42 Arizona Republican Party. She was caught in a lie that she did not collect speaking fees from several appearances and was outfund- raised by Democrat Ruben Gallego. And yet, these events only scratch the surface. No one in Arizona is able to match Lake in running such a deeply chaotic public campaign. 22222 B EST P O L I CY D I SAST E R Attempted Abortion Ban Chaos erupted on April 9 when the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated an 1864 near-total ban on abortion, including in cases of rape or incest. It turned out that Republicans’ 2022 law banning abortion after 15 weeks contained a clause clearly expressing that it did not supersede Arizona’s 1864 law. The decision caused panic, as medical providers prepared for the worst and activists rallied against the prospect of forced births. Even several Republicans, like former Gov. Doug Ducey and state Rep. Matt Gress, said they thought the ruling went too far — despite the fact they endorsed the position by passing and signing the 2022 law. Though the 1864 law was eventually repealed within a month of the decision, the abortion ban highlighted the fact that disaster is just a decision away, and individual freedoms are at risk of being ripped up. B E ST WAC KO P O L I T I CA L R AC E 8th Congressional District Republican Primary Right-wing nutjobs flocked to the northwest Valley after Rep. Debbie Lesko announced she would not run for reelection. In a primary between some of metro Phoenix’s most extreme Republicans, Abe Hamadeh emerged as the winner, beating out fellow MAGA bro Blake Masters, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Ben Toma, fake elector and state Sen. Anthony Kern and disgraced former Rep. Trent Franks, who held the office before Lesko but resigned after asking young female staffers to be surro- gate mothers for him. Hamadeh nabbed an early endorsement from convicted felon and former President Donald Trump, which no doubt played to his benefit. Masters, who lives 120 miles from the district in Tucson, also received an endorsement from Trump a few days before voting ended but finished second. Toma’s position as a top state official and conservative bona fides weren’t enough to match the MAGA kids’ public profiles; he finished third. With the district heavily favoring Republicans, the 33-year-old Hamadeh is set to coast to a victory in November, which will make him one of the youngest members of Congress. 22222 B E ST R E L I G I O U S N U T T E RY Anthony Kern When it comes to old-fashioned, moon- howlin’ political and religious extremism, Arizona boasts an embarrassment of mostly right-wing riches. From former Sheriff Joe Arpaio to cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs Kari Lake, the Grand Canyon State rivals Alabama and Florida for public paragons of all kinds of goofball nuttery. This year, one stunt elevated Republican state Senator Anthony Kern to the top of the heap when it comes to crackpot spirituality: leading a group of religious wackadoodles as they knelt and spoke in tongues while praying on the Senate floor. As a half-dozen antiabor- tion fanatics jabbered in gibberish, their hands touching the Great Seal of the State of Arizona emblazoned on the carpet before the empty dais of the Senate president, Kern moaned in religious ecstasy, “Lord, right now, we ask thee to release the presence of the Lord in the Senate chamber.” Better known for his presence at the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and for being part of the fake electors scheme to over- throw the 2020 election in favor of Donald Trump, Kern clearly had outdone himself in his newfound religious lunacy. What’s next? Handling snakes on the Senate lawn? Dispensing Flavor Aid to passersby a la Jim Jones? Casting demons out of Gov. Katie Hobbs? Sheesh. Give that man a straitjacket before he hurts someone. 22222 B E ST ACT O F C R AS S FAVO R I T I S M Rachel Mitchell A good way to wind up dead in the Valley of the Sun is to barricade yourself in your home with a gun and a bottle of Don Julio and point said firearm at the po-po when they show up.That’s what happened in January 2022 when former Arizona prisons honcho Charles Ryan reportedly sucked down a half-bottle of tequila and started playing with his pistol. His wife called the Tempe police, and during the resulting standoff,
