This week, the Arizona Republican Party reported that the AZGOP’s fundraising efforts “crushed” the party’s goals for the third quarter of 2024, raising a total of $9.22 million.
According to a press release from the party, the Republicans credited the success with Arizonans being “FED UP with the radical Harris/Walz agenda and the dangerous, California-style policies like Prop 140,” adding that they are “threatening” the state.
Chairwoman Gina Swoboda said in a statement, “This $9.22 million haul shows just how serious Arizonans are about WINNING this fight. Our supporters are fueling a movement that will stop the disastrous radical Left policies and ensure Arizona NEVER becomes California. We’re ready to turn out voters in November and WIN.”
The AZGOP noted that the fundraising effort will “supercharge” the party’s war chest going into the endgame of the 2024 election adding the funding is for “crucial efforts to protect Arizona from the Left’s overreach, defend our elections, and mobilize voters across the state.”
In its monthly newsletter, the AZGOP reported that the fundraising efforts are working to fund the Arizona Republican Coordinated Campaign (AZRCC) which it described as “the driving force behind securing Republican victories in November. Unlike traditional independent expenditures, the AZRCC works directly with candidates in critical swing districts, deploying targeted voter contact campaigns to ensure success at the ballot box.”
The party is currently engaged in 18 legislative races and is campaigning heavily to defeat the controversial, California-esque Propositions 140 and 139. As reported by The Hill earlier this month, the Republican party on a national level has lagged on spending in Arizona with only $17 million in aired ad spending in the state.
In a January interview with Steve Bannon’s Warroom, Swoboda told the host that the AZGOP came into the year with “no money,” as State Affairs noted the party ended 2023 with approximately $160,000 cash on hand. Republican consultant Chuck Coughlin told the outlet that the decision to move the party’s headquarters and sell the existing location near Park Central was “prudent.” He told State Affairs, “It seems Ms. Swoboda is making the best of a bad situation.”
Republican Congressional candidate for Arizona’s 8th District Abe Hamadeh received a key endorsement on Friday from the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC).
Hamadeh, a former candidate for Arizona Attorney General, was already endorsed by President Donald Trump in July alongside his primary opponent Blake Masters in a rare ‘twofer’ endorsement.
NBPC President Paul Perez wrote in an announcement posted on X, “The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) @bpunion proudly endorses Abe Hamadeh in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Abe has dedicated his life to serving this great nation, ensuring our security and upholding the rule of law. He truly understands what is happening along our borders and what the men and women of the NBPC experience each and every day. We know Abe and we know that he will be a tireless advocate for border security, public safety and restoring law and order. Join us in supporting Abe Hamadeh for Congress and make our borders secure again.”
The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) @bpunion proudly endorses Abe Hamadeh in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Abe has dedicated his life to serving this great nation, ensuring our security and upholding the rule of law. He truly understands what is happening along our…
In a recent interview with Fox News, Hamadeh readily laid the crisis at the border—and resultant flood of illegal immigrants and subsequent crime—at the feet of Vice President Kamala Harris and the “radical” immigration policies enacted by the Biden-Harris administration. He particularly pointed to the role it has played in Maricopa County’s increasing gang violence.
“The border is the number one issue for everybody,” Hamadeh told the outlet.
“Every time I’m in my district, it’s the number one issue people talk about because they see the effects of the border crisis every single day, and we’ve had nighttime burglary, robberies happening in Arizona, in Maricopa County, particularly, these Chilean, illegal immigrants from Chile, this Chilean gang that were breaking into people’s homes.”
He explained, “So you’re starting to see it’s not just crime on the streets, in the inner cities, but now it’s going into the sort of suburbs and that’s why the border, everywhere I go, it’s the number one issue.”
The gangs Hamadeh refers to, described in the media as “tourist burglars” or “dinnertime thieves,” have run amok nearly unchecked across a sprawling stretch from Peoria to Paradise Valley, Gilbert and Chandler. He pinned the source of the ongoing wave of crime directly to Harris discussing her immigration policy. He told Fox, “Everybody knows it’s a joke. We can’t escape the commercials that are on constantly. She’s walking on our southern border with Trump’s border wall, which we all know she opposed. She’s the most radical person ever to run for president.”
“Everybody who’s law enforcement, Border Patrol, anybody who knows what’s going on is supporting President Trump because Kamala Harris is in a position of power and has done nothing about it. So we all know that this is her attempt at trying to just, you know, get votes. But we know that the radical left is adamant about keeping our border open, and it’s creating a national security risk.”
