Chuck Coughlin, president and CEO of High Ground Consulting

Thursday, July 23, 2026 | 28:52

Even though the color of Arizona’s statewide offices were 100-percent ruby-red Republican at the completion of 2010’s election cycle, could 2016 see a complete color change to through-and-through blue?     That’s a possibility laid out by political consultant Chuck Coughlin, my guest this week on the AZ Political Podcast. The fact that Chuck — who oversaw Republican Gov. Jan Brewer’s 2010 win (the start of that four-year run of Republican rule) — makes this prospect of a bounty of blue all the more intriguing.    It all boils down to whether Democratic disdain for Donald Trump drives them to the polls. And whether enough independents come along for a ride in their blue car.   On the “Primary Postmortem/Preview and Pivot to the General Election” edition of the AZ Political Podcast, Chuck does make a prediction: incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will refuse to debate her Republican opponent, Andy Biggs, this fall — a repeat nonperformance of 2022 when she refused to debate Republican Kari Lake.   We also take a look at Arizona’s high-profile congressional races for 2026: wondering how the national Democratic party failed so miserably with its backing of losing primary candidate Marlene Galán-Woods in the 1st Congressional District (CD1) and asking if Amish Shah, the CD1 Democratic winner, can rise to the occasion this time and beat Republican Jay Feely? (That's something he failed to do against Republican David Schweikert in 2024.)   In the southeast Valley’s 5th Congressional District (CD5), we ponder if the Republican winner, former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, will continue to “give the Heisman” to the Press when they press him on his sexual misconduct allegations? Is CD5 so red that Democrat Elizabeth Lee doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in a Gilbert summer — leading to Lamb never having to talk about his alleged history of dirty talk?   Get caught up on what the big races will be on the AZ Political Podcast. Then buckle up and, please, keep your hands inside the ride at all times — because Arizona’s 2026 midterm elections will be a wild ride.