Senate Bill 1010, sponsored by Senate President Warren Petersen, would have required a “reasonable amount” of new signage to be erected for the new “Charlie Kirk Loop 202” but would have retained other regional names for the roadway, including Red Mountain Freeway, Santan Freeway and the Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway.

Hobbs’s veto letter for SB1010 was nearly identical to the one she issued March 6 for Senate Bill 1439, the Kirk license plate bill. 

“Charlie Kirk’s assassination is tragic and a horrifying act of violence,” she wrote. “In America, we resolve our political differences at the ballot box. No matter who it targets, political violence puts us all in harm’s way and damages our sacred democratic institutions.”

In a press release issued shortly after Hobbs announced her veto, Petersen chastised her. 

“Charlie Kirk called Arizona home and built a national movement centered on free speech, civic engagement, and American values,” Petersen said in a statement. “He inspired millions of Americans, especially young people, to get involved in their communities and participate in the political process.”

Petersen accused Hobbs of violating a precedent of bipartisan support for naming roadways after political figures regardless of their party. 

“Congressman Ed Pastor, a Democrat, has a major freeway named in his honor, and it was recognized as a tribute to his service and contributions to this state,” he wrote. “Today’s decision marks a clear departure from Arizona’s long-standing tradition of recognizing impact over politics.”

Unlike Kirk, Pastor had a reputation for working quietly across the aisle with Republicans and eschewing the cable news spotlight.  

Kirk toured campuses across the U.S. speaking on hard-right topics, including anti-LGBTQ positions and encouraging young women to abandon schooling and their careers in favor of aspiring to be wives and mothers. 

Among TPUSA’s projects was the “Professor Watchlist” that published the names of professors across the country in searchable format by categories, including “anti-Christian views,” “feminism,” “climate alarmist” and “racial ideology,” according to its web page. Kirk’s fans regularly harassed those professors, and many received death threats from TPUSA’s followers.

“Governor Hobbs didn’t just veto a bill,” Petersen wrote. “She broke with a long-standing Arizona tradition of recognizing impact over politics. Charlie Kirk inspired millions of Americans to engage in their communities, speak freely, and exercise their First Amendment rights. He built something that reached far beyond Arizona, and he brought that energy right here to our state. That kind of influence matters.”