Arizona files 20 criminal charges against Kalshi for flouting state gambling laws



Arizona has filed the first criminal charges against a prediction market website in the United States.

Kalshi is one of two major prediction market websites in the country (along with Polymarket), which allows users to make money off of almost anything.

'We just can't allow companies to come in here and override our laws.'

Whether it's Taylor Swift getting married or the future price of Bitcoin, prediction markets turn real-life events into shares that can be bought and sold depending on their value. The value changes based on which outcome users are putting their money into.

Like financial exchanges, these predictions are regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) is calling that into question.

"We just can't allow companies to come in here and override our laws or try to bypass our laws against online gaming outside of regulations," Mayes told Arizona's CBS 5.

Mayes' office put out a press release on Tuesday alleging that Kalshi has accepted bets from Arizona residents that violate state law.

The press release included a filing against Kalshi Trading LLC out of Delaware, listing 20 criminal charges related to what Arizona referred to as "proposition bets," which typically refer to sports bets focused on individual player performances.

RELATED: Insider war bets. Multiple lawsuits. Free groceries. Are the top prediction platforms about to crash out?

The filing listed 16 "betting and wagering" offenses and four counts of "election wagering."

This included "bets" on the 2028 presidential race, the 2026 Arizona gubernatorial race, the 2026 Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary, the 2026 Arizona Secretary of State race, and whether the SAVE Act would become law.

The alleged sports bets were on pro and college events, including prop bets on individual performances in those categories.

The state said that Arizona law prohibits operating an "unlicensed wagering business" and separately bans "betting on elections outright."

A Kalshi spokeswoman told Business Insider that she believes Arizona's charges are "seriously flawed" and an example of "gamesmanship."

"These charges are meritless, and we look forward to fighting them in court," the spokeswoman, Elisabeth Diana, told the outlet.

RELATED: Prediction markets let you 'bet' in states where gambling is banned: Here's how

Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images

"Kalshi may brand itself as a 'prediction market,' but what it's actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law," AG Mayes said in the press release. "No company gets to decide for itself which laws to follow."

Mayes added, "Arizona will not be bullied into letting any company place itself above state law."

Kalshi's front page is currently covered in political predictions, which of course are subject to change. This includes the options to trade on topics like government shutdowns, U.S. tariff rates on China, and the results of the midterm elections.

Prediction markets have become so popular that they have forced major gambling platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel to create their own models, offering services to a national market as opposed to operating on a state-by-state basis.

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Arizona’s Public Universities Require Honors Students To Study Far-Left Material, Including the ‘Relationship Between the White Female Gaze and the Eroticized Black Male Body’

The honors colleges at Arizona’s largest public universities have been "hijacked by activist faculty and turned into taxpayer-funded vehicles for leftwing groupthink," according to an Arizona think tank report shared exclusively with the Washington Free Beacon, which found that over 70 percent of mandatory first-year seminars for Arizona State University honors students are loaded with racially divisive, anti-capitalist, and anti-Israel reading material.

The post Arizona’s Public Universities Require Honors Students To Study Far-Left Material, Including the ‘Relationship Between the White Female Gaze and the Eroticized Black Male Body’ appeared first on .

The country can’t keep holding its breath for Arizona



On November 9, 2024, the Associated Press called Arizona for Donald Trump. Arizona was the last state the media called — four days after Election Day. As Arizona Senate president, I know that kind of delay can’t happen again. Voters deserve timely results, especially in a pivotal battleground state.

The outcome of the presidential race became clear in the early hours of election night, November 6. But Arizona’s slow count still invited unnecessary angst — and would have fueled mistrust if the margin had been tighter. It doesn’t have to work this way. That’s why we’re looking at common-sense, bipartisan reforms that improve transparency and speed without compromising integrity.

If the governor won’t work with the legislature on meaningful reforms, we will take this directly to the voters in the November general election.

Florida shows what’s possible. Over the past few cycles, Florida has counted the vast majority of ballots within hours of polls closing. Races get called, electoral votes get assigned, and the country moves on.

