Arizona is at the center of the political universe: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, we examine how Arizona is now at the center of the political universe. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd explains why it's getting more difficult for politicians to find the middle.

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2024’s biggest fights are all converging in Arizona

By Alex Tabet, Adam Edelman, Bridget Bowman and Vaughn Hillyard

The Arizona Supreme Court ruling upholding a 160-year-old, near-total ban on abortion sent a shock through the state — and cemented its place at the center of politics in 2024.

The campaigns: Arizona and its 11 electoral votes will once again be critical in the presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump after just 10,000 votes separated them in the state in 2020. To that point, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a trip Friday to Arizona hours after the state Supreme Court’s abortion decision was announced.

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Voters will decide critical races for the U.S. Senate and House with both chambers closely divided. Republican Kari Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022, and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego are already locked in a heated race to replace independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. And GOP Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani are bracing for tough battles to hold onto their toss-up districts. (Lake, Schweikert and Ciscomani all condemned the state Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, while Trump said it went too far.)

Republicans are also trying to hold state legislative