Wendy Rogers

Strange bedfellows: Republican Sen. Mark Finchem, a former cop in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was put on a “would not rehire” list, is attempting to abolish the quasi police force Arizona Rangers. After getting ahold of a bunch of documents from a rejected Ranger showing that the Rangers had compromised an actual undercover cop infiltrating a motorcycle gang, Finchem and fellow Republican Wendy Rogers are attempting to strip them of their legal status, the Republic’s Ray Stern writes in a piece that includes some fascinating history on why we even have an Arizona Rangers. (January 13, 2026)

DINO-sore spot: The state Senate’s Director Nominations Committee was back in action this week, this time with Republican senators grilling Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ nominee to lead the Arizona National Guard for hours, KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez reports. Republican Sens. Wendy Rogers and Jake Hoffman accused John Conley of being “quibblistic” and “lawyerly” as Conley fielded questions about the U.S. war on Iran, vaccine mandates in the military and whether the National Guard should support ICE. The committee ended up advancing Hobbs’ nomination, but only after Senate Democrats objected to the contentious lines of the questioning, per the Arizona Mirror’s Caitlin Sievers. “There’s a difference between vetting and being disrespectful jerks, and they were disrespectful jerks,” Sen. Analise Ortiz said. (May 13, 2026)

Historic housing shortage: State lawmakers nixed a bill that would have protected historic neighborhoods from being turned into multifamily housing, per Capitol Media Services’ Bob Christie. Residents of historic neighborhoods were worried their homes would be torn down as cities implement the “middle housing” law that took effect this year to help alleviate the housing shortage. But developers and housing advocates convinced lawmakers to kill the bill, even after the bill’s sponsor GOP Rep. Matt Gress watered it down. Elsewhere in housing legislation, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed into law a bill from GOP Sen. Wendy Rogers that would make it easier to remove “squatters” from residential property, per KTAR’s Balin Overstolz McNair. (June 3, 2026)

Watch out for the chemtrails: The vacancy Marshall left at the Legislature could be filled by Sylvia Allen, a Republican who claimed the Earth was 6,000 years old and represented the Navajo County area until Sen. Wendy Rogers beat her in the 2020 GOP primary, KJZZ’s Wayne Schutsky reports. The county board of supervisors will pick from three finalists — including Allen — who have been selected by the local Republican Party. (April 28, 2026)

State officials warn that the deepfake video that Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers posted about Hobbs is the first of many more deepfakes to come, and officials aren’t sure what to do about it (Reagan Priest / Capitol Times) (November 3, 2025)

How long until it’s a DNA test?: Republican state lawmakers are trying to block immigrants without legal status from using banks, credit unions or check-cashing services, per Capitol scribe Howie Fischer. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers, is aiming at the ID cards issued by Mexican consular offices, saying anybody who wants to use a bank must have an ID that shows they’re a U.S. citizen or legal resident. SB1421 already made it through the Senate, with no support from Democrats, and now it’s in the House. (March 26, 2026)

Suuuure, Wendy: The Arizona Senate followed the House and approved a bill that would require hospitals to ask patients whether they’re in the country legally, per Capitol scribe Howie Fischer. The bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers, says the patients’ responses won’t be reported to federal immigration agencies. Democratic Sen. Analise Ortiz wasn’t buying it. “Right now, we know that no personal information is safe from being given over to ICE, who is killing people in the streets, including United States citizens,” Ortiz said. (February 12, 2026)

Touching a nerve: Republican lawmakers want to shorten how long a divorced person has to pay their former spouse, per Capitol scribe Howie Fischer. SB1049 would set a maximum of four years of paying spousal support, even if a judge believes it should be longer. But the backstory of the bill is where it really gets interesting: Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers said she sponsored the bill to help out Petersen, and Craig Harris at 12News noted that Petersen divorced his wife in 2021 and paid her more than $200,000 and gave her a house. Petersen took to Twitter to clarify in no uncertain terms that his ex-wife remarried in 2022 and he hasn’t owed her any money since then. But we’ve been around long enough to remember that Petersen also sponsored a bill in 2022 that overhauled Arizona's alimony laws. That bill required the state Supreme Court to create guidelines for spousal maintenance and said it should only last long enough to get the receiving spouse back on their feet, not indefinitely. (June 4, 2026)