So if you’re still engaging in the conversations about whether or not President Biden staying in the race helps or hurts our chances, The Guardian has a very good take on how one down ballot Democrat, U.S. Senate candidate and current Rep. Ruben Gallego (D. AZ), can actually save Biden in a crucial swing state:
Equis Research, a Democratic group started by Obama administration alumni, privately released a poll in May that showed Gallego, who is facing the former TV anchor and Trump acolyte Kari Lake in the Senate race, had the highest support among Democrats running for Senate in six key states compared with the president, outperforming Biden by 13 points among Latinos.
The previously unreported poll, shared with the Guardian by a source who was briefed, showed Biden’s Latino support at 54%, lagging his 2020 showing of 63%. Donald Trump, who has made no secret of his plans to deport millions should he lead the country in 2025, has continued to see a rise with Hispanics that began in 2020, and was up by about 10 points since then, the poll found.
The poll of 2,339 registered voters covering 12 battleground states, with 250 respondents in Arizona, offered similar findings to a poll of Latino voters released in June by Voto Latino.
It surveyed 2,000 swing state Hispanics, including 400 in Arizona. It found one in five Latino voters were considering a third-party candidate, and similar to previous Equis polling, it showed that Robert Kennedy Jr could harm Biden’s path in battleground states. In Arizona, Biden was at 45% support with Latinos, compared with 33% for Trump, and 13% for Kennedy.
Biden has sought to turn the page and stabilize his candidacy in the wake of the debate, receiving support on Monday from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, Representative Nanette Díaz Barragán, and deputy caucus chair, Adriano Espaillat.
While Equis found Gallego, a US representative first elected in 2014, well-liked among Latino voters in terms of favorability, it also found that Lake had the lowest net rating among GOP Senate candidates polled. Voto Latino similarly found her viewed poorly by Hispanics, with her net favorability at -32 points.
This dynamic in the state leads some to believe that it could be Gallego that lifts Biden’s boat.
“Gallego is going to drag Biden across the line in Arizona, I’ve been saying that for a while,” said Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican consultant and author of The Latino Century. “Where Blacks in South Carolina saved Biden’s fortunes in 2020, Arizona Latinos could save his presidency in 2024.”
A new Democratic group is coming to Arizona to aid those efforts, bringing with it a data-focused approach. Mi Vecino announced its $1m campaign exclusively to the Guardian, a push it says will not duplicate what other groups are doing, but is instead a surgical strike in four counties that aims to boost Biden and Gallego. While Biden won Arizona by fewer than 11,000 votes, turning the state blue for the first time since Bill Clinton in 1996, Mi Vecino aims to target a universe of 194,000 Latino voters in some rural and harder to reach counties.
Gallego is certainly in a strong position to defeat MAGA, Big Lie spreading nut job, Kari Lake (R. AZ):
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego raised a whopping $10.4 million for his Arizona Senate bid in the second quarter.
That’s his largest quarterly fundraising total this cycle and brings his total raised to $31 million, according to numbers shared first with POLITICO. Gallego ended June with $9.2 million in cash on hand.
Gallego is battling Republican Kari Lake for retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat. Gallego is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination in this month's primary, while Lake is the heavy favorite in the GOP race.
Gallego has been tacking the issues in this race:
Calling out Lake’s bull shit lies:
And reminding voters about this:
Primary Day in Arizona is on July 30th and early voting has begun. Friendly reminder, this is also at stake in November:
Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn H. King, who both signed the decision upholding Arizona’s controversial 1864 abortion ban, are up for retention in November.
"When judges overstep, Arizona voters have the power through our constitution to step in,” Abigail Jackson, with Progress Arizona, told ABC15 on Monday. “This decision was incredibly devastating, and absolutely dangerous for so many of us.”
She said voters should use their ballot in November to “hold these justices accountable, especially as this decision was very out of line with what the majority of us want.”
Health and Democracy are on the ballot this year and we need to make sure Gallego and Biden win Arizona. Click below to donate and get involved with Gallego, Biden and their fellow Arizona Democrats campaigns:
Ruben Gallego
Joe Biden
Arizona Democratic Party