As a former military intelligence office in the U.S. Army, Hamadeh was able to draw on his experience to draw attention to the national security risk the lax border security presents in his district.
“In my district, particularly, you know, we have all these Taiwanese companies moving into my district for the microchip industry, it’s 50 to $100 billion. That’s creating a national security risk,” he told Fox. “It’s great for economic development, but we have an open border, and you’ve got 30,000 Communist Chinese who have crossed our southern border last year. Unvetted. That’s a prime intelligence target.”
He warned, “We’re putting a target right now here in Arizona for some of these foreign adversaries to take advantage of. Just last week, we discovered that Iran or somebody may have snuck through ten shoulder-fired missiles possibly. I mean, we’re talking about the United States. How are we not securing our border? It seems like the easiest concept for everybody to understand and that’s where, in my district, that’s why it is the number one issue, and Kamala Harris is failing at it, and that’s why she’s going to lose the election.”
A new report from the Common Sense Institute Arizona (CSI) titled the “Inflation Misery Index” was released last week. The report illustrates how unsustainably expensive it has become to live and raise a family in Arizona due to ballooning inflation under the Biden-Harris Administration. The report also breaks down the cost of living increase that has battered Arizona families since 2019 and demonstrates irrefutably that the cost of maintaining the same standard of living has risen 24% since before COVID.
In a press release from CSI, Zachary Milne, Senior Economist and Research Analyst explained, “The prolonged period of high inflation has taken a serious toll on the financial stability of Arizona’s households. Our findings highlight not only the immediate increase in costs for essential goods and services but also the long-term decline in purchasing power. As inflation continues to outpace income growth, many Arizonans are facing tough financial choices to maintain their standard of living.”
Over the past 43 months, inflation in Arizona has caused the average household to lose 24% of their purchasing power. That’s nearly $25,000 in lost income!
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) October 9, 2024
Sharing the report in a post to X, CSI wrote, “Over the past 43 months, inflation in Arizona has caused the average household to lose 24% of their purchasing power. That’s nearly $25,000 in lost income!”
According to the report’s key findings, the Inflation Misery Index “holds constant consumption preferences through time,” and mathematically accounts for “normal” levels of inflation and personal income growth. The index uses 2019 as a baseline “because it precedes both the recent inflationary surge and the stimulus income received from the government in response to the pandemic in 2020.”
With these parameters in mind, CSI reported that the average person living in Arizona is compelled to spend $9,996 more per year in order to purchase the same quantity of goods and services as they did in 2019.
The report also clearly defines the increase per household: “Excess inflation over the last 43 months means the average household in Arizona must spend $24,972 more per year to consume at 2019 levels. This means that the average household has effectively lost 24% of their income to inflation.”
Broken down categorically, the inflation has impacted Arizona families in the following amounts:
$6,900 increase for housing and utilities.
$4,371 increase in food expenses.
$1,189 increase in recreational spending.
$772 increase in fuel/gasoline.
The report concluded, “It will take a prolonged period of normal or below-average (sub 2%) inflation coupled with strong income growth to recover the purchasing power lost by the post-covid inflationary crisis.” In stark contrast to the White House narrative extolling alleged slowing of inflation, the CSI wrote, “The slowing rate of inflation alone is insufficient to undo the damage caused by the rapid rise in the price level.”
For Arizonans, the dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to.
In fact, Personal Consumption Expenditures per capita increased 7.2% ($27.1 billion) in 2023, spending – 12.1% more on rent, & – 9.5% more for health care.
Just one day prior, Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) posted the findings of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee Republicans noting, “For Arizonans, the dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to. In fact, Personal Consumption Expenditures per capita increased 7.2% ($27.1 billion) in 2023, spending 12.1% more on rent, & 9.5% more for health care.” Schweikert noted that Arizona had the fifth highest increase.
President Donald Trump’s campaign team launched the “Latter-Day Saints for Trump” on October 8th. Five days later, they held a groundbreaking zoom call, or “virtual fireside,” that saw over 100,000 attendees register. Joined by prominent conservative Mormon figures such as TheBlaze founder Glenn Beck, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and Congressman Burgess Owens (R-UT), along with Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the fireside chat with Trump lasted nearly two hours and was hosted by Queen Creek Town Councilman Travis Padilla.
As reported by Deseret News, the coalition, though not officially endorsed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has brought together prominent leaders in the faith from Arizona, Idaho and Utah seeking “to uphold cherished principles of faith, family and religious liberty.”
