GABRIEL SANDOVAL

Statehouse reporter

Sandoval is a statehouse reporter for The Associated Press based in Phoenix. He is a Report for America corps member.

U.S. Senate candidates Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., left, and Republican challenger Kari Lake participate in their debate, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (Cheryl Evans/Arizona Republic via AP)

Lake blames Gallego for border woes, he vows to protect abortion rights in Arizona Senate debate

Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake repeatedly reminded debate viewers of her three-decade career on Arizona television, looking to harness the connection she built with voters and overcome Democrat Ruben Gallego’s portrayal of her as a liar.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes wears an Arizona state pin and an "I Voted" sticker after leaving Surprise City Hall after voting on the first day of early in-person voting for the general election Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Early in-person voting begins in Arizona, drawing visits from Harris and Trump

Early in-person voting is beginning in Arizona, making it the first of this year’s presidential battleground states where all residents can cast a ballot at a traditional polling place ahead of Election Day.

FILE - Voters deliver their ballot to a polling station in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Arizona voters will decide on establishing open primaries in elections

The Arizona Supreme Court has cleared the way for voters to decide on establishing open primaries. Proposition 140 already was printed on ballots that were mailed to some voters.

Bullet holes remain in the glass window at a Democratic Party campaign office in Tempe, Ariz., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriel Sandoval)

Concerns linger after gunfire damages Arizona Democratic campaign office

Authorities are analyzing evidence collected from a Democratic campaign office in a suburban strip mall in Arizona that has twice been shot at over the last week.

FILE - The new Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, right, a Democrat, kisses daughter Hattie, middle, after Mayes took the oath of office from Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, left, as, at the state Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)

Retirement on Arizona right-leaning high court gives Democratic governor rare chance to fill seat

Arizona Supreme Court Justice Robert Brutinel has announced he will retire this fall. The announcement Tuesday gives Democratic Gov.

FILE - Opponents to an immigration proposal gather inside the Arizona State Capitol, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

With immigration and abortion on Arizona’s ballot, Republicans are betting on momentum

Arizona voters will decide whether illegal border crossings should be a state crime. Republican lawmakers put the measure on the ballot but they aren’t campaigning or raising money for it because strategists say they don’t have to.

Zoe Perry, left, and Loveena Watahomiegie, right, as they join other members of the Hualapai Tribe while marching in front of U.S. District Court as they gathered to try to persuade a federal judge to extend a temporary ban on exploratory drilling for a lithium project near tribal lands Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

US judge unlikely to rule until next week as Arizona tribe fights to extend ban on lithium drilling

Members of an Arizona tribe urged a federal judge at a daylong hearing in Phoenix to extend a temporary ban on exploratory drilling for a lithium project near lands they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries.

Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett explains the new two-page ballot that Arizona voters will have to contend with this year, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Gabriel Sandoval)

Maricopa County’s 2-page ballots could make for long lines on Election Day

Ballots for the vast majority of Arizona voters will be two pages long. Eight of the state’s 15 counties, including Maricopa County, will have a two-page ballot.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

RFK Jr. suspends his presidential bid and backs Donald Trump before appearing with him at his rally

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he is suspending his independent presidential bid and is backing Donald Trump.

Former Phoenix City Council member Yassamin Ansari, is photographed at her campaign office Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Ansari calls for Democrats to come together after winning nomination in Arizona congressional race

Ex-Phoenix City Council member Yassamin Ansari has won the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, beating former state lawmaker Raquel Terán in a recount.

Former state lawmaker Raquel Teran hugs a supporter as she attends a campaign event Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona county canvass starts recount process in tight Democratic primary in US House race

Arizona’s most populous county has certified its primary election results, setting off the process for a recount in a tight Democratic contest in the 3rd Congressional District.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stand on stage with from left, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and his wife former Rep. Gabby Giffords, at a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Kamala Harris makes an immigration pitch in Arizona as she fights to gain ground in the Sun Belt

Vice President Kamala Harris drew on her prosecutorial background to make her first expansive pitch on immigration to border-state voters as she and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov.

A voter leaves a precinct after casting their ballot in the state's primary election, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in El Mirage, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Democratic primary in Arizona’s 3rd District is too close to call, AP determines

The race for the Democratic nomination in Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District has narrowed further.

Voters walk to a voting station to cast their votes Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Guadalupe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Democratic primary in Arizona’s 3rd District enters recount range as count continues

The Democratic primary in Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District has narrowed to a margin that is within the range of an automatic recount.

FILE - Then-Republican candidate for Arizona Attorney General, Abraham Hamadeh, smiles prior to a televised debate against Democrat Kris Mayes on Sept. 28, 2022. In a Truth Social post on Saturday night, 27, 2024, former President Donald Trump backed candidates Abraham Hamadeh and Blake Masters — former political allies turned bitter rivals — to represent Arizona’s conservative-leaning 8th Congressional District, praising the pair of Republicans as “two spectacular America First Candidates.” (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Trump endorses Republican rivals in swing state Arizona congressional primary

Donald Trump has endorsed two of the six Republicans vying for the nomination in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.