On Sunday, June 2, authorities estimate that anywhere between two and three thousand Mexican nationals descended upon Phoenix and gathered beneath the scorching Arizona sun to vote. According to the Instituto Nacional Electoral, the Mexican government body charged with organizing the nation’s elections, only approximately 600 of those present at the Mexican Consulate Sunday were able to place their vote. A Spanish language outlet estimated the number to be up to 7,000.
Cuitláhuac Osorio Technical secretary of the Executive Directorate of the Federal Register of Voters of the National Electoral Institute (INE) told Conecta Arizona that the Mexican authorities are evaluating whether in-person voting should continue or if the government should switch to doing so electronically or at additional voting centers in the U.S. to accommodate Mexican nationals who are outside of the country on election day.
“Certainly, we did not foresee such an overwhelming participation, that so many people were going to suddenly appear before a Consulate; Having 2,000 or 3,000 people made the operation difficult for us in terms of being able to organize the lines, the resources and capacities that we had available to serve the citizens within the Consulate,” Osorio said (translated by Google).
In an interview with Maritza L. Félix, director and founder of the outlet, Osorio added, “We did not have that expectation of having that number of people outside the Consulate. It’s part of learning. We will have to evaluate other alternatives: for example, if this in-person modality would have to continue using electronic devices, if we would have to use ballots, if we would have to think about (more) voting centers. Nowadays the legislation does not allow it, that is, we were also limited to making the election within the Consulate. The INE will make a detailed evaluation, with all the recommendations.
Félix noted that likely many of the voters were, “People from New Mexico, from Texas, from northern Arizona, people who perhaps due to their irregular immigration status could not go to their homeland to exercise their right and decided to come to Phoenix.” The Mexican voters arrived as early as 5 AM on June 2nd coming from as far away as El Paso, TX.
“On this election day in which we witnessed there were thousands of people: according to representatives and volunteers of the INE, there were about 7,000 people who could have met at the consular headquarters. People from New Mexico, from Texas, from northern Arizona, people who perhaps due to their irregular immigration status could not go to their homeland to exercise their right and decided to come to Phoenix with the idea that there were 1,500 extra ballots. For example, the majority of people from Sonora who came could only vote for the Senate and the Presidency of the Republic,” Félix explained.
According to the outlet, the total number of Mexican nationals who voted from outside the country was 184,374, an increase of 87% over the previous election in 2018.
In social media posts on Friday afternoon The West Valley Republican & Independent Coalition, a non-profit PAC, stated that their office located on West Grand Ave. in Sun City, AZ “is almost a total loss,” after what is being called an electrical fire ripped through the building housing it overnight.
The organization wrote in a post to Facebook on Friday that the cause of the fire was electrical in nature saying, “Well, life sometimes sends us curveballs. And what a curveball this is: Our building had an electrical fire last night and our office is almost a total loss. Smoke damage is awful.”
Replying to comments, the organization stated that “everything was contaminated with poisonous chemicals from the fire.”
A volunteer effort in the early hours of Friday led by Chairman Cindy Newman and Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) with representatives from the Republican National Committee West Valley, American Majority Action, and GOP LD27 were reportedly able to clear the office of the PAC’s furniture and equipment in just three hours. The PAC expressed thanks in a post to Facebook minutes after the initial announcement.
The West Valley Republican & Independent Coalition is asking for donations to get the office cleaned and remediated, replacing all lost equipment and brought back into commission. According to the PAC’s website, “The West Valley Republican & Independent Coalition is a nonprofit PAC formed by local grassroots conservatives to provide a permanent office in the West Valley for the purpose of voter registration, voter outreach, distribution of political literature and as a meeting place for groups and individuals. The mission of the office is to foster an educated and informed electorate.
The PAC is self-funded through donations and has no paid staff or consultants. All funds donated to the PAC are utilized to pay rent, utilities, supplies, and to promote events.”
Chairman Cindy Newman speaking with AZ Free News confirmed that the fire was electrical in nature and started in another office in the complex. The damage was primarily caused by toxic smoke, and the office is closed indefinitely. The insurance on the office is insufficient to cover the massive losses in excess of $30,000. The organization is seeking an alternate meeting location.
“We’re going to come back even better than before I say,” Newman said. “I think we’ll come back better than what we were and we’ll have an incredible grand re-opening.”
