Democrat U.S. Rep. Tom O'Halleran will have at least one primary challenger for his 2018 re-election bid with the announcement that Republican state Sen. Steve Smith will seek his party's nomination for next year.
Formal efforts to ask voters to repeal Arizona's new school voucher expansion law and two others making it more difficult for citizens to enact laws have been filed.
The Arizona Legislature has adjourned its 2017 session after an unusual nine-hour day that ended just before nightfall and saw about 15 bills sent to the governor in a final push.
Republican House Speaker J.D. Mesnard has withdrawn his last-minute proposal requiring school districts to spend half of their yearly inflation increases on teacher raises.
