If you've seen the Turning Point material about Gov. Katie Hobbs, you've heard that Arizona's gas costs as much as California's, that our schools are the worst in the nation, that Hobbs "lost" 250 billion gallons of water, and that she blocks tax cuts. Every one of those claims starts with a real number. Every one of them leaves out the part that tells you what the number means.

Voters deserve the whole story, so here it is.

Gas prices. Yes, in April 2023 Phoenix gas briefly averaged about $5 a gallon, a bit above California's. Hobbs had been in office about three months. Phoenix gets its gasoline from Southern California refineries, and that winter their output for Arizona and Nevada fell from near five-year highs to near five-year lows. Tucson, which is supplied from Texas, paid less. The same thing happened in 2024 when California refineries went down for maintenance. No governor sets the price at a refinery in another state.

Schools. Arizona does rank last in ConsumerAffairs' education ranking, and it should embarrass all of us. But look at why. The state ranked dead last for school funding and has the most crowded classrooms in America, about 23 students per teacher. In 2025 a Maricopa County judge ruled that Arizona had chronically and unconstitutionally underfunded school buildings and repairs, by billions of dollars. Even Republican schools chief Tom Horne has said we are last in per-pupil funding. That shortfall was built over decades, and the Legislature, which Republicans have controlled for Hobbs's entire term, writes the budget. Pinning that on one governor in one term isn't an honest accounting.

Water. The 250-billion-gallon figure is accurate: Arizona must cut 760,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water a year, the largest share of any state. But Hobbs didn't "lose" it. The federal government imposed the cuts after the seven river states and tribes failed to agree, and Arizona sits at the back of the line for Colorado River water because of a priority deal struck in the 1960s, long before Hobbs took office. What Hobbs called avoiding disaster was exactly that. Federal officials had floated a 77% cut to the Central Arizona Project, the canal that serves Phoenix and Tucson; the final cut was about half. And when parts of the federal decision went too far, Arizona joined Nevada in suing over them this month.

Taxes. Hobbs did veto the Republican tax bill twice this year. Here's what the ad skips. She vetoed it because she wanted the cuts aimed at working families: a bigger standard deduction, no state tax on tips and overtime, and an extra $6000 deduction for seniors.  She argued the GOP version handed breaks to special interests and raised taxes on working seniors. The $1 billion" figure comes from her opponent's campaign; the Legislature's own budget analysts put the first-year cost at about $441 million. And the ad leaves out the ending: in June, Hobbs signed a $1.4 billion tax cut as part of the state budget. Whatever you think of the fight, "blocking tax relief" is not how it ended.

There are real debates to have about Arizona's schools, water and taxes, and voters should have them. But they should start from the full facts, not from a number pulled out of its context and stamped onto a flyer. Before you vote, check the source the ad cites. In every one of these cases, the rest of the story is right there.