Primary Election - Republican

How I intend to vote on Tuesday 8/24/10:

U.S. Senate - J.D. Hayworth
McCain has got to to go. Sure he loves conservatives when a primary election is near, but then he spends the next five years of each senate term sticking his finger in their eye. Whether trying to grant amnesty for illegal aliens, impairing our economy with silly environmental laws, submarining conservative judicial appointments, or failing to stand up and defend marriage McCain has repeatedly proven that he will make the wrong choice on many of the key issues facing us today.

Hayworth, on the other hand, has a good record as a congressman, and has a better understanding than McCain of what needs to be done to fix problems perpetuated by our federal government. Don't believe what the slick attack ads say. J.D. will be a huge improvement over McCain.

U.S. Representative in Congress
District 6 - Jeff SMITH
Once upon a time I was an enthusiastic supporter of Flake; he's done some good things as congressman. But after seeing his support for amnesty and an ENDA I have slowly changed my opinion. I'm glad there's a choice this time around. Smith says he'll support all the good things that Flake supports and simply leave out the kooky stuff.

(If I were still in) District 5 - David Schweikert
Schweikert has a record (as a state legislator) of actually cutting taxes and reducing the size of government. I expect he'll do the same as a federal legislator. For fun tidbits about his opponents check out here and here.

Governor - It don't matter
Brewer has opponents on the ballot but the reality is that they've all dropped out of the race.

Attorney General - Tom Horne
I think Horne's done a respectable job as Superintendent of Public Instruction and as a state legislator before that. The decision on who to vote for got really easy because over the last 12 months the list of evidence showing Thomas' and Sheriff Joe's corruption has gotten bigger and bigger.

This video opened my eyes. Arpaio's courtroom deputy obviously did something wrong. The ensuing complaint from the affected attorney made its way to Judge Gary Donahoe, who gave the offending deputy an opportunity to have the complaint dropped if he would simply apologize. In reaction to this Sheriff Joe and his buddy Andrew Thomas charged Judge Donahoe with criminal corruption. That's right, mess with Arpaio's turf and you'll find yourself as a defendant in a criminal trial--courtesy of Andrew Thomas. Using one's office of authority to prosecute political opponents, my friends, is corruption. As it turns out, several other county judges and supervisors found themselves politically on the wrong side of the Arpaio/Thomas combination; however, the charges had to be dropped because the accusations were baseless. There wasn't enough evidence to even take the cases to a full trial!

Please understand--I like the positions that Arpaio and Thomas take on the issues. I agree with many of the things they say. But we Republicans now have to ask ourselves the uncomfortable question--How far are we willing to support corrupt politicians even though we agree with their political views?

State Treasurer - Thayer Verschoor
As a state legislator Verschoor has a good track record. He's been tested in elected office before and can be trusted to make wise decisions.

Superintendent of Public Instruction - John Huppenthal
Like Verschoor, Huppenthal has a record of making good decisions while in elected office.

Corporation Commissioner (pick 2)
-Gary Pierce
-Brenda Burns
Wong may be a nice enough guy, but he was originally a Napolitano appointee. Do any of us need another reason?

County Attorney - Bill Montgomery
Montgomery appears to have his priorities together, although it's always a little tough to discern which candidate is the real deal when they are all emphasizing the same talking points. Check out Montgomery's website and see what you think.

One thing I noticed was that Montgomery was endorsed by folks I respect such as Russel Pearce, Len Munsil, and Thayer Verschoor. Oh yeah, he is also endorsed by Arpaio, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's corrupt, too, does it? Who endorses Romley? McCain. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith. I think I'll take my chances with Montgomery.

Conclusion
Please feel free to contribute additional insight in the comments section.