The temperature was a paltry 105 degrees as several thousand Trump supporters flooded the area surrounding the Dream Center Church on Cave Creek Road in Phoenix, AZ. Reports from the Phoenix Fire Department confirmed 11 people were transported to area hospitals to be treated for heat related issues. Nonetheless, the 3,600 house of worship was filled to capacity, with “thousands” turned away according to former President Donald Trump. The Turning Point USA event entitled, “Chase the Vote,” highlighted efforts of the Trump campaign to ensure a massive turnout in the 2024 election.
Beginning his remarks shortly after 2 PM, Trump expressed his thanks to members of Arizona’s GOP Congressional delegation including Congressmen Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar in addition to outgoing Congresswoman Debbie Lesko who is seeking a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Trump endorsed Lesko in her pursuit of what he called “an important job,” noting, “We’ve gotta get them on our side Debbie,” referring to the board led by Chairman Jack Sellers. He added, “You know they’re Republicans but they act like Democrats. We gotta get em’ on our side.”
Trump confidently told the audience that he is “working my *ss off for it to be too big to rig!”
I'M WORKING MY *SS OFF FOR IT TO BE TOO BIG TO RIG! – President Donald Trump@TPUSA
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) June 6, 2024
Trump also voiced his support for U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake as well saying, “She’s out there and she’s a warrior I’ll tell you. And she’s a very fine person and a great, great, she’s a great family person, and a great person who loves our country. You’re gonna be your next senator. She’s gotta be your next senator because she’s running against somebody, she’s running against somebody who’s for open borders. Do you like open borders? I don’t think so. You gotta elect Kari Lake. She’s gonna be fantastic. Thank you, Kari. She’s incredible. She’s gonna do a good job. The campaign is just beginning.”
JUST IN @PHXFire says it's transported a total of 11 people to hospital after reports of heat exhaustion outside Donald Trump rally at church. Temp 106 with 15 minutes to go before rally's 2 pm start. https://t.co/DsC2XzEDtd
Trump heavily criticized President Joe Biden for his recent executive order limiting asylum claims in the United States lampooning him for “importing more illegal aliens than the population of forty of our fifty states.” The former President soundly dismissed the executive order observing, “If Joe Biden truly wanted to sign an executive order to stop the invasion, he only needs the single, think of it, a single sentence,” he said.
That sentence: “I hereby immediately reinstate every single border policy of the gentleman named Donald J. Trump.”
Trump also announced to raucous applause that he is leading among Hispanic voters citing recent polls. He jokingly suggested that he too had a ‘catch and release policy’, but noted that “I released them in Mexico.”
“I ran because I saw such stupidity,” he said referring to Biden’s border policies, “He wants to turn every single illegal alien that he lets across the border into a voting citizen.”
“By contrast I want to send Joe Biden’s illegal aliens back home… Joe Biden wants an invasion, I want a deportation.”
"Joe Biden wants an invasion; I want a deportation!" – President Donald Trump@TPUSA
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) June 6, 2024
Zeroing in on the Biden border policy’s implications for Arizona Trump explained, “Biden’s order is not a border security plan. It’s a concession to the fact that he has lost control over our border. He has totally lost control over the border into a really dangerous place. He is conceding death and he is conceding defeat at the border. On day one of my administration I will be rescinding crooked Joe’s outrageous executive order. And I will be slamming the door shut on the Biden migrant app, and I will terminate every single open borders policy of the Biden administration as soon as I take the oath of office.
“It will take place, it will take place on the exact same day. I don’t need to wait weeks. It’s going to be done on the same day that we together, we all take the oath of office. As the result of Biden’s action this week there will be more innocent Americans killed by illegal criminals or more children trafficked and sold into slavery and millions more illegal aliens pouring into our country and many will come through a very beautiful place known as Arizona. Right? Arizona. I tell you, it’s so sad to see what has happened here.”
Sheriff Joe took the stage and, in a heartfelt moment, told President Trump that he is the only Hero he's ever had in his life.@TPUSA
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) June 6, 2024
During his remarks Trump brought former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a candidate for Fountain Hills Mayor onto the stage. The fellow Republican recalled to the gathered audience how Trump took the time to call his late wife Ava, an avid Trump supporter, seven times before she passed away in 2021 after battling cancer.
Addressing his recent conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, Trump was direct “Those appellate courts have to step up and straighten things out or we’re not going to have a country anymore.”
On June 1, Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs released a video on X extolling Pride Month and her pro-LGBTQ+ policies. However, the contrast between Hobbs’ full support of LGBTQ+ interests and her past behavior did not go unnoticed by Brian Anderson, Founder of the Saguaro Group and Arizona Capitol Oversight.
