Journalists’ Roundtable: Karrin Taylor Robson drops out of Governor’s race and more

It’s Friday, which means it is time for another edition of Journalists’ Roundtable, where we discuss Arizona politics. This week, “Arizona Horizon” host Ted Simons was joined by Dennis Welch of CBS-5 and 3-TV, Helen Rummel of “The Arizona Republic” and Wayne Schutsky of KJZZ.

This week’s topics included:

• Karrin Taylor Robson drops out of Governor’s race
• Judge halts Senator Mark Kelly’s demotion
• Heap vs. Board of Supervisors
• Attorney General Kris Mayes considers lawsuit against ICE
• Bill targets Attorney General’s use of public nuisance law
• Governor Katie Hobbs vetoes second GOP tax plan

Robson drops out of the race

Dennis Welch: “It just wasn’t in the cards for her. This was kind of expected. It just didn’t feel like there was any momentum for Karrin Taylor Robson this time around. The problem for her was connecting with voters and defining who she was.”

Wayne Schutsky: “It does clear the field for Biggs. She’s [Robson] been caught between a rock and a hard place where she is trying to be this moderate that everybody wanted her to be, but then she went full MAGA to try and win over all those voters she didn’t get last time, and so she’s trying to be two things, and she ended up being neither.”

Helen Rummel: “Her response when she decided to step down was pretty clear that she wants to see the Republican party unify, and so I think it’ll be pretty clear based on her response of how they want to move forward and put the backing behind both in terms of money and other support.”

Governor Hobbs vetoes second GOP tax plan

Welch: “No big surprise here; the Governor has been very clear about what she wants. I don’t see this getting resolved any time soon. We knew this was going to be a big fight heading into the legislature this year, and it has proved to be very true; state finances right now aren’t looking great depending on whom you talk to. It’s going to continue to get worse.”

Rummel: “Her middle-class tax cut bills are just remaining untouched by the Republican majority; both sides are essentially arguing that they’re not coming to the table to negotiate, and so it’s unclear what the next steps will be. I think both of them are trying to figure out maybe what works for them politically; time is ticking as well.”