Breaking Battlegrounds

This week on Broken Potholes, Sam and Chuck are joined by Republican candidate for Attorney General, Abraham Hamadeh. Abraham is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and just returned from a 14 month long deployment to Saudi Arabia. On behalf of the United States Army, Abraham negotiated military sales and managed the training for Saudi Arabia’s domestic security forces both in the Kingdom and in the United States. He implemented the first of its kind new enhanced security vetting in response to the 2019 Pensacola terrorist attack. His direct counterparts were generals, colonels, and lieutenant colonels in the Saudi forces as well as high ranking civilians in their respective ministries.Abraham’s awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, and Overseas Service Ribbon among others.Abraham is a board member of the Dean’s Council of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. Abraham previously served on the board of advisors of the Center for Political Thought and Leadership at ASU which established a curriculum that honors and studies America’s founding thinkers and documents.Abraham is a former prosecutor of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Abraham has appeared in court to prosecute criminals, uphold victims’ rights, and seek justice for the community. Abraham earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Arizona State University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law. During his law studies, Abraham was awarded the Udall Fellowship by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council which placed him at the city, county, state, and federal prosecutor offices.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Chuck and Sam talked to Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen and Chris Wilson, CEO and partner of WPA Intelligence. Henry and Chris break down exactly what happened in last week’s election and what it means for 2022 and 2024. Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Olsen began his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. After three years working for the California Assembly Republican Caucus, he returned to school to become a lawyer. Following law school he clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and as an associate in the Philadelphia office of Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He then joined the think tank world where he spent the next eighteen years as an executive at a variety of institutions, serving as the President of the Commonwealth Foundation, a Vice President at the Manhattan Institute, and as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He left AEI in 2013 to pursue a career in political analysis and writing at EPPC. During that time his work has appeared in variety of leading publications in America and the United Kingdom. He is the author or co-author of two books, “The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism” and (with Dante J. Scala) “The Four Faces of the Republican Party”. His biennial election predictions have been widely praised for the uncanny accuracy, and he is a frequent guest on television and radio programs. Olsen regularly speaks about American political trends and global populism in the United State, Europe, and Australia.Prior to starting WPA Intelligence in 2004, Chris was Global Director of Research for Weber Shandwick International, the world’s largest public relations firm at the time. While at Weber Shandwick, Chris led research for Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Kodak, Wells Fargo, and Boeing.In 2016, as the Director of Research, Analytics and Digital Strategy for the Cruz for President campaign, Chris is widely credited for playing a key role in Cruz’s triumph in Iowa and helping the Texas Senator finish with the most delegates earned by a 2nd place finisher since Ronald Reagan in 1976. Using a meticulous, technologically advanced, and highly individual approach, Chris led the campaign to reach voters by predicting voter behavior based on ideological segments, personality modeling targeting each voter based on the issue most important to them.  You can read more about Chris’ Iowa work in Sasha Issenberg’s seminal Bloomberg piece, “How Ted Cruz Engineered His Iowa Triumph.”An Oklahoma native, Chris is a graduate of University of Oklahoma and Georgetown and remains an avid Sooner fan. In the rare instances that Chris isn’t working, he enjoys watching OU football and Thunder basketball, spending time with his sons, Denver and Carson, reading, and racking up impressive amounts of frequent flyer miles.  He is a regular political analyst on both Fox News and MSNBC.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Chuck and Sam are joined in studio by Kevin McCarthy of the Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA). Later in the show, Brent Buchanan gives us an update on the Virginia governor's election.Kevin McCarthy has served ATRA since 1986. A recognized expert in the public finance and taxation field, Kevin has extensive experience representing taxpayers before policy makers at the state and local level. He has been appointed to and served on numerous legislative and executive committees. He currently serves on the Arizona State Retirement System Board and the Property Tax Oversight Commission.Brent Buchanan is CEO & Founder of Cygnal, an innovation-driven public opinion polling and predictive analytics firm. He started the company in 2007 as a regional general consulting firm but transitioned the organization in 2017 to focus fully on solving the problems with political polling and the insights industry. It worked! The New York Times recognized Cygnal as the most accurate private polling firm in the nation in the 2018 election cycle, and FiveThirtyEight ranked them the most accurate Republican pollster. The firm has served as pollster on presidential, US Senate, gubernatorial, congressional, state legislative, and local races. Brent doesn’t know what free time is, because his most important priority is his wife of 12 years and five children age 11 and under.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, we are joined by professional soccer player Cali Farquharson to discuss the recent controversies in the National Women’s Soccer League. Cali has played for KIF Örebro and the Washington Spirit. She is the 2nd all-time leading goal scorer for the ASU women's team and was the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft. Later in the show, Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times joins the show to give an overview of our recent supply chain problems. Jon is a senior editor on the Utility Journalism team, which tries to help readers solve problems, answer questions and make big decisions about life in and around Los Angeles. He has been with the Los Angeles Times since 2000, previously reporting on technology news and writing opinion pieces.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Sam and Chuck are joined by Maricopa County Recorder, Stephen Richer. He was elected in November 2020 and took office January 2021. Since then, Stephen and his office have been at the forefront of the national discussion over election integrity. Prior to his election as Recorder, Stephen worked as a lawyer and business person. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University, a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Stephen and his wife live in South Phoenix.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

