Republican state Rep. Austin Smith has dropped his reelection bid after being accused of personally forging more than 100 petition signatures to get on the 2024 ballot.
And he’s facing a possible criminal investigation into his signatures after state elections officials forwarded his petition signatures to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Smith is first-term representative from Surprise, a member of Arizona’s far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus and a top official at Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of the far-right Turning Point USA, which is aimed at young Republicans and run by Charlie Kirk.
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Ironically, Smith is also a member of the House’s Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee, where he decried unproven election fraud in Maricopa County, and has even made jokes accusing county officials of mail-in ballot signature fraud on social media.
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“Signature verification in Maricopa County is a joke,” Smith wrote on Twitter in May 2023.
But Smith’s own petition to get on the July 30 Republican primary ballot was filled with more than 100 signatures, along with corresponding addresses, that obviously look like they were all written by the same person. And two of his supposed petition signers told the court, in statements submitted along with a lawsuit challenging his nominating petitions, that they never signed the petition.
In the announcement, Smith called the allegations against him “ludicrous” and accused Democrats of creating a “coordinated attack” against him with press releases and social media posts about the legal challenge to his candidacy.
“If they could convince a judge that any one signature was forged, all of my signatures would be invalidated and I would get kicked off the ballot,” Smith wrote. “And as per Arizona law, I would also be banned from seeking office for five years.”
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Smith took no accountability for the allegedly fraudulent signatures and said that he didn’t want to spend tens of thousands defending himself in the civil elections challenge — as well as a possible criminal case for forgery — because he didn’t want that to impact his new wife.
“We have our plans and aspirations, and none of them involve starting out tens of thousands of dollars in debt as a once of being involved in public service,” he wrote.
But Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer Tweeted on Thursday that, if the signatures were valid, the county would put out a report saying so, costing Smith nothing.
Smith went on to say that, when he runs for office in the future, he’ll exclusively use the online petition signature system, so that “no one can make up any stories.”
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But while Smith was excoriated by the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, they were not the only ones who went after him for his alleged behavior.
Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman, a Republican, called Smith out in a Thursday statement, saying he should resign his seat in the House of Representatives immediately and calling for an investigation into Smith’s signatures.
“An investigation will reveal the truth, but this episode tells us something about those who have spread falsehoods with such ease since the 2020 Election,” Hickman wrote. “They can’t comprehend that most Americans and Arizonans are honest people. They accuse others of dishonesty so easily because they have no qualms about lying to win a political race or a business deal. Well, I will always tell people the truth… and Austin Smith should leave public service now.”
Smith was one of the many Arizona Republicans who claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and says on his campaign site that he was involved in the partisan audit of the race, which never uncovered any fraud.
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“What happened on November 3rd, 2020 in Maricopa County continues to be a national disgrace and embarrassment,” Smith wrote on his website. “Not only that, Austin believes it was criminal and will fight every day in the State Legislature to hold those responsible to account.”
The Arizona Secretary of State, Democrat Adrian Fontes, has already forwarded the allegations of forgery and fraud against Smith to the Attorney General’s Office, along with 12 other election petition signature cases.
Shortly after Smith announced he was dropping out of the race, the ADLCC criticized him for his decision not to defend his actions in court.
“Arizona voters deserve the same accountability, transparency, and elections integrity that Smith has long claimed to champion,” Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan, co-chair of the ADLCC said in a statement.
Two Arizona Public Enemy concerts in one year? As Chuck D. might say, bring the noise.
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After a searing set in February at Tempe’s Innings Festival, the legendary hip-hop group will return to metro Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 24, to perform as part of the Arizona State Fair’s concert series.
The concert starts at 7 p.m. inside the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum with no opening act.
Public Enemy joins a growing lineup of artists set to perform at the 2026 Arizona State Fair, which runs weekends from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.
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Previously announced Coliseum Concert Series performers include alt-rockers Gin Blossoms on Friday, Oct. 2, R&B/pop star Becky G on Friday, Oct. 9 and punk favorites The Offspring on Friday Oct. 16.
Few hip-hop acts are as iconic as Public Enemy. Fronted by Chuck D. and Flavor Flav, the group has performed since the early ‘80s and has spent decades mixing politically charged lyrics with fierce bests on classic tracks like “Fight the Power,” “Bring the Noise” and “Welcome to the Terrordome.”
