Rachel Keshel

PLEEEEEAAAASE, MOM: Republican Rep. Selina Bliss’ bill to create a monument honoring murdered journalist Don Bolles (sans the Charlie Kirk add-on that Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman wants) passed the House Government Committee with unanimous support yesterday. That means there are two versions of the bill moving through the Legislature: a good bill that everyone likes, and a shitty version that Democrats and even members of Bolles’ family don’t want. “This bill feels like when my 11-year-old, my baby, just asks me for something over and over and over, and after many ‘no’s’ I say ‘fine,’” Republican Rep. Rachel Keshel told her colleagues. (February 19, 2026)

What will Hobbs do?: Arizona Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman picked up where Tucson-area Rep. Rachel Keshel left off, the Arizona Mirror’s Caitlin Sievers reports. Keshel has tried to ban voting centers, in favor of precinct-only voting, for the past three years and now Hoffman’s SB1746 has made it through the Senate. And an Arizona House committee moved along a bill that would require local police to alert ICE whenever they arrest someone who is undocumented, per Joe Duhownik of Courthouse News Service. (March 11, 2026)

What’s with all the vinegar?: Anthony Dunham, a Republican candidate for state Senate in the competitive Tucson-area Legislative District 17, had his parental rights temporarily revoked in 2022, the Republic’s Ray Stern reports. His wife at the time punished his daughter from a previous marriage by making her drink apple cider vinegar until she vomited, as well as spraying vinegar in his younger children’s faces and locking them in their bedrooms so long they were forced to urinate on the floor. None of the punishments were determined to be illegal and they came to light as part of a custody dispute with Dunham’s first wife. Dunham said he knew the incidents would come up during his campaign and said he’d be OK, “as long as the facts are put out there.” Republican Rep. Rachel Keshel, who is teaming up with Dunham as she runs for re-election in LD17, defended his actions. “Unless you’re Jesus running for office, you’re going to get imperfect,” she told Stern. (April 7, 2026)

Voting centers in the crosshairs: The state House approved a bill that would get rid of the voting centers that are widely used in Pima County, KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez reports. But lawmakers won’t be the ones who decide whether you’re only allowed to vote at your precinct. HCR2016 from Tucson-area Republican Rep. Rachel Keshel is a ballot measure that would go before voters. The vast majority of county election directors in Arizona oppose the measure and Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a similar bill last year, which is likely why Keshel is trying to send it directly to voters. (February 25, 2026)

Define “protect,” please: Anthony Dunham knew the bizarre punishments his ex-wife did to his kids would come up when he decided to run for a state Senate seat in Legislative District 17 on a platform of protecting children, the Republic’s Ray Stern reports. Dunham is in a child custody battle with his first ex-wife, which led to the public revelation that his second ex-wife forced his 12-year-old daughter to drink apple cider vinegar until she vomited. His two other children, age 4 and 5, had vinegar sprayed in their faces and put in their meals. They also were locked in their rooms for so long they had to pee on the floor. Dunham says that was all his second ex-wife’s doing. Republican Rep. Rachel Keshel, who is teaming up with Dunham in the competitive Tucson-area district, stepped in to defend him. “Unless you’re Jesus running for office, you're going to get imperfect,” she told Stern. (April 7, 2026)