What to expect from The Arizona Republic's coverage in the general election

The Arizona Republic is covering the 2022 general election to provide clear information about Arizona candidates and their positions and the voting process. 

This news organization has been writing about Arizona elections for more than 130 years, since 1890. 

This year, we want to spell out in advance what we will do and why. The emotions stirring since 2020 demand that we make our intentions clear. 

We will provide full coverage of candidates in all major races so that you have a clear understanding of who you are voting for.  These include the U.S. Senate race, U.S. House races and the major statewide offices up for grabs this year, including governor, secretary of state, attorney general, schools superintendent and Arizona Corporation Commission.

It also includes coverage of the 10 ballot measures being voted on statewide, the key races in Phoenix area cities and school board races.

We will uphold the highest standards of fairness, context and balance in our news stories. Each journalist in our organization commits to living up to these five goals:

• Seeking and reporting the truth in a truthful way.
• Serving the public interest.
• Exercising fair play.
• Maintaining independence.
• Acting with integrity.

We will not be deterred by those who engage in name-calling about our mission. In fact, you might consider some of the name-calling might be calculated to deflect attention from matters candidates would prefer to leave in the dark.

But even if candidates attack our credibility or refuse to engage with our reporters, we will always maintain our commitment to fairness and will seek their view before a story about them is published.

Our focus is Arizona. We live here, too — some of our journalists born and raised, some who came years ago and stayed, some newcomers who are just now finding their favorite restaurants and gathering spots. 

It's a challenging time to make decisions on candidates. 

Politics is rife with misinformation. Lies, repeated often and shared widely, can take on the ring of truth, especially if they match your political outlook. Half-truths are hard to spot. It can be easy to accept both. Our job — and our commitment — is to investigate and offer facts.

Politics is chaotic. Between the TV ads and the text messages and the name calling and the pleas for money, the political landscape can be noisy and combative. Many people just want to opt out, which is a desire we can empathize with. But our job is NOT to tune it out. Instead, we will sift through the noise to help you understand and make decisions about the issues your vote impacts.

Politics, and voting, is intimidating. It’s hard to track all the requirements and deadlines for voter registration, applying for an early ballot or just trying to figure out where to go to vote. This is true whether you just turned 18, are new to the state or are newly energized to take advantage of your rights as a U.S. citizen. Our job — and our commitment — is to help make that information more accessible. 

Politics requires investment. It takes time to dig into the facts and gain expertise about issues and candidates, between work and school and caregiving and the time you need for yourself. We're here to make this easier and less time consuming. Our job — and our commitment — is to help with candidate Q&As, investigations into candidates and coverage of key issues. Sign up for our azcentral.com daily news briefing to keep up with the headlines and listen to The Gaggle, our weekly political podcast. 

Follow our coverage of national, state and local races on azcentral.com and in the print edition of The Republic. You can subscribe here.

How to connect with us

Communicate with us. Your ideas and opinions matter. If you have a story idea or an opinion you would like to express, email our journalists or tag them on social media. Their contact information is on every story. Please remember civility is important to an open conversation.

Be part of our coverage. We want to include the views of more voters in our politics stories, and need your help with that. If you'd be willing to talk to a reporter, email us at newstips@arizonarepublic.com and use the subject line "voter input."

Join our community advisory board. We are forming a community advisory board for politics coverage. Email newstips@arizonarepublic.com and use the subject line “politics advisory board.” Space is limited, but we’d love to hear from you. 

What to know about our coverage

News article vs. an opinion piece. 

The Republic has news reporters and opinion writers. Both work for the organization but do very different jobs.

News reporters don't write opinion articles.

A news article lays out what happened, who was involved and provides context for why it matters. These articles are written by news, features and sports reporters at The Republic. We also publish stories from USA Today, The Associated Press and other reliable news sources.

Opinion columnists provide a personal point of view about the news, often in strong language. Opinion pieces are labeled as such on azcentral.com and in the print Arizona Republic. Opinion columnists are clearly identified as such.

All of the journalists at The Republic – news and opinion – follow the same standards for truth, fairness, independence and integrity.

Steps we take before publishing a news article.

Reporters and editors verify information, ensuring it comes from sources in a position to know. We ask for responses from multiple sides of an issue. If a politician spreads false information, we point that out. Facts don't have two sides.

Editors evaluate all our news articles for fairness — for example, are the facts presented in appropriate context — and accuracy. 

Updates to articles. 

With developing stories, some details are slower to emerge. We frequently update stories with additional quotes and detail.

Corrections or clarifications.

If there is an error in a story, we attempt to correct it promptly. A correction is placed on top of a story on azcentral.com. Corrections for stories in the print Republic run on Page 4A as needed.  

Kathy Tulumello is a news director at the Republic for news, politics and business coverage. Reach her at kathy.tulumello@arizonarepublic.com.

More questions about our journalism? Email newstips@arizonarepublic.com.