A supporter of Ann Kirkpatrick is admitting that Howard Shanker has largely overcome her overwhelming advantage in funding to bring the race to within four points.
Kirkpatrick is heavily funded by the DCCC, but Shanker, an environmental attorney, is supported by grassroots progressives in the race.
Kirkpatrick supporter Eli Blake recently wrote:
A few weeks ago I thought that Kirkpatrick had it in the bag, but recently Flagstaff Attorney Howard Shanker has been running very strongly. Shanker represents the Navajos in an ongoing lawsuit to prevent Arizona Snow Bowl from using treated wastewater to make artificial snow on the San Francisco Peaks (considered sacred by the Navajo--- think of the Mapplethorpe exhibit and the crucifix in urine and you get the idea of how they feel about it.) Right now, after several rounds in court that have gone both ways, the ski resort has won the latest round but it is likely to be appealed, maybe even up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Shanker has a lot of enthusiastic volunteers and seems to have boundless energy. .
I don't think I've gone to a major event in the past two years where I haven't seen either Howard Shanker (often personally) or someone representing him. Working against Shanker are the huge geographical size of the district and the fact that he has been far less successful at fundraising than Kirkpatrick. Shanker is the most liberal of the leading candidates and he has a lot of personal charisma.
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As generous as Blake is to Shanker, he makes two major mistakes in his article. Kirkpatrick is not supported by the Sierra Club, but rather a conservation-sounding organization fronting for the DCCC. Also, Kirkpatrick does not speak Apache, but rather knows a few words that she does not pronounce well.
It is interesting that Blake puts the race within four points even after Kirkpatrick has spent her funding advantage on six mailings to the district.
Volunteers are calling likely primary voters in an effort to close the remaining gap before the Sept. 2 primary.
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