Florida didn’t arrive there by accident. The “hanging chads” debacle of 2000 forced the state to rebuild confidence through clearer rules and cleaner procedures. In 2024, more than 3 million Floridians voted by mail, more than 5 million voted early, and more than 2.5 million voted on Election Day. Florida counted 99% of those ballots before midnight. That’s a standard Arizona should meet.

So what does Florida do differently?

First, Florida keeps clear lanes for voting: vote by mail, early voting, and Election Day voting. Each lane has its own procedures, and voters understand the differences.

Second, Florida limits Election Day drop-offs. Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned at early voting locations, but on Election Day they must be delivered to the supervisor of elections — Florida’s equivalent of Arizona’s county recorders — not dropped at every polling place.

Third, Florida removes needless envelope handling for in-person early voting. Envelopes belong with vote-by-mail ballots, not in-person voting. Early in-person voters use the same ballots and the same tabulators used on Election Day — they just vote during the early window.

Fourth, Florida posts key numbers on election night. Counties must report how many vote-by-mail ballots they have received and how many remain uncounted. That kind of transparency reduces speculation and stops the “How many ballots are still out there?” spiral that frustrates voters across the country.

RELATED:The common-sense case for nationalizing US elections

Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

My team and I — joined by state senators, representatives, and county officials — met with Florida’s secretary of state to discuss how Arizona could adopt similar reforms. I hope Democrats and county officials will join this effort. Election integrity, transparency, efficiency, and certainty shouldn’t be partisan. Too often, they have turned into a Republican-versus-Democrat fight, with the left resisting reforms that would give voters more confidence in the process.

Consider a bill my Republican colleagues and I pushed in 2023 and again in 2025. It required voters who held on to their mailed ballots until the Friday before Election Day to meet the same voter ID requirements as other voters when dropping those ballots off. The bill would also have reduced the burden of signature verification on hundreds of thousands of ballots — one major reason Arizona results can take days, even weeks.

Both times, it passed the legislature on party-line votes and Governor Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed it. Her veto message offered little justification, claiming only that the bill didn’t “meaningfully address the real challenges facing Arizona voters.”

That pattern has repeated. Even with growing support for faster election-night results — including an unlikely endorsement from a columnist at one of Arizona’s major newspapers — the governor and her allies have refused to consider reforms that would deliver timely results and clearer transparency.

Arizona voters deserve better than delays and uncertainty. If the governor won’t work with the legislature on meaningful reforms, we will take this directly to the voters in the November general election. If Democrats won’t fix what’s broken, Arizonans will.

Republicans in the Arizona legislature have reintroduced bills to reform our system. We should tailor solutions to Arizona, but nobody should fear mirroring a model that works. Florida proves that speed and integrity can coexist.

Election integrity, transparency, and timely results aren’t red or blue issues. They’re American issues. Arizona has an opportunity — and an obligation — to deliver results voters can trust, on election night.

The winning message is the one pro-lifers keep avoiding



Many conservatives still treat the fall of Roe v. Wade as a decisive victory. The four years since have looked more like a warning.

States passed more pro-life laws. Abortion numbers still climbed as chemical abortions expanded. Republicans hold Congress and the White House, yet their best legislative win amounted to defunding Planned Parenthood for a single year — while Washington toys with expanding IVF mandates and even hints at becoming more “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment.

When the pro-life movement treats its own argument as too radioactive to say plainly, moderates still aren’t convinced — and the base stops listening.

The biggest losses didn’t come from legislatures. They came from voters.

Across the country, abortion-rights activists have used ballot initiatives to write a “right to abortion” into state constitutions. Once voters approve those amendments, courts use them to bulldoze state pro-life laws. The trend will continue unless the anti-abortion movement rethinks its messaging — fast.

Blue states predictably enshrined abortion rights. Red and purple states did too. Voters in Missouri, Montana, and Arizona backed abortion amendments. Colorado, New York, and Maryland did as well.

