6 Dec 26th, 2024-Jan 1st, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Valley Rewind The 8 biggest Phoenix news stories of 2024. BY ZACH BUCHANAN AND TJ L’HEUREUX T his year was a blur. Globally, a war raged in Gaza. Nationally, one presi- dential candidate survived an assassination attempt while another dropped out of the race at the last minute. Then we had the actual election, which Donald Trump comfortably won to secure another four years in the White House. In Phoenix, the year was every bit as consequential. So, as we close the book on 2024, here’s a look back at the eight biggest news stories in the Valley this year. A change of guard in the Senate Until April, the Senate race in Arizona looked like it would be a messy one. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was still seeking reelection, but this time as an independent. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego had entered the race to challenge her from the left, while Republican Kari Lake was mounting another attempt at winning a statewide office. It was a difficult contest to handicap. Then Sinema dropped out, setting up a showdown between Gallego and Lake. An erstwhile liberal firebrand, Gallego tacked to the center, taking a harder line on the border and cozying up to the police union. Lake had more difficulty casting herself as a moderate, mired as she was in her own unlikability and her legal challenges over the 2022 election. In the end, Gallego beat Lake by a wider margin than Gov. Katie Hobbs had two years earlier, keeping both of Arizona’s Senate seats in Democratic hands. Arizona goes red As a critical battleground state, all eyes were on Arizona in November. Not only was the state a critical campaigning spot for Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, but local Democrats also hoped to win majorities in both houses of the Arizona Legislature, neither of which they have controlled for more than 30 years. But on election night, it quickly became clear that Republicans had achieved solid victories at almost every level of govern- ment. Trump rocked Harris in Arizona, which wasn’t even called yet when major news outlets projected him as the next president. Trump’s stunningly large victory likely impacted down-ballot races, as state Republicans in swing districts narrowly beat out Democrats to gain even more seats in both the Senate and House. They even won all three seats up for grabs on the Arizona Corporation Commission, despite deep social dissatisfaction with the high energy bills over which the GOP-controlled commission has influence. Strangely, all that talk about how the 2024 elections were going to be rigged against Republicans evaporated into mist after Nov. 5. We can only wonder why. Squabbling over the death penalty When the year began, Arizona wasn’t planning on executing anyone. After taking office in 2023, Hobbs and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes hit pause on capital punishment in the state following a series of botched executions under former Gov. Doug Ducey. They ordered an inde- pendent review of the state’s execution processes and said the state wouldn’t seek death warrants until that review was completed. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, didn’t like that. In May, Mitchell publicly admonished Mayes for not seeking a death warrant for pris- oner Aaron Gunches. In June, Mitchell announced she’d seek a death warrant for Gunches herself, setting up a constitution- ality battle about whether a county attorney can even do that. That showdown may be moot now, though another controversy has arisen to take its place. In November, Hobbs canned retired federal judge David Duncan, whom she’d tasked with reviewing Arizona’s death penalty practices. She said Duncan’s report, which was nearing completion, had overstepped his mandate by saying lethal injection could not be conducted humanely while also advocating for a firing squad, which is illegal under Arizona law. And with that, Arizona’s pause on the death penalty ended. Mayes announced she will seek a death warrant for Gunches, and controversy over the death penalty will persist into 2025. Phoenix police’s unflattering close-up The Phoenix Police Department spent most of this year in hot water, culminating with the U.S. Department of Justice concluding its nearly three-year investi- gation into the notoriously brutal force. The report found Phoenix police frequently committed civil rights viola- tions by discriminating against people of color, using excessive and unnecessarily deadly force and arresting U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego handily defeated Republican Kari Lake to claim the Senate seat that Kyrsten Sinema is vacating. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux and Elias Weiss) Former President Donald Trump comfortably won Arizona and helped push the state right in almost every down-ballot race. (Courtesy of Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) In June, the U.S. Department of Justice released a damning report on the persistent civil rights violations committed by the Phoenix Police Department. (Photo by Katya Schwenk) After Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (left) took a shot at Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (right) in a letter about executions, Mitchell responded with a three-page barrage. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux and Katya Schwenk) >> p 7 | NEWS | | NEWS |
