Someone is sending misleading pro-Republican text messages to Arizona voters ahead of the November election.
One message includes what it calls the “official 2026 Independent voter guide.”
“This is the official independent voter guide of 2026. These are the people who will lower costs and protect the Arizona we love,” according to the message.
That message could be a compelling one for voters in Arizona, where nearly 35% of the electorate identifies as independent, meaning they aren’t registered with any political party.
However, the guide only includes Republicans, including gubernatorial hopeful Andy Biggs, secretary of state candidate Alexander Kolodin, attorney general candidate Warren Petersen and state superintendent candidate Kimberly Yee.
It does not include a single Democrat or third-party candidate, including those running under the No Labels Party, which bills itself as a home for independent-minded voters.
The copy of the text reviewed by KJZZ appears to target voters in Legislative District 4 and Congressional District 1, two of the most competitive districts in the state that intersect in the northeast Valley.
The so-called “independent guide” also urges recipients to vote for Jay Feely, the Republican candidate in CD1, and the GOP slate of candidates running for the legislature in LD4.
A second misleading text message sent over the weekend targets Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz, who is running against Yee in the superintendent of public instruction race.
The message includes the KJZZ logo and references the headline and opening paragraph of an article published last month about a complaint Yee filed with the Attorney General’s Office accusing Leyba Ruiz of breaking state law when her campaign posted photos from trips to school campuses.
“Democratic AZ superintendent candidate faces complaint over classroom campaign photo ops,” read the original article’s headline.
But, in the photo included in the text message, the headline is changed to read: “Democratic AZ superintendent candidate faces complaint over [illegal] classroom campaign photo ops.”
The text message also inserts the word “illegally” into the first paragraph of the story even though it does not appear anywhere in the original article.
The distinction is important, because the complaint Yee filed only alleges that Leyba Ruiz violated the law.
No legal authority, such as the attorney general or court system, has weighed in on whether the Leyba Ruiz campaign actually broke state law.
The text messages don’t include any disclosures identifying the candidates or groups who paid for them.
That’s legal in Arizona, because state law exempts social media posts and texts from rules requiring candidates and outside groups to tell voters who paid for campaign communications.
Yee’s campaign did not respond to a request to comment on whether it paid for the messages attacking Leyba Ruiz.
Only two organizations have explicitly reported paying for text message campaigns in support of some of the candidates in question this election cycle, according to campaign finance records on file with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
The Greater Phoenix Chamber reported spending $10,000 on text messages in July in support of several candidates, including Republican Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson, who appears in the “independent voter guide” text.
However, according to information provided by the chamber’s vendor, that spending paid for a text campaign during the primary election supporting Thompson and Commissioner Nick Myers that made it clear the messaging was coming from the Greater Phoenix Chamber.
The only other group that has reported paying for text message campaigns this cycle is Turning Point PAC Arizona, a political group affiliated with Turning Point USA.
Turning Point PAC Arizona has spent $193,135 on text message campaigns this year, including those backing Biggs and attacking Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Turning Point PAC did not respond to a request for comment.
According to campaign finance records, the organization paid contractors 1Ten and Engaged America LLC to produce text campaigns this cycle. Both businesses are owned by state Sen. Jake Hoffman, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In addition to serving in the Arizona Senate, Hoffman is a political and communications consultant. In 2020, social media sites suspended accounts he controls after the Washington Post reported he helped run an online troll farm for Turning Point spreading disinformation in the lead up to that year’s election.
Hoffman’s clients include the Yee and Kolodin campaigns. He also recruited Heap to run for the Corporation Commission.
Hoffman did not respond to a request for comment.
No Going Back PAC, a Republican super PAC affiliated with President Donald Trump, has also paid for text messaging campaigns on behalf of Feely, the CD1 candidate who appears on the “independent voter guide,” according to federal campaign finance filings.
MAGA Inc., another Trump-affiliated group backing the PAC, did not respond to a request to comment on whether it was involved with the misleading texts.