A press release stated, “President Trump’s administration demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting religious freedoms, allowing faith-based organizations to practice their beliefs freely. This coalition aligns with the belief that religious liberty remains a cornerstone of American life and that families are central to our nation’s strength and moral foundation.”
Approximately forty-two minutes into the program, Trump was welcomed to the Zoom call in audio-only format while departing Arizona aboard Trump Force One, following whirlwind campaign rallies in Coachella, California, and Prescott Valley which caused some distortion in the audio and brief moments of signal loss.
Despite the technical challenges, Trump addressed the 100,000+ attendees for approximately eleven minutes. He opened his remarks with praise for the Latter-Day Saints community and for Congressman Biggs, citing the commonalities held between the 45th President and the Utah-based faith. “…You have the values that we have and those are the values that we want to keep And, you know, we discussed this at great length and with many others also, the Constitution is hanging by a thread, literally hanging by a thread. We cannot let that go on.”
“The family is really the foundation of a prosperous and good society, and that’s what we want There’s just so many things that we all agree to, but I want to just say hello to the many incredible members of the Latter-Day Saints community and thank you for allowing me even to speak today, and your prayers and your support have been incredible. We’ve had tremendous relationships over the years. We’ve done a lot of great work together.”
In the course of his remarks, Trump noted that, despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ aspersions that he is “running against Democracy,” he believes “the biggest threat to democracy is a lack of confidence.” He criticized the Democratic party for taking the incumbent President “out of the race in really what was a coup,” following a poor debate performance that found Trump “up by many, many points against Biden.”
Addressing the Latter-Day Saints community in particular, he told listeners, “We really have to stay united around those beliefs who believe that faith in God, that our Judaic Christian values are essential to a healthy American society. Good family, we believe in parental rights. We believe, in fact, that religious freedom is the foundation of all freedom. It is the absolute foundation of all freedom. And that we believe it is fair and equal justice under the Constitutional rule of law.”
Turning to his opponent, Trump warned, “She is not a competent person. She is not a person of faith. And she’ll do everything she can to hurt Mormons and to hurt everybody else.”
In a post to X on Monday morning, Trump continued his commentary on Harris’ competency writing, “I believe it is very important that Kamala Harris pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility. Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her. Even 60 Minutes and CBS, in order to protect Lyin’ Kamala, illegally and unscrupulously replaced an answer she had given, which was totally ‘bonkers,’ with another answer that had nothing to do with the question asked. Also, she is slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions. We just went through almost four years of that, we shouldn’t have to do it again!”
I believe it is very important that Kamala Harris pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility. Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her. Even 60 Minutes and CBS, in order to protect Lyin’ Kamala, illegally and unscrupulously replaced…
According to Deseret, other members of the coalition who were not on the call included: Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT); Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes; Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador; the “Diesel Brothers,” David Sparks and David Kiley; Kelly Barnett and Darin Hoover, the Utah Gold Star parents of USMC Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover; Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty; Doug Quezada, executive vice president of Omnis Energy; Kimberly Fletcher, president and founder of Moms for America; Utah State Rep. Karianne Lisonbee; Utah State Rep. Kera Birkeland; Utah Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard; and former U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT).
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has announced that her office has filed misdemeanor trespassing charges against 68 demonstrators who were arrested during a pro-Hamas protest at ASU in April. The demonstrators defied the orders of ASU police to disperse and leave the ad hoc encampment they illegally created on the alumni lawn near Old Main.
Under A.R.S. 13-1502, criminal trespassing entails “knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on any real property after a reasonable request to leave by a law enforcement officer, the owner or any other person having lawful control over such property.” As a Class-3 misdemeanor, the penalty, if the accused are found guilty, could be up to 30 days in the county jail with a $500 fine and up to one year of probation.
“The right to free speech does not extend to violating the law,” County Attorney Mitchell said.
“The university’s policy is clear – encampments are not permitted in this particular area on campus. The protestors – many of whom were not students – were given the chance, over and over again, to peacefully take down the encampments and leave the area. ASU, along with local law enforcement, had a responsibility to keep the area safe for students and faculty. My office is now playing the equally important role of holding these people accountable for their actions.”
Police are taking down the pro-Palestinian tents at ASU
Shortly after the arrests on April 26th, ASU released a statement, now seemingly confirmed by Mitchell, that the demonstrators were mostly not ASU students or faculty:
“ASU Police arrested 72 people for trespassing after they set up an unauthorized encampment Friday, in violation of university policy. Encampments are prohibited on Arizona State University property. Lawful demonstrations can take place except overnight between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A group of people – most of whom were not ASU students, faculty or staff – created an encampment and demonstration that continued until well past 11 p.m. when the group was instructed repeatedly to disperse. Individuals who refused to leave after numerous warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass. Of the 72 arrested throughout the day Friday, 15 were ASU students; about 80 percent of those arrested were not students.“
According to later reporting from ABC15, twenty of the people arrested were later revealed to be ASU students who were subsequently suspended from the university after their arrest.
