he will use these connections to improve relations with our southern neighbor.

Chuck Coughlin, president and CEO of High Ground Consulting

Will Arizona's 1st congressional district seat flip democratic in the July 21 primary? Chuck Coughlin joins the AZ Political Podcast with Jim Sharpe to discuss what he says will be a very interesting race.