Arizona Democrats' No.1 Message: "Republicans Want To Destroy Our Democracy"
- The Guardian, Dec.19, 2023. Ed. - State party chair Yolanda Bejarano says Biden’s agenda of job creation and lowering family’s costs is a winner and recent polling does not capture where voters will be come election day. 🏜
Few states will have more influence over the country’s political future than Arizona. Once a ruby-red Republican stronghold, it is now a south-western battleground and the stakes couldn’t be higher for Arizonans – or Americans. In 2020, Joe Biden carried Arizona by just over 10,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in nearly a quarter-century.
Two years later, Democrats won statewide races for governor, secretary of state and attorney general and re-elected the Democratic senator Mark Kelly to a full six-year term. Now, Arizona is at the center of the battle for the White House and for control of Congress, with a marquee Senate race and a pair of closely contested House races. At the state level, Democrats are attempting to wrest control of the Arizona legislature for the first time in decades.
Republicans presently hold one-seat majorities in both the state senate and the state house.
To win in Arizona, Democrats say they must reassemble the coalition of moderate Republicans, suburban women, Latinos and young people who powered nail-biting victories for the party in recent election cycles. They also must confront widespread economic discontent in a state that saw some of the worst levels of inflation in the country last year. Frustration over high prices and housing affordability has hurt Biden’s standing in Arizona, where he trails Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, in a number of swing state polls.
As Democrats attempt a repeat of their successes in Arizona next year, Yolanda Bejarano, the state party chair, will play a crucial role in turning out the vote in what is expected to be another closely fought election. In an interview, Bejarano, a longtime union organizer and Arizona native, previewed Democrats’ strategy for winning her state. The Guardian’s interview with Bejarano has been edited for clarity and length: - Tell us how you got involved in politics. I was a union organizer for 18 years and I got involved in politics after Arizona passed SB 1070, which was the racial profiling bill...
- Read More, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/arizona-democrats-strategy-2024-election-biden-yolanda-bejarano