In the days following the arrest, independent journalist Kyle Becker reported that ASU fraternity members could be seen assisting campus police to tear down the demonstrators’ encampment. Speaking to Campus Reform, the students told reporters that the university was happy to have their help.
“It’s our duty to help keep our freedoms secure. Jews should not have to feel threatened to hide on campus,” they told the outlet. “When they call for “Jewish genocide” the answer was extremely clear: help the police.”
"This is insane."
NEW: Frat boys and police tag team to pack up Pro-Hamas protesters' illegal encampment at @ASU.
In May, charges against the 68 suspects were initially vacated due to a failure on the part of ASU police officials to refer them to the prosecutor’s office in a timely manner. The charges were eventually submitted over the next few months.
The incident resulted in ASU police chief Michael Thompson being placed on administrative leave after a series of complaints were filed against him for his actions during the demonstration. He ultimately retired.
Mitchell’s office stated that the arrests were carried out by Tempe Police, Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Officers, and that trial dates for the accused are pending.
The Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSI) has released a comprehensive report setting facts versus myths surrounding Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program.
According to the CSI, the full eleven page report, “dispels misconceptions and presents data-driven insights into the fiscal and educational impacts of the ESA program on Arizona’s public education system and state budget—an issue of growing interest for states considering ESA expansion.”
Although it follows an argumentative “claim/fact” format, the primary findings of the report can be broken down into five key area: K-12 Funding Growth, Per-Pupil Spending, Public School Enrollment Decline, ESA Program Costs, and Accountability and Oversight.
According to the release, during the nine year-span from Fiscal Year 2016 to 2025, the K-12 funding for Arizona Public Schools exploded by approximately 60 percent, jumping up by over $6.3 billion. Conversely, the funding allocated to ESAs only increased by $792 million over the same period, amounting to barely 11% of the budget’s overall growth. This simple fact torpedoes the popular online fiction that legislators are making cuts to public school funding to pay for the ESA.
Arizona's K-12 funding has outpaced inflation and enrollment. Public school funding increased by $6.3B from FY2016-FY2025, including $2B in just the last three years.
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) October 9, 2024
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the report aligns well with a statement from Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne as well as a report from the Arizona Legislative Budget Committee and the Goldwater Institute.
Answering concerns on per-pupil spending, the CSI found, “Arizona now spends over $15,100 per public school student, a 30% increase since FY2016 (adjusted for inflation). Despite a decrease of over 23,500 students in public school enrollment over the past five years, overall funding has continued to grow.”
In a post on X, the CSI observed, “Traditional district public school enrollment has been steadily declining in Arizona for years. This trend, driven by demographic shifts and changing attitudes, is likely to continue regardless of the ESA program. ESA is the response not the cause.”
Traditional district public school enrollment has been steadily declining in Arizona for years. This trend, driven by demographic shifts and changing attitudes, is likely to continue regardless of the ESA program. ESA is the response not the cause.
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) October 9, 2024
Easily the most divisive effort to assail ESA funding has come from the claim that it only benefits wealthy, urban students. The CSI joins the Joint Legislative Committee in dashing the notion, stating, “Since the pandemic, demand for traditional district public schools has fallen nationwide – among broad demographic groups. With the expansion of things like home schooling, Microschooling, etc., non-traditional students may look very different than you’d expect!”
Since the pandemic, demand for alternatives to traditional district public schools has grown across diverse demographic groups. With the expansion of things like home schooling, Microschooling, etc., non-traditional students may look very different than you'd expect!
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) October 9, 2024
As noted in prior reporting: the Goldwater Institute, the nonpartisan Common Sense Institute, and multiple conservative outlets have repeatedly verified that families of ESA children cover the full breadth of the socio-economic strata from crushingly impoverished to blindingly wealthy, from the broken down trailer parks of South Phoenix to the most lavish homes of Paradise Valley.
The report notably cites the Black Mother’s Forum, an Arizona microschool operating two locations and serving over 150 pupils since 2021. All the students use ESAs and 90% are non-white with a wide majority classified as low-income. According to the Forum’s CEO, “Without the universal ESA program, these schools would not exist.”