In 2024, abortion ballot measures passed in seven states and failed in three. Florida stopped an amendment only because state law requires a 60% supermajority. Nebraska rejected one by 51%. South Dakota defeated its measure with 59%. All three states backed President Donald Trump by larger margins than that.

Another wave of initiatives is coming this year. Nevada voters will decide whether to provide the second affirmative vote needed to add an abortion amendment they approved in 2024. Virginia, where Democrats control state government, will vote on an abortion amendment as well. Idaho voters may consider an abortion statute that lawmakers can later amend or repeal. Arkansas could vote on a measure to make the state constitution easier to amend, which would almost certainly tee up an abortion amendment fight soon after.

The pro-life movement keeps walking into these battles with a losing playbook.

Many pro-life groups center their messaging on women who get abortions rather than the babies murdered by abortion. They assume the issue primarily drives Democratic turnout. They want to “compete” by shifting to softer language about women’s health, hoping to win moderates on neutral ground.

That approach doesn’t persuade moderates, and it often fails to mobilize the pro-life base.

Take Arizona. The pro-life coalition opposing Proposition 139 called itself “It Goes Too Far.” One of its yard signs read: “Protect Women’s Health.” It didn’t even mention abortion.

Arizona voters re-elected Trump with 52% of the vote. They also approved Proposition 139 with nearly 62%. That’s the same margin New York voters gave their own abortion amendment.

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Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ohio followed the same pattern. Pro-life groups launched “Protect Women Ohio” to oppose Issue 1, which passed with nearly 57% of the vote in 2023. The messaging leaned on parental rights and transgender issues — as if linking Issue 1 to other debates would broaden the opposition.

Instead, the coalition blurred the point. Issue 1 appeared in an off-year election, one year after Roe fell. Progressive voters turned out. Conservatives stayed home.

Afterward, activists who knocked doors against Issue 1 told the same story: Pro-life voters felt confused. The campaign avoided the central issue, then wondered why the people most likely to vote against abortion never felt compelled to show up.

Abortion amendments raise other policy questions. They touch parental consent, conscience protections, and medical regulation. But the core reason to oppose them remains simple: Abortion murders babies. Pro-life messaging that refuses to say that out loud shouldn’t expect to win.

A blunt moral argument does two things that “women’s health” slogans don’t. It keeps the debate centered on what abortion is. It also activates the voters needed to defeat these measures — voters who will turn out when they understand their ballot could save lives.

Conservatives face a familiar temptation in a culture that punishes conviction: soften the message for short-term gains. Electoral politics requires prudence. It doesn’t require self-censorship. When the pro-life movement treats its own argument as too radioactive to say plainly, moderates still aren’t convinced — and the base stops listening.

If Republicans want to win ballot fights and build lasting cultural renewal, they need to speak with moral clarity. Until they do, they’ll keep losing these amendments — and babies will keep dying because of it.

Kentucky’s school choice push could trigger a domino effect



Kentucky is on track to become the first state where the legislature overrides a governor’s opposition and opts into President Trump’s new school-choice program, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The federal initiative lets states opt in to tax-credit scholarships that expand options for families without tapping public school budgets.

The Kentucky Senate just passed House Bill 1 by a 33-5 vote. All Republicans backed it, joined by one Democrat. The House had already approved the bill 79-17, with two Democrats voting yes. Now it heads to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, a reliable opponent of school choice.

Governors don’t get a permanent veto over school choice when legislatures have the votes — and families are demanding options.

Kentucky’s override rules make this fight different. Lawmakers need only a simple majority in each chamber to overturn a veto — and the vote totals suggest they have it.

Beshear’s own education choices underscore the disconnect. He attended Capital Day School, a private school, for part of his education. He also enrolled his children in private schools for portions of their schooling. He wants those options for his family, but he resists expanding similar opportunities statewide.

North Carolina provides the contrast. Republicans there advanced an opt-in bill to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, but the state requires a 60% vote in each chamber to override a veto. The GOP lacks that margin, making success unlikely.

