BARRY GOLDWATER

Jim Kolbe, who represented Arizona in Congress for more than two decades, has died.

The far-right forces that former Sen. John McCain successfully marginalized within the Arizona Republican Party are back and in full control, with profound implications for one of the nation’s most closely matched battlegrounds.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is hailing economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan, marked by a $12 billion investment in his state by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ducey spoke Thursday at a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the latest of a series of visits by U.S. political leaders that have stirred the ire of China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and condemns all official contacts between Taipei and foreign governments that recognize Beijing.

(Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, narrowing Republican control of the chamber and underscoring his state's shift from red to blue. Kelly, 56, defeated GOP Sen. Martha McSally in last month's election, making her one of only three incumbents to lose. Kelly's Arizona colleague, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, held the Bible on which he took his oath. In what was one of the country's most expensive Senate races, Kelly raised $89 million. That was second only to the $108 million collected by defeated South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Election officials arrive for work at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Phoenix. The Associated Press has called the race in Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden. “The Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona as they come in,” said Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor. Many of the gains have been driven by the shifting politics of Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix and its suburbs. Maricopa County accounts for 60% of the state’s vote.

The former vice president is competitive in all the battleground states Trump carried in 2016, and has put a handful of traditional Republican states, including Georgia and Arizona, in play. Grab the binoculars and focus on these 10 states as election returns start rolling in:FLORIDA: 29 ELECTORAL VOTESAll eyes are on Florida, a swing state known for razor-thin election tallies. If President Donald Trump doesn’t win Florida, he’s going to have a rough time capturing enough states to stay in office. As early voting began in the state, Biden expanded his ad buys into every corner of Ohio. Trump won Arizona in 2016, but it is no longer an ironclad GOP stalwart.

Grab the binoculars and focus on these 10 states as election returns start rolling in:FLORIDA IS WORTH 29 ELECTORAL VOTESAll eyes are on Florida, a swing state known for razor-thin election tallies. If President Donald Trump doesn’t win Florida, he’s going to have a rough time capturing enough states to stay in office. After the polls close, Florida election officials are expected to announced the results of millions of mail-in ballots cast early. As early voting began in the state, Biden expanded his ad buys into every corner of Ohio. Trump won Arizona in 2016, but it is no longer an ironclad GOP stalwart.

Harris introduced Biden by blasting Trump’s “reckless disregard for human life and for the well-being of the American people” when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. Arizona’s transformation seems stark for a state that just a decade ago was the epicenter of Republicans' push against anti-illegal immigration push. To varying degrees, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico have all moved closer to Democrats since the turn of the century. Since 1952, a Democrat has won Arizona only once — Bill Clinton in 1996, with about 46% of the vote. Biden will look to run up the score there and on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona.

There have been many ads that have gone down in history for how much they’ve struck people and shaped public opinion during a presidential election.

It came to be known as Nixon's Southern strategy: a campaign that used fear of crime and lawlessness to tap into white Southern voters opposition to racial integration and equality without using overtly racist language. Nixon had to peel away some Southern white voters from Wallace without alienating voters in other regions. As president, Trump denigrated as animals some immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally. Trump's take on the Southern strategy isn't necessarily aimed at Southern voters. His targets are more likely working-class white voters in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin, Abramowitz said.

FILE - In this Thursday, July 9, 2020, file photo, Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey speaks about the latest coronavirus update in Arizona and benefits of wearing a mask during a news conference in Phoenix. Historically, Arizona has been something of a loner state, and many Arizonans seem to still like that image, wrote David Berman, a retired Arizona State University professor who has written extensively on the states history and political culture. Get out of my way.Most people in Arizona are wearing masks, many without hesitation, especially in urban areas. And thats for a reason.Wootan said she wears a mask only when required, and she doesn't cover her nose.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Closing arguments Monday in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial were directed more toward history than to sway the outcome, one final chance to influence public opinion and set the record ahead of his expected acquittal in the Republican-led Senate. The House Democrats unveiled a striking case centered on Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, running an alternative foreign policy that drew alarm at the highest levels. She warned that if senators do not convict, Trump will try to “cheat” again ahead of 2020. One key Trump lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, who was forced to walk back a sweeping defense of presidential power in last week's arguments, did not appear. It becomes the first impeachment trial in the nation’s more than 200-year history without any witnesses.