The AZ Political Podcast

Political analyst and host of the "ChuckTodd-Cast", Chuck Todd, joined the AZ Political Podcast with Jim Sharpe to give us his thoughts on the conflict with Iran, how the national midterms are shaping up, and who has the best shot at Arizona governor.

Former Undersecretary for Intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security John Cohen joins the AZ Political Podcast with Jim Sharpe to discuss a potential increase in terror threats due to the continuing conflict with Iran.  

Democratic Political Strategist Stacy Pearson and Republican Political Strategist Stan Barnes sit down with Jim Sharpe to discuss President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address. 

The deaths of Rebekah Baptiste, Emily Pike and Zariah Dodd in 2025 drew severe scrutiny to the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS). Jim Sharpe sat down this week with Sen. Carine Werner to discuss her office's investigation into the department and proposed legislation aimed to prevent and better serve children within the DCS system.

Public school advocate Beth Lewis discusses a new proposal that could appear on Arizona ballots in November that would place new guidelines on the ESA program. 

On this week's episode of the AZ Political Podcast, John Cohen, a former high-ranking Homeland Security official, sits down with Jim Sharpe to talk about all the recent immigration news. During the episode, Cohen says that federal immigration operations conducted elsewhere are negatively affecting efforts in Arizona to capture dangerous criminals residing illegally in the U.S. — and are hurting law enforcement's reputation in general.

Noble Predictive Insights CEO Mike Noble breaks down his Arizona Power Rankings, which are based on a formula designed to gauge electability. 

Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely discusses his run for Arizona's 1st Congressional District seat and why he jumped into the race after originally declaring his candidacy for another district. 

For this week's episode of the AZ Political Podcast, Jim sits down with Senate President Warren Petersen. The two discuss the 1,500 bills expected to be introduced this year, immigration and border issues, education, and a one billion dollar tax cut Republicans hope to see pass. They finished the conversation talking about Petersen running for Attorney General, and if he will remain Senate President. 

For this weeks episode, Jim sits down with Democrat Stacy Peason of Lumen Strategies and Republican Sean Noble of DC/London. The three jump into the biggest political headlines of the year, starting with January and going all the way into December. They talk about the Charlie Kirk assassination, Andy Biggs and David Scheikert running for Governor, Kari Lake and much more!

This week on the AZ Political Podcast, Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller sits down with Jim Sharpe to talk about the proactive way Miller's office is working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a time when many are working against ICE. They also take time to discuss Brad Miller's path to political office and what many people might not know about him.

This week's episode of the AZ Political Podcast features Tim Stringham, a former military lawyer and recovering politician. In this episode, Stringham breaks down the idea that U.S. Senator Mark Kelly could be recalled to active duty in the Navy in order to be court martialed. Stringham, who served in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps, ultimately thinks Sen. Kelly won't end up in front of a military judge.

Former Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, sits down with Jim Sharpe for this weeks episode of the AZ Political Podcast. The two discuss the 2026 election year, who Jan expects to win (and who she wants to win) and why she decided to start a poltical career.

For this week's AZ Political Podcast, Jim Sharpe sits down with the chair of the Arizona Republican Party and 2026 First Congressional District candidate, Gina Swoboda. The episode dives into Swoboda's thoughts on bringing fiscal conservatism back to Congress, what she plans to do to any primary opponents who may present themsevles, and where she does and does not see eye to eye with President Trump.

This week puts us exactly one year away from the 2026 General Election — when you’ll pick the people you think should serve in the top five governmental offices in Arizona, as well as a midterm election that’ll determine if President Trump gets more — or less — help in the House of Representatives. Adrian Fontes joins the podcast to discuss how secure our elections will be. 

Congressional District 5 is looking for a new representative as Andy Biggs runs for governor. Mark Lamb, former Pinal County sheriff, sits down with Jim Sharpe breaking down his decision to run for the open seat. 

Former Congressman, Matt Salmon, joins the AZ Political Podcast with Jim Sharpe to talk all things governement shutdown. The two discuss how Salmon was in Congress the last time a complete federal budget was passed, what they think will pull us out of this shutdown and when it might end. 

Jim Rounds breaks down the difference between the money that’ll be lost to Arizona’s economy permanently — and the spending that will simply be postponed — compliments of the government shutdown shutdown.

Arizona U.S. Congressman David Schweikert sits down with Jim Sharpe to explain his decision to leave Washington D.C. and run for governor in Arizona

On this weeks episode of the AZ Political Podcast, Jim Sharpe welcomes Charlene Fernandez, the newly elected Arizona Democratic Party Chair. The two talk about the chairwoman's experience that has led to her being elected, what has kept her busy so far, and much more.

Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard joined the AZ Political Podcast with Jim Sharpe to discuss the indictment of former FBI director James Comey and Arizona’s water future.

On this week episodes of the AZ Political Podcast, Jim Sharpe sits down with Mike Noble, the man in charge of the polling firm, Noble Predictive Insights. The two talk about the Republican Primary, how the party a voter is in does more to determine that they think should be taught in school, Republican attitudes toward election integrity, and much more.

The assassination of Arizona resident and conservative activist Charlie Kirk is the topic of this AZ Political Podcast episode. Former Arizona U.S. Senator and founding director the the ASU Insititute of Politics, Jeff Flake, sat down with Jim Sharpe to discuss political violence in America.  

On this episode of the AZ Political Podcast, Jim sits down with political consultant Emily Ryan where they talk all things lobbyist. Emily explains that there is a good chance YOU are represented by a lobbyist and why lobbying is not nearly as bad as it sounds