This isn’t the first time either, as Anderson described his attention to the matter as “yearly.” Anderson brought back to light the seldom reported allegation that Hobbs removed her “preferred pronouns” and support for #BLM from her Twitter account prior to launching her 2022 campaign for governor.
Sharing Hobbs video to X, Anderson wrote, “Yearly #PrideMonth reminder that @KatieHobbs deleted her “gender pronouns” from her Twitter bio right before running for #AZGov so that voters didn’t know she’s weird lmao.” Accompanying his message were a pair of screenshots of Hobbs personal Twitter bio before and after her campaign announcement.
A search of the social media platform did reveal previous iterations of the post from 2022. Hobbs’ Republican opponent Kari Lake’s campaign posted a similar tweet in August of 2022 stating, “This as her bio before @katiehobbs announced for Governor. Before she started pretending she hadn’t spent her entire political career on the lunatic fringe of the radical left. We’re very curious about Katie’s updated pronouns & whether she still believes Black Lives Matter.”
This was her bio before @katiehobbs announced for Governor.
Before she started pretending she hadn't spent her entire political career on the lunatic fringe of the radical left.
We're very curious about Katie's updated pronouns & whether she still believes Black Lives Matter. pic.twitter.com/50Oekpiy02
On June 1, Hobbs ordered the Ninth Floor balcony of the Arizona Executive Building festooned with four “pride” flags and offered the statement, “I’m proud to stand tall for an Arizona that’s for everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community,” she said according to The AZ Mirror.
“To the LGBTQ+ Arizonans, we celebrate the light and energy you bring to our state, and I will continue to work alongside you until we have an Arizona where everyone, no matter who they are or who they love, has the safety, freedom and opportunity to truly live their authentic lives.”
However, absent from the proliferation of media coverage was any inquiry as to why Hobbs chose to remove her ‘preferred pronouns’ and her support of BLM from her bio prior to launching her gubernatorial campaign.
The latest poll released from Noble Predictive Insights has shown that, when compared to a pre-abortion ban reversal poll last year, public opinion on abortion in Arizona has remained largely the same, with the state’s apparent rejection of abortion on demand or “legal under any circumstances” remaining consistent with 60% of respondents. Of the voters opposed, 11% said abortion should be illegal regardless of circumstances while 49% said it should be permitted “only under certain circumstances.”
The poll, conducted by NPI from May 7-14, compared consistently with a similar February poll that predated the state Supreme Court ruling on the 1864 abortion ban re-activated by the reversal of the Roe v. Wade ruling. David Byler, NPI Chief of Research said in a press release, “When Roe was overturned, a significant chunk of the electorate moved left on abortion. But the 1864 law didn’t have a comparable effect in Arizona. The governor and legislature moved quickly on the 1864 law, so it didn’t change the landscape much.”
Among the voters who agreed that abortion is acceptable under “certain circumstances” the support for each reason broke down as:
Cases where the mother’s life was endangered (85%)
Instances of rape (82%)
Cases of incest (78%)
Babies at risk of severe complications (57%)
Within a certain timeframe (45%)
47% support within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy (within the first missed menstrual cycle/prior to a heartbeat).
43% support up to 15 weeks (roughly the end of the first trimester of pregnancy).
Support significantly drops off at 24 weeks or late-term with only 9% and again at 40 weeks or full-term at just 1%.
The pro-abortion politicos and activists who are working on a ballot initiative to enshrine a “right to abortion” up to any point before fetal viability (typically between 22-24 weeks) are likely to find the battle a contentious one with Arizonans evenly split according to NPI at 41% in favor and 41% against, fighting for the 18% of undecided voters.
As noted above, only 9% of those polled were comfortable with the 22-24 week timeframe with a majority of the support resting at the six and fifteen week marks. Arizona’s current statute places the limit at fifteen weeks already.
As reported by Tucson.com, the language of the initiative could prove even more problematic with the determining point of “fetal viability” being “in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional, is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.”
The poll also indicated that abortion, though important, is hardly an Arizonan’s top priority. Twenty-two percent of registered voters in Arizona said that immigration was the most important of their top three issues, with abortion only amounting to 12%. Inflation weighed heavily with 19% of voters naming it as their top issue. Affordable housing accounted for 12% of the first choice with climate change, taxes, national defense, healthcare, education, the income gap, LGBT rights, and gun policies all coming it at single digits.
Simply put, Tuesday’s poll appears to indicate that the upcoming election in Arizona could be far more decisively driven by economic factors than abortion, an issue where Arizonans’ opinions seem to be largely locked-in.