In Kentucky’s Senate debate, Majority Floor Leader Max Wise (R) singled out Democratic Rep. Tina Bojanowski for her yes vote. Another senator pointed to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis — the first Democratic governor to opt his state into Trump’s program. Polis called participation a “no-brainer” and said he “would be crazy not to” do it.

Here’s the key design feature: Any U.S. taxpayer can contribute to these scholarships and claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit. Families can access scholarships only if their state opts in. That means residents of opt-out states can fund scholarships in opt-in states — a built-in incentive for governors and lawmakers to join rather than watch their taxpayers’ dollars flow elsewhere.

The program relies on private contributions. It does not divert funds from public schools. That approach likely explains the bill’s wide support — more than 80% of members present and voting in each chamber backed it. Kentucky’s 2024 school choice constitutional amendment never came close to that kind of consensus.

For Kentucky families, the opt-in may be the only viable path right now. The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously struck down the state’s tax-credit scholarship program in 2022. It also blocked charter schools last month. Unless and until the court’s composition changes, the Trump program offers a practical workaround.

RELATED: When parents pay twice to escape public schools, the verdict is in

kinakomochi / Getty Images

That matters because the 2024 ballot measure tried to amend the state constitution to sidestep the court. Teachers’ unions spent millions opposing it. The language confused voters, and constitutional amendments don’t deliver immediate, tangible benefits like scholarships. When ballot measures confuse people, they default to the status quo.

So far, 27 governors have opted their states into Trump’s school-choice program. That group includes 26 Republicans — all except Vermont Gov. Phil Scott — and one Democrat, Polis. Republican-led legislatures in other states are exploring opt-ins and, in some cases, overrides against Democratic governors.

In Arizona, the state senate passed an opt-in bill, but Republicans likely lack the votes to override a veto from Gov. Katie Hobbs. Kansas and Wisconsin are also in play. Wisconsin Republicans don’t have the votes for an override. In Kansas, it remains unclear whether Republicans will unify the way Kentucky’s did.

Kentucky’s move shows why this program has momentum. It expands options without reopening state-funding fights or running into the same court barriers. The tax-credit mechanism encourages private giving while keeping scholarship access tied to states that opt in.

If Kentucky lawmakers follow through, they won’t just deliver scholarships. They’ll set a precedent: Governors don’t get a permanent veto over school choice when legislatures have the votes — and families are demanding options.

Nancy Guthrie investigators have new lead relating to suspect seen in terrifying doorbell video



Investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie said they have a new lead relating to the suspect seen in a terrifying doorbell video last week.

Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News that investigators believe the suspect's clothing and face mask were purchased at Walmart, and they are trying to identify each brand.

The FBI previously described the individual in the surveillance video as a male with an average build who is about 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, the news network added.

The news network said it first reported that the suspect's backpack — identified as a black Ozark Trail Hiker — was sold exclusively at Walmart.

CBS News added that it's not yet known if the items were purchased online or in an Arizona store — or somewhere else. Investigators have spent several days reviewing surveillance video at local Walmarts, the sheriff also told the news network.

Authorities believe Guthrie — the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie — was abducted from her Tucson home in the middle of the night, CBS News said, adding that she has been missing since Feb. 1.

Nanos called the backpack one of the most promising leads in the case, the news network reported.

More from CBS News:

Walmart has provided records of all Ozark Trail Hiker online and in-store purchases over the past several months, including sales beyond the Tucson area, to investigators, Nanos told CBS News.

CBS News has reached out to Walmart corporate offices but a spokesperson declined to comment.

Investigators believe the face mask the suspect wore is black but appears lighter on the video footage due to Nest camera's infrared technology.

The FBI previously described the individual in the surveillance video as a male with an average build who is about 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, the news network added.

RELATED: How the FBI actually got the Google Nest footage of Nancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper

More from CBS News:

Investigators have also collected other DNA evidence from Nancy Guthrie's property as part of the ongoing investigation, but the results have not led to a suspect, according to Nanos.

Multiple law enforcement agencies spent hours Friday evening searching a residence less than two miles from Nancy Guthrie's home.

