Terry Goddard

The Arizona Heritage Dinner, a fundraising event for the Arizona Democratic Party, brought in over $600,000, according to party spokeswoman Emily DeRose.

The dinner, which was held in Phoenix Sunday, featured U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D.-Ill.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and the former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Emanuel is credited as the architect of the Democrats' gains in 2006, enabling the party to recapture control of the House.

Also in attendance were Gov. Janet Napolitano, U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson), Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

House Speaker Jim WeiersA school voucher program for special needs children is at the heart of a flap between Arizona House Speaker Jim Weiers (R-Phoenix) and the governor's office, as Weiers and Democrats tangle over who's to blame for the program being cut.

After the session ended with a last-minute deal to make up for the $2 billion budget deficit forecast for fiscal year 2008-2009, it was revealed that the governor's office, the Senate and the House had each held onto millions in reserve funds, in case an accord couldn't be reached.

Now Speaker Weiers is attempting to use the surplus funds to reinstate a program that provides students who are autistic or otherwise require special instruction with vouchers, so they can attend whichever public or private school best suits their needs. Without the vouchers, special needs students currently attending private schools may be forced to return to the public system if they can't afford the tuition.

Ariz. Attorney General Terry GoddardArizona small business owners overwhelmingly favor a Democrat to replace Gov. Janet Napolitano, according to the Silver State Bank/Arizona Small Business Association/O'Neil Associates Arizona Economic Indicators Monitor.

The poll, conducted among the ASBA's 3,000 members, found that 43 percent of respondents supported Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard in the hypothetical race. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon came in second with 21 percent.

Rounding out the list were U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters (10 percent), Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman (8 percent), Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne (8 percent), state Treasurer Dean Martin (7 percent) and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas (5 percent).

If Barack Obama were to beat John McCain, there is a very good chance Governor Janet Napolitano could be offered a job in the administration.  While it is very unlikely she would be offered the VEEP spot, there is a strong possibility her early loyalty would be rewarded with a cabinet position.

If Napolitano were to move on to Washington, Arizona’s political landscape would be tossed on its head overnight.  Look into the Inside Edge crystal ball as we predict what that week’s Winners and Losers would look like.  

If Barack Obama were to beat John McCain, there is a very good chance Governor Janet Napolitano could be offered a job in the administration.  While it is very unlikely she would be offered the VEEP spot, there is a strong possibility her early loyalty would be rewarded with a cabinet position.

If Napolitano were to move on to Washington, Arizona’s political landscape would be tossed on its head overnight.  Look into the Inside Edge crystal ball as we predict what that week’s Winners and Losers would look like.  

Winners

Jan Brewer
Not only would the secretary of state become Governor Jan Brewer overnight, she would then be in office as a sitting incumbent come 2010.

Dennis Burke
The governor’s Chief of Staff would almost certainly end up as the Chief of Staff to the U.S. Attorney General or Department of Homeland Security and would be on his way to D.C. 

Leezie Kim
Kim, who recently moved from private practice to become the governor’s general counsel, would be on a short list for a U.S. Attorney spot.

Pro-life movement
With Napolitano out of the way the pro-life community could start moving legislation forward with hope of it being signed by the governor. 

State Republican Party
If the party holds both the Senate and the House in November, the party would have total control over state government and could use it to their advantage in fundraising. 

Losers

Gubernatorial hopefuls on the Republican side
Mary Peters, Andrew Thomas and any other prospective candidates would now be facing an incumbent from their own party.  While someone may still step up to the plate and challenge Brewer, their job becomes a whole lot harder.

Randy Pullen
With Brewer in charge and gearing up for re-election she would more than likely want someone she trusts completely running the office that will be out to protect her and prevent a primary.

Terry Goddard
The Attorney General would become the highest elected Democratic official in the state, but assuming he is the nominee in 2010 he now has to challenge a sitting governor.  He would be trying to do something that hasn’t been done since 1966, unseat a sitting governor in an election.  And it should be noted that governor who lost re-election was Samuel Goddard, Terry’s father.

LGBT community
They lose the strongest advocate they have had in Arizona and would likely be facing a rollback of Napolitano’s executive order banning discrimination in state government based on sexual orientation.

Jim Weiers
It may seem weird to place a Republican Speaker of the House as a loser when a Republican takes over the governor’s office, but it’s true.  Right now Weiers gains his power as the leader of the opposition party.  With a Republican governor Weiers would lose that power and for the most part would need to follow the governor’s lead.

More Inside Edge

Moments after polls closed in South Dakota, one of the two remaining primary states who both held their contests today, Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens announced he is backing Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) for president.

"Now that our historic season of caucuses and primaries is behind us, it is time for each superdelegate to choose between two outstanding candidates," Bivens said. "For me, that choice is Senator Barack Obama. He is an extraordinary leader, with the ability to bring people together across party lines to solve problems. That is exactly what our country and our state need right now, a pragmatic change of direction."

Bivens is a Democratic Party superdelegate, meaning he can cast his vote at the Democratic National Convention for whomever he chooses. Superdelegates have been flocking to Obama over the past few days as the nomination fight wraps up, and Obama is expected to clinch the necessary 2,118 delegates tonight after the South Dakota and Montana results are in. He is expected to win both states.

As the Democratic primary winds down and Barack Obama more than likely moves towards the nomination tonight, it is worth looking at the three superdelegates in Arizona who avoided taking a stance. 

Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens is uncommitted, and of the three uncommitted he probably has the best reason to remain so.  His Governor is with Obama, some of his biggest donors are with Hillary Clinton and his delegation is split.

Many a Democratic Party superdelegate will be watching the April 22 primary in Pennsylvania very closely to help them determine who they will support: Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Among them will be Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who is set to fill in the remaining open superdelegate slot in the state's delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

A pair of bipartisan bills take aim at identity theft.

Arizona AG Terry Goddard received a lot of local attention earlier this month for reaching out to his Mexican counterparts to beef up cross-border law enforcement.