Public Enemy’s upcoming concert marks the first time the iconic hip-hop act has performed at the Arizona State Fair and their latest in a series of Valley gigs. It also continues a decades-long history of Valley performances.
Over the years, Public Enemy has played venues large and small across metro Phoenix, from arenas and stadium shows to concert halls Tempe’s Marquee Theatre. The group also famously staged an impromptu performance at the long-running local hip-hop event The Blunt Club back in 2006.
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Public Enemy performs at Innings Festival on Feb. 22, 2026.
When do Arizona State Fair concert tickets go on sale?
Tickets for Gin Blossoms and Russell Dickerson are already available through azstatefair.com/concerts.
Tickets for Public Enemy at the fair go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday through azstatefair.com/concerts. A presale for subscribers to the Fair Fandom newsletter begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Reserved-seat upgrades are available for all four concerts. Each concert ticket also includes admission to the Arizona State Fair.
VIDEO: Hundreds of loved ones and first responders gathered Saturday to celebrate the life of Nicholas Hutcherson, an Arizona wildland firefighter killed late last month while battling a wildfire in Colorado.
Hutcherson was part of a Helitack crew trained to respond to remote areas and contain wildfires before they spread.
He was one of three wildland firefighters killed June 27.
His father, Ron Hutcherson, said his son sent him a text message the morning he died, saying he was on his way to a fire and would try to call that evening.
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“The text included a picture from inside his Helitack helicopter,” Ron Hutcherson said. “One of his crew members had a Snoopy on their helmet — he knew how much me and my wife loved Snoopy.”
That evening, a call came — but not from Nicholas.
Saturday, Ron Hutcherson read a letter addressed to his son, recounting their shared memories — including the moment a young Nicholas fell in love with the fire department.
In most cases, the number of players drafted is a strong indication of how good a college baseball team was the previous season. Arizona had nine draftees last year after reaching the College World Series, but following a disastrous 2026 campaign only two Wildcats heard their names called in the 2026 MLB Draft.
Right-handed pitcher Owen Kramkowski was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 5th round, while fellow righty Collin McKinney went in the 9th round to the Baltimore Orioles.
Kramkowski was taken with the No. 145 picks, which has a bonus slot value of $506,100. McKinney’s bonus slot at No. 260 is $213,300. Players chosen in the 11th round or later can sign for up to $150,000 without it impacting a team’s bonus pool.
The two draft picks for Arizona is its fewest since 2022, when catcher Daniel Susac went in the 1st round and outfielder Tanner O’Tremba went in the 15th round. It was also the first time since 2014 the UA did not have a player taken in the first four rounds.
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While the loss of existing UA players to the MLB Draft was minimal, the same can’t be said for future Wildcats. Two members of Arizona’s 2026 recruiting class as well as three transfers signed this summer were drafted Sunday.
Incoming freshman catcher Francisco Rivero, from Canyon del Oro High School in Oro Valley, went in the 15th round to the Washington Nationals while righty Garrett Ahern—a transfer from GCU—went in the 16th round to the New York Yankees. The 17th round then saw righties McCartyEnglish (Southern Miss) and Collin Cobb (Williston State JC) and New Mexico prep righty Jack Byers all get picked.
Each has until July 27 to sign a pro contract or they’ll join the Wildcats this fall for the 2027 season.
The 6-foot-3 Kramkowski, who grew up in Sahuarita, is the fifth player recruited to the UA out of high school by Chip Hale and his staff to get drafted. He spent three seasons with the Wildcats and was part of the weekend rotation the last two years, starting the opening game of the College World Series. In 2025 he wen 9-6 with a 5.48 ERA, striking out 90 batters in 92 innings, but struggled as a junior with a 1-8 record and 6.13 ERA.
In 35 career appearances, Kramkowski walked only 38 batters in 165.1 innings against 165 strikeouts.
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The 6-foot-5 McKinney spent the last two seasons at the UA after beginning his career at Baylor. He was the Wildcats’ Friday night starter for most of 2025 before getting moved to the bullpen, and this past spring spent time in the rotation and as a reliever. He struck out 109 in 91.2 innings with Arizona.
McKinney had entered the NCAA transfer portal last month and committed to Houston but is expected to sign.
Arizona’s lack of draft picks from its roster was indicative of a team that went 19-34, its worst record since 1994, and finished 9-21 in the Big 12 after winning the conference tournament title the previous year. The same can’t be said for ASU, which failed to advance beyond the NCAA regionals despite having 10 draft picks on the roster.
