Journalists’ Roundtable: Announcements from Trent Franks, Ben Toma, Anthony Kern and more

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for another edition of Journalists’ Roundtable. To discuss the week’s top stories, we were joined by Howie Fischer with Capitol Media Services, Laurie Roberts with The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, and Camryn Sanchez with KJZZ Radio.

This week’s Journalists’ Roundtable covered:

• Trent Franks announces for CD8
• Ben Toma announces for CD8
• Anthony Kern announces for CD8
• Poll: Kyrsten Sinema pulls more GOP votes
• Governor Katie Hobbs takes credit for tax break
• Sen. Justine Wadsack posts curious ballot

Trent Franks announces for CD8

Howie Fischer: “He was sort of forced out of the legislature. He had asked some staffers to have his surrogate baby. They felt a little uncomfortable about that and the couple of million of dollars he had to offer. The House speakers said, ‘Excuse me, you can either leave, or we’ll do an ethics investigation.’ He decided to leave. All of a sudden, Debbie Lesko is gone, and everyone, including Trent Franks, said ‘God, is calling me.'”

Laurie Roberts: “I don’t think that’s the kind of allegation that you can wash away with time. Now, I’m told by some people who are close to him that there is another side to this story and all will be understood. I think that’s a stretch.”

Camryn Sanchez: “He came up with this campaign announcement which was very long. It sort of briefly referenced that issue because he knows that it’s going to be an issue in his campaign. He said those were ‘heavily referenced attacks,’ and he wants to move on from that.”

Ben Toma announces for CD8

Howie Fischer: “What’s funny is he is saying that he’s a true conservative. Yet, there’s a picture of him standing next to Katie Hobbs. His problem is proving that he’s radical enough for some of the folks in the district.”

Laurie Roberts: “He is a traditional conservative. He is the legislature who shepherded through Governor Ducey’s flat tax and the expansion of school vouchers to be universal. Those are hardly what I call Katie Hobbs kind of stand. If you’re not MAGA, it is very difficult in a Republican primary to do well.”

Camryn Sanchez: “I think he’s one of the only candidates that can say he’s got things done. He can say that he got things passed.”