Nanos told CBS affiliate KOLD that the activity was the result of following up on "a lead that led to a search warrant and no arrest." Authorities did not release other details on what led them there or what, if anything, may have been found.

The FBI on Tuesday released video and images from a security camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door; an FBI press release said the man was armed.

A post on the X platform from FBI Director Kash Patel stated that authorities had been working "to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie's home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors — including the removal of recording devices. The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems."

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3 debunked Democrat claims about the SAVE America Act



Democrats and legacy media have put forth several mischaracterizations and even flat-out lies about the GOP's latest election integrity bill.

The House passed the SAVE America Act Wednesday with unanimous Republican support and with even one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, joining the GOP. The bill would put in place basic election integrity requirements like providing proof of citizenship and photo ID to register and vote in federal elections.

'If you buy a 6-pack of beer you have to show an ID.'

The bill is now in the Senate, where Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is leading the effort to pass the legislation.

Although this proposal seems commonsense to most Americans, Democrats have caused a firestorm of hysteria and misconception. Here is the truth behind Democrats' most common rebuttals.

RELATED: 4 Senate Republicans evading MAGA's pressure campaign to prevent noncitizens from voting

Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

1. 'It's already illegal!'

The SAVE America Act aims to protect ballots from election fraud, particularly from illegal aliens and noncitizens. Democrats are quick to point out that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections, and those Democrats who are willing to admit that noncitizens voting does occasionally happen insist it takes place at a negligible rate.

This is partially true. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in American elections, and when it does happen, estimates show it occurs less than 1% of the time. But even if the rate is extremely low, it's not zero. And while many elections are decisive victories, some are decided by razor-thin margins, making every ballot count.

RELATED: Lone Democrat joins all Republicans to pass landmark election integrity bill barring noncitizens from voting

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

In the 2024 election, former Republican Rep. John Duarte of California was unseated by Democrat Adam Gray by just 187 votes, chipping away at a historically thin GOP advantage in the House. But it's not just local elections that are decided by such narrow margins. In 2020, former President Joe Biden won several swing states by just thousands of votes, including Georgia by 11,779 votes and Arizona by just 10,457 votes.

There's no way to know if any of those votes were cast fraudulently, which is precisely the problem. Americans should have total confidence that every ballot counted in an election is a legitimate vote that reflects the political will of a United States citizen. The SAVE America Act would help do just that.

2. 'Jim Crow 2.0'

Democrats are no stranger to playing the race card, claiming that requiring photo ID somehow unfairly affects minorities. Perhaps most notable of them all is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who unabashedly likened the SAVE Act to Jim Crow-era rules.

"I have said it before and I'll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement earlier this month. "It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown."

RELATED: Stopping the steal: Sen. Lee, Republicans demand Election Day integrity ahead of SCOTUS fight over 'rolling' ballot counts

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Apart from Schumer's soft bigotry of low expectations, his claim is simply inaccurate. The SAVE America Act offers a wide range of acceptable documents to prove citizenship, including a valid U.S. passport, a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, a U.S. military identification card that shows birthplace in the U.S., a birth certificate or other equivalent naturalization documents, and even some tribal IDs like the American Indian card.

Presenting a photo ID is also already a requirement to vote in some states as well as for countless other activities and purchases, including boarding a plane and casting a vote as a member of Congress.

"If you buy a 6-pack of beer you have to show an ID," Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee joked in a post on X. "End this racism."

3. 'It's an attack on women!'

Another claim Democrats have repeatedly made is that the new requirements disproportionately impact women who have changed their names after marriage. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said that the name change "creates a real problem" for her, implying that the legislation is the GOP's latest attempt to suppress women's votes.

The absurdity of Warren's claim is self-evident. Married women often obtain documentation with their new names for other processes that require identification, such as purchasing alcohol or opening a bank account. In addition, women are not limited to producing birth certificates, but also may provide other forms of acceptable ID, such as a passport or a REAL ID.

