With one week left to go before the election, the Senate race between Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly and Republican challenger Blake Masters tightened up even more.
On Tuesday, Libertarian candidate Marc Victor dropped out of the race and endorsed Masters after speaking with the GOP candidate about his platform. Victor said that his main purpose in running was to ensure the protection of freedom and endorse his global peace advocacy organization, Live and Let Live.
Victor declared that Masters, not Kelly, aligned with his vision for improving America.
“I think we need to unite the reasonable people of the world,” said Victor. “Given where we are right now and given our options right now, Blake Masters is the best choice for United States Senate.”
Registered libertarians account for less than one percent of all voters (32,148) while independents account for nearly 34 percent of all voters (over 1.4 million). Together, that’s several hundred less than total registered Republicans (over 1.43 million) and nearly 166,000 more than registered Democrats (over 1.27 million).
Victors’ withdrawal and endorsement comes nearly a month into voting. Early voting began nearly three weeks ago, on October 12.
— Blake Masters for U.S. Senate Press (@MastersPress) November 1, 2022
According to the latest poll released Tuesday, Kelly and Masters are neck and neck at 47 percent. The average of all previous polling reflects Kelly leading Masters by three points.
While Masters’ latest campaign boost came from a now-former opponent, Kelly showcased a campaign boost from the original Luke Skywalker: famed Star Wars actor Mark Hamill.
Something cool is happening this afternoon: @MarkHamill and I will be on a Zoom talking about hyperspace and galaxies far, far away. If you want to join us, here's a good link: https://t.co/PsXdx628sU
With one week left before Election Day, Twitter suspended Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem and state representative candidate Christian Lamar.
Within hours of notifying Twitter’s new, free speech-friendly owner, Elon Musk, Finchem was reinstated. Musk changed his Twitter bio to read “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator” around the same time. As of Tuesday morning, Lamar’s account was reinstated also.
.@elonmusk thank you for fixing my Twitter ban. Please unban @ChristianForAZ and verify gubernatorial candidate @dougmastriano. He should have had a blue check like months ago. Thank you, sir. Great job so far! #AZSOS
— Mark Finchem #JustFollowTheLaw VoteFinchem.com (@RealMarkFinchem) November 1, 2022
My Twitter account was locked/limited but unlocked now. My Nextdoor account was disabled 5x’s & now re-enabled. Haters steal our campaign signs, smear me & lock/disable accounts. GOD is much more powerful than my political enemies. Vote Lamar on Nov 8th!https://t.co/B97TarfoNSpic.twitter.com/EDN5rJtkNY
Finchem, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, issued a call to action concerning his suspension via Truth Social and press releases.
“Twitter has blocked my account from speaking truth with one week left until the election. They are trying to put their thumb on the scales of this election. Tag Elon Musk and tell him to unban me right now. I am the Secretary of State nominee in a swing state running against the criminal Soros-funded candidate,” Finchem wrote.
Musk promised he was “looking into it,” after lawyer and Newsmax contributor Jenna Ellis tagged him. Minutes later, Finchem’s suspension was rescinded.
Finchem said that a “commie” Twitter employee was to blame for the suspension. He said that a tweet instructing Arizonans to boo former President Barack Obama at a campaign rally may have been the reason for his suspension. Twitter didn’t inform Finchem which tweet incurred punishment.
What tweet got me in trouble? Probably the one that made Obama mad when I told people to boo him at his AZ rally. Assuming he called some of his commie holdovers at Twitter HQ to mess with me. #VoteFinchem#JustFollowTheLaw#AZSOS
— Mark Finchem #JustFollowTheLaw VoteFinchem.com (@RealMarkFinchem) November 1, 2022
The publicity of the Twitter suspension and Musk’s involvement prompted a response from Adrian Fontes, Finchem’s opponent. Fontes insinuated that Musk reduced his reach on Twitter.
Please turn on your notifications to see my tweets. Because Elon. Have a nice evening.
Democrats appear to be distancing themselves from Democratic Maricopa County Attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle in order to secure wins for themselves and other members of their party.
The latest indication of this comes from footage shared with AZ Free News in which Chad Campbell, former minority leader for the state legislature and Democratic consultant, said that Gunnigle’s campaign resembled the Democratic Party’s “worst campaign” over the last 30 years in Arizona. Campbell was referring to failed 2018 gubernatorial candidate David Garcia.
“[Gunnigle’s campaign] reminds me of that: not knowing the audience, not knowing the issues that matter to a lot of voters,” stated Campbell. “And I will say this: the vast majority of Democrats that I know all believe that there needs to be reforms in law enforcement, we believe there needs to be more accountability. But almost everybody I talk to, nobody wants to defund the police, everybody knows we need more public safety resources, which will actually make more accountability.”
