Hell yeah!
A student who survived the deadly Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida, is expected to help campaign for Democrat Hiral Tipirneni in the final days before Arizona's 8th Congressional District special election.
The visit by Alfonso Calderon, at least partially paid for by Tipirneni's campaign, would bring one of the voices that have helped reshape the nation's gun debate in the two months since a teen gunman allegedly killed 17 of his former schoolmates at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
His presence is part of a Democratic effort to end decades of Republican dominance in West Valley congressional politics. It coincides with local students' planned "die-in" protest on Friday, in which they will lie on the ground to simulate deaths from school shootings.
Calderon is joined by Charlie Mirsky, who was once a student of one of the teachers killed at Stoneman Douglas and has been one of the organizers for students after the shooting. Another student is no longer planning to come. Organizers for the visit originally identified the participants as three of the student survivors of the massacre.
While this Special Election is still in heavily GOP territory, Tipirneni has the GOP running scared:
Still, national GOP groups are spending significantly on the race. The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee have together put in over $900,000 for things like TV ads and door-to-door canvassers. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., headlined a fundraiser for Lesko on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Alex Conant, a Republican strategist with Firehouse Strategies, argued the money is an insurance policy.
"I think the costs for Republicans, if they were to somehow neglect the race and somehow lose, it would be a big problem," he said. "So I think that's part of why you're seeing the party make this modest investment."
In contrast, Democratic groups have spent very little, even as Tipirneni's campaign has raised more than Lesko's. To win, they'll need to convince voters like John Eckardt. He usually votes Republican but is nervous that the GOP might make changes to Medicare and Social Security.
"This fooling with Medicare and Social Security is a bad thing," he said. "Because people have worked for it and paid into it for all the years that they worked. They should get it."
Lesko said she'd never vote to cut those programs for current retirees, but has supported the idea of changes for future beneficiaries.
There's one wild card that makes GOP activist Lezlee Alexander nervous: "You never know what's coming out of D.C. and how it's gonna affect everybody."
Asked if she was referring to something President Trump might do or say, she said, "Yeah, exactly."
Tuesday's result could end Republicans' jitters — for now. Whichever candidate wins, of course, will have to run again this Fall.
Let’s pull off another Conor Lamb/Doug Jones-style victory here. Click here to donate and get involved with Dr. Tripirneni’s campaign.