RELATED: Lone Republican defies Trump, votes to tank the SAVE Act

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Even in the rare case that a woman's ID is not updated with her new legal name, the SAVE America Act explicitly allows for name changes in documentation. The legislation requires states to establish fallback procedures for voters who have changed their names due to marriage, divorce, adoption, or another reason.

The reality is that none of the proposed requirements are novel or restrictive. They are simply common sense.

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Noem urges swift passage of SAVE Act to prevent illegal aliens from disenfranchising American voters



Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference in Arizona on Friday to urge the passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

Noem addressed reporters after attending a roundtable discussion with local officials, including Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright, and state Rep. John Gillette (R).

'There’s only one reason that anyone would oppose this bill, and that’s because they would want to cheat.'

The secretary emphasized that President Donald Trump has made election integrity one of the administration’s top priorities of its Make America Great Again agenda.

Noem stated that the nation’s election system “needs a lot of work,” adding that America currently has a “golden opportunity” to demonstrate that it is “serious about securing our elections and that we care about making sure that we preserve our sacred republic.”

She noted that the House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act earlier this week, contending that its passage would implement “common-sense, straightforward” measures, including requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and states’ removal of noncitizens from voter rolls.

“These measures are extremely popular with American citizens,” Noem continued. “American people have common sense, and they want to see reforms like this put into their elections.”

Noem highlighted a recent poll that found 84% of Americans support requiring a photo ID to vote and 83% support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

RELATED: 4 Senate Republicans evading MAGA's pressure campaign to prevent noncitizens from voting

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

“It’s common sense that our elections should belong to the American people, that they should be the ones who get to vote, whose votes are counted, that they get one vote, not more, not less,” Noem said. “It’s common sense to make sure that foreign nationals don’t vote in our elections, don’t elect our leaders and have a say in how our country runs.”

“It’s a fact that noncitizens have been voting in our elections. They’ve been registered, and they have voted from state to state,” she added.

The secretary provided examples of noncitizens who had voted in prior elections, including an illegal alien registered to vote in Maryland and another illegal alien registered in Kansas.

“As it stands, current guidelines for the National Voter Registration Act effectively stop states from going forward and checking citizenship during registration. The SAVE America Act would fix this,” she declared.

Noem addressed left-wing criticism that the SAVE Act would prevent American citizens from voting, including claims that newly married women would be disenfranchised when they have a name change and that the measure would make it impossible for U.S. service members to vote when deployed overseas.

She called these claims “just absurd” and “completely false.”

“Each of the arguments that have been laid out to criticize this bill are baseless speculation from the radical left because they want illegal aliens to vote in our elections,” Noem stated.

“There’s only one reason that anyone would oppose this bill, and that’s because they would want to cheat."

RELATED: Lone Republican defies Trump, votes to tank the SAVE Act

Kristi Noem. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Reporters pressed Noem for specifics about Arizona’s election system, including whether “emphasizing election security threats without evidence” would “undermine public confidence” or further “misinformation.”

“We have a SAVE program that is available to the state of Arizona,” Noem replied, explaining that the state’s election officials could use the program to ensure that those on its voter rolls are verified.

Noem expressed concern that there are likely “many” individuals on Arizona’s voter rolls who should not be casting a ballot, including individuals who may be living in another state.

“I understand that you have mobile homes and boats on lakes that individuals may have as their voter registration address, but not necessarily that is where they live,” she said. “They live in another state, such as California or on the East Coast.”

Noem stated that Arizona has a history of being “an absolute disaster on elections.”

“Your leaders have failed you dramatically by not having systems that work, by disenfranchising the Americans who wanted to vote, that had to stand in lines for hours because machines failed or software failed. There’s no state that could use more improvement than Arizona,” Noem stated.

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Minnesota’s fraud scandal has an Arizona sequel



Over the past two months, Minnesota’s widening fraud scandals have drawn national attention. Investigators and watchdogs have uncovered what appear to be major abuses of taxpayer dollars tied to fraudulent day care and health care operations, and Democrat officials who oversaw the programs look, at minimum, asleep at the switch.