Republican candidate for US Senate, Jim Lamon, joins us in-studio this week. Jim is a Fortune 500 executive with more than 30 years’ experience in the engineering and construction of large-scale power plants, Jim Lamon is the Founder and Chairman of DEPCOM Power, headquartered in Arizona. Responsible for creating 1,600 jobs across the country, DEPCOM is one of the fastest-growing solar power companies in the U.S. and was ranked the fifth fastest-growing private company in the U.S. by Inc. 5000 in 2018. DEPCOM’s corporate practices reflect Jim’s deep commitment to serving the community, honoring the sacrifices of veterans, and supporting American workers.Under Jim’s leadership, DEPCOM donates ten percent (10%) of its net income to charities across our country, $7 million to date and growing to help Arizona’s and America’s less fortunate. Twenty percent (20%) of DEPCOM’s staff served in the United States Military, four times the national average of those who have served.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Chuck and Sam are joined in studio by candidate for Arizona Attorney General, Lacy Cooper. For the past eight years, Lacy has been on the front lines securing Arizona’s and our nation’s border. As a federal prosecutor and Border Security Section Chief in the United States Attorney’s Office, Lacy fought against dangerous Mexican cartels who were trafficking drugs and humans into the United States and firearms and cash back to Mexico. She prosecuted gang members who deteriorated the fabric of our local communities, and terrorists who took advantage of loopholes in the United States’ immigration system. Lacy knows firsthand what it takes to keep our country safe, and she has a record of doing just that.Lacy began her career as a Deputy County Attorney in Gila County fighting all levels of crime and defending the vulnerable. She spearheaded a task force targeting the most prevalent drug dealers. She prosecuted white-collar criminals who defrauded Arizonans. And she obtained lengthy sentences for sexual predators. Lacy ensured victims’ rights were protected and justice was served.Lacy has lived in Arizona for over 30 years. She moved to Arizona in elementary school and graduated from Dobson High School in Mesa. Born in the oil fields of southeastern New Mexico, Lacy learned the value of hard work from her father’s side of the family, all of whom spent their Friday nights at high school football games and their Saturday mornings on the rigs. She was also blessed to have school teachers, coaches and administrators on her mother’s side who devoted themselves to her education. Lacy brings this legacy of perseverance, aptitude and servant leadership to all of her endeavors.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Chuck and Sam are joined by Geoff Duncan. As Lt. Governor of the State of Georgia, Geoff never expected to find himself in the national spotlight – or in the crosshairs of the President of the United States. Then the 2020 Election and its aftermath brought the nation’s attention to Georgia. Amidst a hurricane of conspiracy and misinformation, Geoff spoke up for truth, conservative values, and the Republican Party he knows. His experiences inspired him to write the book GOP 2.0.A former professional baseball player and successful entrepreneur, Geoff was elected Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor in November of 2018.Geoff graduated from Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta where he met his wife, Brooke. Geoff and Brooke both attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where Geoff was a scholarship pitcher. After a successful career at Georgia Tech, Geoff was drafted by the Florida Marlins’ organization. Geoff spent six seasons playing baseball in the minor leagues, advancing as high as AAA before a shoulder injury forced his retirement in the early 2000s.After retiring from baseball, Geoff and his wife Brooke started a small marketing firm in their living room. The company experienced tremendous success which allowed Geoff and Brooke to sell the business and move on to multiple other entrepreneurial ventures. Geoff most recently served as the CEO of a health technology startup.Geoff’s faith inspired him to a life of leadership and prompted his upstart run for political office. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012. During his time in office he authored several important pieces of legislation. These include HB 749-The Cargo Theft Act, HB152-Michael’s Law and most recently SB258- the Rural Hospital Tax Credit.Geoff and Brooke are married and have three sons: Parker (17), Bayler (13), and Ryder (9). Geoff has coached 23 different youth sports teams, and also leads a weekly bible study with his wife Brooke. The Duncans attend Browns Bridge Community Church, an affiliate of North Point Community Church.GOP 2.0 is available at gop2.org CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Chuck and Sam are joined by Republican candidate for Congress in Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, Tanya Wheeless. Tanya Wheeless is a valley native, who was born to teen parents, and is the granddaughter of immigrants. She grew up in a working class family that often struggled, but despite the challenges she learned the importance of faith, family, hard work, and personal responsibility.Driven by the desire to create a better life for herself, Tanya worked from the time she was fourteen. She earned an academic scholarship to put herself through Arizona State University, becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. She went on to graduate from ASU Law with distinction earning a job at one of the nation’s top law firms.As a lawyer, business association CEO, sports executive with the Phoenix Suns, small business owner, and community advocate she understands the impact that policy can have on our lives. Tanya lives in Tempe with her husband Steve, an attorney and former F-16 pilot in the U.S. Air Force. They have three wonderful children and two dogs who keep them on their toes. When they aren’t hiking or exploring new places you can find them at grandma’s enjoying dinner and playing dominoes.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Broken Potholes, Sam Stone is joined by Alexander Kolodin and Anthony Kern for a discussion on the important role our state legislature has to play. Alexander Kolodin is the president of Kolodin Law Group and has worked on many high profile cases. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Pennsylvania Law School. He is currently running for the Arizona House of Representatives in LD 23. Anthony Kern is a former Arizona State Representative for LD20 who was first elected win 2014. As an Arizona State Representative, Anthony has served on committees such as Chairman Rules Committee; Chairman Joint Legislative Audit Committee; Vice-Chair of Public Safety; Vice-Chair Ways and Means; Member Commerce Committee; Member Appropriations Committee; Member Judiciary Committee. He is currently running for State Senate.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/BrokenPotholesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenpotholesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenpotholes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-potholesShow notes: www.brokenpotholes.vote Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe