Free Republic

Republican Debbie Lesko won the House special election in Arizona Tuesday night, holding off a closer-than-expected Democratic challenge in a district that President Donald Trump won by 21 points in 2016. Lesko had 53 percent of the vote when The Associated Press called the race an hour after the polls closed, with over 155,000 early votes tallied. Democrat Hiral Tipirneni had 47 percent of the vote. But Lesko’s single-digit margin is the latest evidence that Republicans face a punishing midterm environment, even in Trump-friendly territory. Lesko’s victory comes on the heels of losses for Republicans in southwestern Pennsylvania, where Democratic...

Notorious street-gang MS-13 has reportedly ordered its members to “take out” police officers in New York; hoping to send a strong message to authorities following a serious crackdown on the group throughout the region. According to the New York Post, the NYPD is on high-alert after a confidential informant told police that gang members were given a green light to murder local police officers; particularly in the nearby town of Hempstead on Long Island. “The police have been making too many arrests and it’s time to take the streets back and take out (shoot) a cop like we do in...

Arizona Democrat Hiral Tipirneni's first ad presents her to voters as an emergency room doctor wearing scrubs with a medical chart and stethoscope in hand, but a new report says Tipirneni hasn't actually treated patients since 2007 when she was the target of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6, 2018 Attorney General Announces Zero-Tolerance Policy for Criminal Illegal Entry Attorney General Jeff Sessions today notified all U.S. Attorney’s Offices along the Southwest Border of a new “zero-tolerance policy” for offenses under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a), which prohibits both attempted illegal entry and illegal entry into the United States by an alien. The implementation of the Attorney General’s zero-tolerance policy comes as the Department of Homeland Security reported a 203 percent increase in illegal border crossings from March 2017 to March 2018, and a 37 percent increase from February 2018 to March 2018—the largest month-to-month...

As Republicans face a potential Democratic wave in this year's midterm elections, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake argued Thursday that his party "might not deserve to lead" given its support for President Donald Trump. "If we are going to cloister ourselves in the alternative truth of an erratic leader, if we are going to refuse to live in a world that everyone else lives in ... then my party might not deserve to lead," the Arizona senator said in a speech at the National Press Club.

Just wanted to share this. For the first time since I have been a County Supervisor (Commissioner), an Administration really wants to hear from local governments. We (AZ County Supervisors) have been invited to a private meeting, at the White House, with top staff from several different agencies who actually want to know how we can work better together. It is unprecedented. And did I mention, IT’S AT THE FREAKING WHITE HOUSE!!!! I’ll report back tomorrow.

An Arizona state representative was among the dozens of people arrested on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Monday while participating in a protest for undocumented immigrants. Rep. Isela Blanc, D-Tempe, was one of the 87 people who were arrested during Monday’s protest, Tomas Robles, the co-director of LUCHA, told KTAR News 92.3 FM. Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Capitol Police, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that 68 people were arrested at the Mall for unlawful demonstration activities and were charged with “crowding, obstructing or incommoding.” Twenty-eight of those individuals also were charged with resisting arrest, Malecki...

On Sunday, David Morales, a Tucson blogger posted on Facebook a threat to shoot “the corrupt govt official.” The post was sent to the Arizona Daily Independent by one of Morales’ Facebook “friends.” The threat was shared with Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller by ADI contributor Loretta Hunnicutt due to Morales’ well-documented obsession with Miller. Representative Mark Finchem alerted authorities to the threatening post. Morales, whose has earned a reputation as an “anti-white Brown Nationalist,” was briefly institutionalized late last year. According to Morales, he was suffering from suicidal ideation. Morales reported that he was prescribed medication for his condition...

PHOENIX – Sen. Rand Paul will join Dr. Kelli Ward and her supporters in a joint rally in Scottsdale later this month, according to a release. The event is being held to support Ward’s candidacy to replace Sen. Jeff Flake in Senate, who announced in October that he would retire and not seek re-election in the upcoming Republican primary. Paul’s involvement in the rally will be his latest show of support for Ward, who has also been recognized by President Donald Trump on Twitter.

