Arizona is a politically intriguing state. The last of the 48 contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, for many years it was among the most minor of electoral prizes. In the first eight presidential elections of which it was a part it had only the minimum 3 electoral votes. In 1944 and 1948 it had 4. The state voted Democratic more often than not.
But starting in the postwar era, Arizona began to grow, and along with this growth it became increasingly Republican and conservative. The state voted Republican 11 straight times (1952 through 1992), often by lopsided margins. Bill Clinton broke the streak in 1996, but beginning in 2000 the state reverted to its traditional ways. So 16 times out of the last 17 the state has voted against us. Indeed, two Republican presidential candidates (Goldwater and McCain) came from the Grand Canyon state. One would think Arizona was anything but promising.
But things are changing in Arizona. In 2016, the Treasonous Orange Shitgibbon only carried the state by a margin of 3.5 percentage points (48.08% to 44.58%). Counties carried by Clinton: Apache (62%), Coconino, Pima (Tucson), and Santa Cruz. In the big prize, Maricopa, the Phoenix region, which cast over half the state’s vote, Clinton ran behind by only 2.9 points.
Arizona elected a Democratic U.S. Senator in 2018, Kyrsten Sinema, and seems poised to elect a Democrat in 2020 as well. (I think that if that happened it would make Martha McSally unique in American political history as the only person to lose both her party’s U.S. Senate seats in a state.) Five of the state’s 9 U.S. House members are Democrats. In the state government we hold only 3 of the 11 executive offices, although there is a Democratic Secretary of State. In the state legislature we made gains in 2018. The Arizona Senate is split 17R-13D, and the House is split 31R-29D.
Demographically, Arizona has changed a great deal over the years. Courtesy of our friends at the Census Bureau, we find that 54% of the state is white, about 32% of the state’s people are Hispanic, about 5% Native American, about 5% black, and a little less than 4% Asian. In short, Arizona is ethnically a mixed bag.
Arizona is currently being hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the response to the pandemic by Arizona’s Trumpazoid Republican governor, Doug Ducey, has been appallingly inept. Combined with a still serious economic situation, the state finds itself in real trouble. Joe Biden is currently up in Arizona by 7% in the highly regarded Siena College/NYT poll, and Nate Silver’s aggregate shows Biden ahead by about 5%. Arizona and its 11 electoral votes are WINNABLE. We can gain a U.S. Senate seat as well on the strength of our excellent candidate, Mark Kelly. We can make Arizona blue...if we’re willing to work for it!
If you want to help GOTV in Arizona, look at AZ Dems. They’re rarin’ to go! (Here’s the general site for the Arizona Democratic Party.)
Here is a BIG one, The Maricopa County Democratic Party. If we win Maricopa, we win Arizona!
One Arizona fights against vote suppression.
Here’s a list of progressive organizations in Arizona.
Check out Arizona Wins.
The Liberal Activist Toolkit has all kinds of useful links.
Here’s a bunch of Democratic clubs in the Tucson/southern AZ region.
If you are in Arizona, it’s imperative that you look at this: Arizona Voting Guide. It’s full of VITAL information.
As always, check out these links:
POSTCARDS TO VOTERS.
VOTE FORWARD’S LETTERS TO VOTERS.
TEXT OUT THE VOTE.
THE MoveOn TEXT TEAM
And don’t close the door on canvassing just yet! There are safe ways in which this can be done!
Our Target Groups: WHERE THE VOTES ARE
ID REQUIREMENTS FOR EVERY STATE, HOW TO OBTAIN VOTER IDs
1. Information from The National Conference of State Legislatures, located here. This is an excellent source.
2. Information from Ballotpedia, here. This has a wealth of detail.
3. VoteRiders will help people obtain voter IDs. Take a look here.
ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUIREMENTS
Vote.org
Absentee and Early Voting
REGISTERING TO VOTE
1. State voting requirements can be found at U.S. Vote Foundation, located here.
2. You can register people to vote at Vote.Org, located right here.
3. You can not only register to vote at this site, you can check your current eligibility, right here.
WORKING WITH DEMOCRATIC GROUPS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
1. Act Local put this guide out last year. It has plenty of good information, and I’m sure they’re already cranking up for 2020. Take a look here.
2. You want to be part of a fighting organization? Check out Indivisible, right here.
3. Check out Wave 2020, right here. Their list of local organizations is here.
4. Take a look at SwingLeft, right here. And their swing state project is HERE.
5. The Action Network has links to let you volunteer in key states.
FOR AMERICANS ABROAD AND MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY
And Democrats Abroad has valuable information.
And take a look here:
The Campaign Workshop: GOTV for Democrats
Nuts & Bolts, right here on DKos.
Progressives Everywhere
National Democratic Training Committee
Progressive Turnout Project
For the Win (county-wide GOTV)
Daily Kos Groups (from Kossack mettle fatigue)
Sister District Project (for winning state legislatures)
Joe Biden’s Take Action Page.
And MICHELLE OBAMA is ready to go BIG on GOTV!
Here are ALL of the state Democratic parties!
We need your help BIG TIME this year! Never think we’ve got this in the bag. We need to be fighting EVERY day.
And your money is vital as well. ActBlue is a handy-dandy way to contribute.
Let’s turn Arizona BLUE!!
Now this is what I want to see!
