Gov. Katie Hobbs led Republican challenger Andy Biggs by 8 points in a poll of likely Arizona voters commissioned by the AARP and released yesterday.

Why it matters: The poll, which also showed smaller Democratic advantages in the races for attorney general and control of the state Legislature, offers an intriguing snapshot of the electorate three months out of the general election.

• The Arizona governor's race has been viewed as one of the most closely contested in the nation.

By the numbers: 52% of likely voters favored Hobbs, versus 44% for Biggs. Hobbs also led among voters under 50 (+36), Hispanic voters (+25) and swing voters over 50 (+5).

• Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes had a 5-point lead over GOP nominee Warren Petersen.
• When considering a generic ballot for the Arizona Legislature, likely voters favored Democrats by 3 points, a 6-point swing compared to a similar poll that AARP conducted in 2024.

Yes, but: The poll was conducted before Biggs announced former state Sen. Sine Kerr as his lieutenant governor pick and before a New York Times report named former Mesa Mayor John Giles as Hobbs' running mate. The Hobbs campaign hasn't confirmed that report.

Between the lines: The poll may give Democrats hope about capturing control of the Legislature, which they haven't actually accomplished since 1966.

What they're saying: "There's definitely a shift" toward Democrats, pollster Bob Ward of the GOP polling firm Fabrizio Ward said on a press call. "A lot of that shift has happened in the younger side of the electorate."

Zoom in: The poll also highlighted key issues for the electorate:

• Rising prices and "threats to democracy" were top issues for voters of all ages and affiliations, with GOP voters also caring about immigration and border security.
• The biggest affordability issues for respondents were the price of groceries and the cost of health care.

Methodology: The poll used two firms to survey 913 likely voters in the state by phone call and text message from July 26-28. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 points.

What the candidates are saying

Two massive overnight haboobs that hit the Valley earlier this week were among the biggest seen in the past 16 years, or as far back as reliable data is available.

Why it matters: Both dust storms — one late Monday night, the other early yesterday morning — were categorized as Class 5 storms on the PHX-DUST scale developed by ASU's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.

• The previous 16 years had seen only four other Class 5 haboobs, ASU professor Randall Cerveny tells Axios, "and here we've had two Class 5's, one right after the other."
• The other Category 5 storms occurred in 2011, 2013, 2023 and last September.

How it works: The dust storm scale, which ASU unveiled earlier this year, rates haboobs by their one-hour average dust concentrations, and also categorizes storms by spatial coverage, duration and wind gust levels.

• Storms are measured on micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter. A microgram is smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
• The Air Quality Index uses the same measurement, with zero to 50 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter being considered "good."

Stunning stat: Monday night's storm had a maximum dust concentration of 6,136 micrograms per cubic meter, the second-highest ever recorded in the Valley.

• Yesterday morning's storm was close behind.

What they're saying: "Probably we were one of the poorest air quality places in the entire world (yesterday) morning as this dust storm rolled through," Cerveny says.

📸 Was your car covered in dust this week? Send us photos at [email protected].

✋ The Tucson City Council enacted strict new rules for data centers. (Tucson Sentinel)

🦜 Paradise Earth, a planned wildlife attraction in the Scottsdale area that touts itself as North America's largest indoor rainforest, is on hold after the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community council postponed a vote on its permit. (Arizona's Family)

✈️ U.S. Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona urged the FAA to revise its plans to change flight paths in the Phoenix area. (ABC15)

📸 The Pinal County Sheriff's Office won't renew its contract for controversial Flock license plate reader cameras when it expires in 60 days. (KJZZ)

🎹 Low Key Piano Bar on Mill Avenue will close on Sunday after 12 years in business. (Phoenix New Times)

Misbehaving shouldn't usually win one fame and honor, but three Valley pets are now up for an award thanks to their hijinks.

Why it matters: Gilbert beagles Diesel and Matilda and Hobbes, a domestic shorthair cat from San Tan Valley, are among nine finalists for the 2026 Hambone Award, presented by Nationwide Insurance to recognize "the most unusual pet insurance claims of the year," per a press release.

• Hobbes "got stuck under the garage door after trying to sneak out," while the beagles "followed their noses to a two-tier red velvet cake and devoured it." All three are fine now.

Catch up quick: The Hambone Awards, now in their 18th year, were named after a dog who got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire holiday ham.

The bottom line: You can vote for Hobbes at this link, and go here to vote for Diesel and Matilda.

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