Campbell indicated that voters weren’t keen on “defund the police” rhetoric — an association Gunnigle has attempted to shake unsuccessfully. A portion of Gunnigle’s campaign money can be traced back to George Soros — the Democratic dark money kingpin known for establishing progressive prosecutors across the country.
The County Attorney is not in charge of funding the police. That's basic civics.
My opponent is attacking me over supporting mental health first responders.
Gunnigle has historically aligned with individuals and groups calling for police defunding. She advocated for the city of Phoenix to shift $25 million from the police budget to mental health and youth programs — an initiative called “25 Saves Phoenix Lives” launched by the nonprofit Poder in Action.
On June 17th, Phoenix City Council will vote on its final 2020-21 budget. This budget does not reallocate the $25 million increase for the Phoenix Police Department budget to mental health and youth programs. Let’s change that. #25SavesPHXLiveshttps://t.co/xv3iO437Xm
Campbell’s remarks are the latest in a series of developments indicating that Democratic Party candidates and leaders are distancing themselves from Gunnigle ahead of the election.
Democratic attorney general candidate Kris Mayes told voters during the debate hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce last month that she wouldn’t endorse Gunnigle. Mayes said she disagreed with some of Gunnigle’s positions.
That’s a complete flip from two years ago. Mayes endorsed Gunnigle’s first run for Maricopa County attorney.
“She believes in greater accountability in politics and in our government, and she also will bring greater transparency to the office of Maricopa County attorney itself,” said Mayes.
Gunnigle also doesn’t have the support of Paul Penzone, the county’s top sheriff and a Democrat. In an interview with KTAR last month, Penzone said that Gunnigle’s platform concerned him. Namely, Gunnigle’s promise to prosecute law enforcement more harshly for errors.
“It’s not the fact that they’re willing to do so if there’s merit, but, if your intentions are solely to be more about oversight and prosecution of law enforcement versus being balanced in your responsibilities across the board, then it’s not a place really for activism,” said Penzone. “It’s a place for a foundation of just being sound in your duties and being fair and just.”
This distancing may reflect a greater sentiment within the Democratic Party. According to the Arizona Progress Gazette, statewide and state legislature Democratic candidates were instructed not to appear in pictures with Gunnigle.
Criticisms of top Democratic Party leaders from Gunnigle and her campaign may have lended to this development. In July, Gunnigle called President Joe Biden “the architect of mass incarceration.” Gunnigle said there was a difference between her, a “reform-minded” candidate and the party leader. Her controversial campaign manager, Bruce Franks, also called Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07) and secretary of state candidate Adrian Fontes “anti-black” in February.
Those are just criticisms from this year. Over the past few years, both Gunnigle and Franks have excoriated Arizona’s Democratic leaders such as Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Editor’s Note: Since our story published, search results for Kari Lake now show her campaign website on Google’s first page.
Google appears to be skewing search results of Arizona’s gubernatorial candidates to favor the Democratic candidates over the Republicans. AZ Free News monitored search results over the past week and discovered indications of a consistent bias for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs and secretary of state candidate Adrian Fontes, over their respective Republican opponents Kari Lake and Mark Finchem.
It’s likely the latest in Google’s history of attempting to sway election outcomes. The Big Tech giant historically referred to their technique of manipulating search results as “ephemeral experiences.” Google has admitted to manufacturing this information in order to change people’s attitudes and behavior concerning politics.
A search of “Katie Hobbs” brings up Hobbs’ website as the first result, followed by top news portraying Hobbs favorably. A sample of articles featured over the weekend: an MSNBC interview that she’s the sane candidate, a Fox News report that she has “Republicans” campaigning for her, a KTAR report that former President Barack Obama will stump for her and Senator Mark Kelly, and an Insider report on Fox News mistakenly screening mock election results of a Hobbs victory.
After those articles, it’s Hobbs’ secretary of state website, her Twitter feed, her Wikipedia page, an endorsement by pro-abortion group Emily’s List, her Ballotpedia, her Facebook, and various coverage of the burglary of her campaign office.
Then there’s the results of a search on “Kari Lake.” Her campaign website doesn’t appear on any of the first 11 search result pages, and doesn’t appear even when omitted results are included. Lake’s website appears sporadically via ads, alongside which there are usually ads asking voters to donate to Hobbs.
Search results for Lake yield a Wikipedia page first, followed by top news portraying Lake unfavorably. Here were some of the articles featured over the weekend: multiple outlets’ coverage of “Saturday Night Live” mocking Lake and other Trump-backed candidates, multiple outlets’ reports on former congresswoman Liz Cheney’s millions and latest ad to defeat Lake, an Arizona Republic report detailing Attorney General Mark Brnovich accusing Lake of running a “giant grift,” and a Politico report on Lake using “MAGA star power.” After those articles, it’s Lake’s Ballotpedia, her Twitter feed, several YouTube videos, a Washington Post article, her Instagram feed, and her Facebook page.