TOMBSTONE — In the town too tough to die, being a biker is no longer a men’s club. In fact, the ladies of Tombstone’s American Legion Riders are breaking stereotypes about what it means to be a biker. On a windy Saturday afternoon, the legion riders at Post 24 file in for the group’s regular meeting on historic Allen Street in Tombstone. The sound of heavy boots thud down the halls of the biker bar to the back room where a sea of leather-clad bikers filled the seats along long white tables. Some members of the American Legion are what...

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was pardoned by President Trump over the summer after being convicted for defying a judge's order, plans to run for Senate in Arizona. The Republican tweeted about his bid Tuesday, linking to a story about it by The Washington Examiner.

Over 20 years ago in 1996, I was driving to Phoenix, Arizona to catch a flight to Wisconsin. I had the radio on. The news was reporting a horrific bear attack on Mount Lemon, near Tucson, Arizona. A teenage girl had been badly mauled by a bear, in her tent, as part of a 4-H outing.A camp counselor had accessed a handgun and shot the bear, driving it off. As the hours rolled along, the AP stories started getting vaguer and the story less heroic.  The Internet wasn't well developed in 1996. It took me several years to track...

On 18 October, 2015, an 18-year-old student, Steven Jones, was attacked by a drunken mob of fraternity members. One member ran up to Jones and sucker punched him. Jones two friends were on the ground defending themselves. Jones ran to his car and retrieved a legally owned pistol. At least one of the fraternity member ran at Jones, who fired, killing one and wounding two others. The incident was initially characterized as a school shooting. Jones cooperated with authorities.  They charged him with first-degree murder.As more evidence became available, it was learned that everyone Jones shot was legally intoxicated with...

Two senior Republican U.S. senators criticized Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday for saying that Russia may have the "right approach" on Syria and for what they called his lack of focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. "His statements about Syria really disturb me. No, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not have it right when it comes to Syria," Senator Lindsey Graham said. In separate television interviews, Graham and Senator John McCain, prominent Republican foreign policy voices, took aim at Tillerson's remarks last week that Russia may have "got the right approach" and the United States the wrong approach to...

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on Roy Moore: “The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying. He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of.”

The View welcomed Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to the table on Monday. As expected, the outgoing Senator received plaudits from the anti-President Donald Trump–View panel, and a warm reception from the largely progressive-leaning studio audience in the wake of his dramatic speech bashing Trump on the Senate floor. After the hospitable greeting, Flake dropped some harsh truth — talking about the state of the Republican party, and the reason he’s not running to retain his seat. “I felt that I could not run the kind of race I would need to run to be competitive,” Flake said. “I could not...

Rep. Martha McSally appears poised to challenge Kelli Ward in what would be a vicious primary fight for Jeff Flake’s Senate seat, but President Donald Trump remains a major wild card. Rep. Martha McSally is taking steps toward launching a challenge to Kelli Ward for Sen. Jeff Flake's seat next year, a move that would set up another scorched-earth primary battle between establishment Republicans and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. The second-term congresswoman indicated her interest in the seat during a closed-door meeting Thursday with Arizona's five-member GOP House delegation, and also met Thursday with Sen. John McCain...

TONOPAH, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - Two people have been arrested in connection with Monday's fatal shooting in Tonopah. Maricopa County Sheriff Dept. spokesman Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez said their deputies arrested Daniel Stroh, 21, and a 15-year-old girl. A judge set Stroh's bond at $1 million. Both suspects face first-degree murder charges. MCSO deputies responded to an "unknown trouble" call near 371st Avenue and Buckeye Road. According to Enriquez, a man later identified as John Norton, 59, was reported to have been shot. The caller, later identified as John Norton’s 15-year-old daughter told MCSO dispatchers that she witnessed a former boyfriend...

Forgive the vanity, but I heard Flake say in an interview the path to the nomination for a "Republican" is very narrow. Could he or will he run as a Democrat?

FORT HUACHUCA — The fort's Directorate of Emergency Services and the 18th Military Police Detachment host a Patriot Day Remembrance ceremony 4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 11, on Brown Parade Field here to render honors and pay respect to our country's fallen heroes and their families. The public is welcome to join. Speakers at the event are the fort's Provost Marshal Maj. William Owens and Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels. Patriot Day, observed as the National Day of Service and Remembrance, occurs on Sept. 11 of each year in memory of the 2,977 people killed in the 2001 Sept. 11 terrorist...