Minnesota isn’t alone.

Arizona’s reputation rests on independence and straight dealing. Katie Hobbs and Kris Mayes have replaced that image with stonewalling, favoritism, and excuses.

In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) and Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) have spent the past three years building a record that looks less like competent governance and more like protection for a corrupt status quo. Again and again, their offices have resisted transparency, shielded allies, and resisted oversight — while Republicans in the legislature have tried to drag basic accountability back into view.

Whether in Minnesota, Arizona, or any other jurisdiction across the country, taxpayers deserve better than a government that treats disclosure as optional and oversight as an attack.

Inaugural fund secrecy

Arizona governors often raise private money to cover inaugural expenses and then transfer leftover funds to the state. Hobbs broke that norm. Her office resisted disclosing donor information and withheld more than $1 million that should have gone back to taxpayers, triggering a direct clash with the legislature.

Lawmakers responded by writing the old precedent into law: Future administrations must fully report inauguration fundraising and spending. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support — proof that this wasn’t a partisan gripe. Even Democrats understood that Hobbs had created a mess for herself.

A pay-to-play stench

The most serious cloud over Hobbs’ administration is an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving the Department of Child Safety.

The Arizona Republic reported that Sunshine Residential Homes, a for-profit group home operator with state contracts, received a significant rate increase approved under Hobbs’ administration after donating to Hobbs’ inaugural fund. The same request had been denied under the outgoing Republican administration.

The reporting also noted that Hobbs’ DCS did not approve comparable increases for other group homes. At the same time, the DCS ended contracts with 16 group homes — making Sunshine’s preferred treatment look even more suspect.

Mayes announced an investigation, then tried to push Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and the Arizona auditor general off the case — even though legislators had asked those offices to investigate. Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee publicly rejected Mayes’ attempt and urged the county and auditor investigations to continue.

Since then, Mayes’ office has offered little public clarity. Nearly two years without meaningful updates invites the obvious question: Was the “investigation” a press release designed to run out the clock?

Hobbs then vetoed a bill last session meant to close loopholes and prevent future executives from gaming the system.

SNAP: Fighting anti-fraud efforts

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program doles out nearly $100 billion a year. It also attracts fraud. The Government Accountability Office flagged $320 million in stolen benefits between October 2022 and December 2024. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2023 estimated that around 12% of SNAP benefits were fraudulent.

That should make anti-fraud measures easy to support.

Instead, Mayes sued the Trump administration over efforts to gather more information from states about SNAP beneficiaries. Hobbs refused to comply with data requests. Whatever one thinks about SNAP’s scope, no serious public servant should block reasonable efforts to root out fraud and protect taxpayers.

When elected officials fight transparency in a program that moves billions of dollars, they aren’t defending the vulnerable. They are protecting a system that invites abuse.

RELATED: Mike Lee reveals the real victims of Somali fraud: ‘It is not the rich people who suffer’

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A shady operator

Kris Mayes has other problems.

U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) has asked the Department of Justice to investigate allegations of a pay-to-play bribery scheme involving Mayes and outside political groups, claiming she traded official actions for political benefits.

And late last year, a top official in Mayes’ State Government Division was arrested on charges related to controlling and trafficking stolen property. The city of Peoria had reportedly warned Mayes’ office nearly two years earlier about serious allegations involving that official, yet she remained in a position of authority until her arrest.

Arizona’s reputation rests on independence and straight dealing. Hobbs and Mayes have replaced that image with stonewalling, favoritism, and excuses.

Voters should take note. If Arizonans want honest government, they will have to demand it — at the ballot box and through aggressive oversight — before the culture of corruption becomes permanent.

Arizona House Advances Constitutional Amendment To End Delayed Election Results

The Arizona House of Representatives advanced a constitutional amendment on Monday that seeks to end the state’s post-Election Day chaos and delayed election results. “Arizonans are done with excuses, delays, and chaos in our elections,” amendment sponsor and Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin said in a statement. Under House Concurrent Resolution 2001 (“The Arizona Secure Elections […]