Something similar occurs when voters look up the secretary of state candidates. A search for “Mark Finchem” yields his state legislator profile first, not his website, followed by his Wikipedia page and a collection of “top stories” characterizing Finchem as an “election denier” and target of Cheney’s PAC. Whereas a search for “Adrian Fontes” yields his campaign website first, followed by his Ballotpedia profile, endorsements, social media profiles, and two individual links to news coverage detailing Fontes’ campaign platform. Absent from the first page of results are “top stories” portraying Fontes in any negative light.
The same can’t be said for other races. Google search results for attorney general candidates Abraham Hamadeh (R) and Kris Mayes (D) yield their websites first, followed by Ballotpedia and social media accounts — no top news stories aggregated near the top.
The same is true for the search results for Maricopa County attorney, superintendent, treasurer, and state legislative candidates. U.S. House and Senate races don’t reflect that bias, either.
Google has a history of political favoritism of the left. Evidence of their role in elections became evident following the 2016 presidential election.
In last Thursday’s episode of Fox News “Tucker Carlson Today,” acclaimed psychologist and researcher Robert Epstein said that Google modifies its search results to influence voters. That’s in addition to the fact that Google is one of the top surveillance entities in the world.
Epstein, a Biden voter, said that his research confirmed whistleblower testimonies of Google’s election influence. Throughout the 2016 election, Epstein monitored Google activity using 1,735 voters across four swing states. In all, Epstein gleaned around 1.5 million ephemeral experiences across not only Google, but Bing, YouTube, and Facebook.
Epstein asserted that the biggest issue in elections wasn’t fraud but the Big Tech companies’ unchecked influence.
“I was nauseated that our data were [sic] telling us that this election was in the hands of private companies, Google in particular. Literally, that there is no more democracy, there is no more free and fair election, it’s just an illusion,” stated Epstein.
Epstein said that Google and YouTube influenced search results to favor far-left ideology. He estimated that Google’s influence in search results affected around 6 million votes in 2020.
“What we found was extreme liberal bias on Google — which is the only real search engine that counts — and hardly any bias on Bing and Yahoo,” said Epstein.
Arizona doesn’t appear to be the top priority for the Big Tech giant this year, despite evidence of their handiwork in the gubernatorial and secretary of state races. According to Epstein’s research, Google’s current primary focus is Wisconsin.
Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee (RNC) sued Google over claims of censorship. The RNC provided research indicating that the Big Tech giant sends its campaign emails to spam folders automatically to suppress its fundraising and get-out-the-vote messages.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Recipients of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program appear to be wrestling with shoulder angels and devils over how they should spend their relief funds.
According to a recent survey of 1,250 applicants by Intelligent, 75 percent expressed interest in spending on essential items like groceries while 73 percent expressed interest in spending on nonessential items like vacations. 60 percent of these applicants said that student loans had an adverse impact on their life.
66 percent were likely to pay off their rent or mortgage, 65 percent were likely to pay off credit card debt, 62 percent were likely to fund transportation costs, 60 percent were likely to pay off medical care or other debts, and 40 percent were likely to pay for childcare.
Comparatively, 52 percent were likely to buy new clothing and accessories, 46 percent were likely to go on a vacation, 46 percent were likely to eat out, 44 percent were likely to buy a smartphone, 43 percent were likely to invest in the stock market, 42 percent were likely to buy gifts, 36 percent were likely to buy a gaming system, 30 percent were likely to finance their wedding, 28 percent were likely to buy drugs or alcohol, and 27 percent were likely to go gambling.
Despite 73 percent of respondents saying that they would spend their forgiveness funds on nonessentials, 73 percent also said that doing so would be wrong. 84 percent of male respondents were likely to spend on nonessentials, versus 65 percent of female respondents; 80 percent of male respondents said that doing so would be wrong, versus 67 percent of females.
Twice as many Democratic applicants as Republicans insisted that these types of expenditures were acceptable.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Biden’s student loan forgiveness program earlier this month (Missouri v. Biden). Despite the hold, the Biden administration told reporters that it continues to accept and review applications.
Biden predicted last Thursday that the order would soon lift, saying that his administration would be mailing checks sometime this week or the next. The funds wouldn’t be mailed in check form, but would be applied directly to their loan balances.
The president criticized Republicans for fighting the controversial program.
Nearly 22 million of 40 million eligible borrowers have applied for student loan forgiveness. Over 1.3 million Arizonans at least are eligible for relief. Applications don’t close until the end of next year.
Exactly one week ago, we launched our application where folks could apply for student loan debt relief. Over 22 million people provided the information we need to consider them for relief.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced reforms to other student loan forgiveness programs, such as relief for those victimized by colleges with false advertising or other forms of fraud. The administration also reformed rules for student loan forgiveness for government and nonprofit workers.
Join me at Delaware State University as I deliver remarks on student debt relief. https://t.co/itXrvGofUF
