by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 18, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Democrat candidate for a key Maricopa County contest is highlighting his out-of-state fundraising prowess.
Last week, Tim Stringham, the Democrat candidate for Maricopa County Recorder, posted a fundraising boast to his X account. Stringham said, “I am proud to share that, in the third quarter, we received contributions from over 3,900 individual contributors from 49 states, including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Thousands of people nationwide are standing with us to protect the elections right here in Maricopa County.”
Stringham added, “But with only 30 days until Election Day and three days until ballots drop, we’re in the final sprint. Join this national effort to protect elections here in Maricopa County by donating today.”
The post was met with criticism from many who pointed out that Stringham was not showcasing support from local voters and donors.
Republican State Representative Alexander Kolodin replied, “Tim Stringham wants to be MARICOPA County recorder yet is ‘proud’ that his campaign is fueled by out of state money?”
In a September poll from Noble Predictive Insights, Stringham led his Republican opponent, Justin Heap, by four percent (38-34%), with twenty-two percent undecided. Stringham enjoyed a fifteen percent lead over Heap with independents, with thirty-five percent of that voting share undecided.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 18, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Former President Donald J. Trump appears to be maintaining his edge for Arizona’s eleven critical electoral votes as the November General Election nears.
According to the Battleground Poll Averages from Decision Desk HQ / The Hill, Trump enjoys a razor-thin 1.3% lead in Arizona over his Democrat opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. And according to the Real Clear Politics poll average, Trump has a 1.1% advantage in the Grand Canyon State over Harris.
Some of the recent polls out of Arizona include the following:
- Trafalgar: Trump +2 over Harris (48-46)
- NYT / Siena: Trump +5 over Harris (51-46)
- Emerson: Trump +2 over Harris (49-47)
In the Emerson survey, immigration is at the top of mind for voters, with 30% of respondents selecting this issue as their top area of concern for the upcoming election. The economy finished second in the poll (24%).
In the NYT / Siena poll, the issues of importance are reversed. The economy received 24% of the share of the vote, and immigration obtained 18%. Trump also improved his standing among individuals who believed he would do a better job handing the issue they thought was most important, besting Harris by eleven percent (a five-point improvement from the previous month’s results).
Early voting is now underway in Arizona as men and women around the state are sending in their absentee ballots or frequenting sites to cast their selections for President and other critical contests before them for consideration. Arizona has been a key battleground state in past elections, with both Republicans and Democrats vying extremely hard for voters’ affections and support for their candidates. Trump won Arizona in 2016, and Biden narrowly took the Electoral College votes in the 2020 election. In both 2016 and 2020, the man who won Arizona won the White House.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 17, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Former President Donald J. Trump picked up a significant endorsement while campaigning in the Grand Canyon State earlier this week.
On Sunday, President Trump appeared in front of thousands at a rally in Prescott Valley, where he was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) for his bid for the White House.
At the event, Paul Perez, NBPC’s President, said, “If we allow border czar Harris to win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to hell. The untold millions of people unvetted, who she has allowed into this country that are committing murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries and every other crime will continue to put our country in peril.”
Perez added, “Only one man can fix that. That is Donald J. Trump. He has always stood with the men and women who protect this border, who put their lives on the line for the country.”
Art Del Cueto, the Vice President of the NBPC, stated, “Zero question as to who should lead this country. The time to save America is NOW!!”
State Senator Janae Shamp, one of the top border hawks of the Arizona Legislature, responded to the announcement, posting, “They know exactly what is at stake and who can fix it! God bless each and everyone of these men and women for standing for all Americans!”
The endorsement from the NBPC was reported as unanimous for the 45th President of the United States.
According to a press release from the Trump-Vance campaign, Trump promised to “hire 10,000 new Border Patrol agents and ask Congress to immediately approve a 10% raise for all agents, and a $10,000 retention and signing bonus.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 17, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
In an admission that his own party is failing on the border crisis, former President Bill Clinton alluded to the illegal immigrant murder of Laken Riley — though he avoided identifying her by name, and refused to include the term “illegal” before “immigrant.”
Although Riley was a Georgia resident at the time of her death, the vocal GOP senator from Surprise, Janae Shamp, didn’t let Clinton’s avoidance of naming Riley slide. Shamp did credit Clinton for admitting that it was an illegal immigrant who took Riley’s life.
“Bill Clinton her name is Laken Riley and she was dedicating her life to the sick as a fellow RN when she was brutally murdered by an illegal Venezuelan gang member,” said Shamp. “But yes, it is Biden-Harris fault entirely.”
Clinton alluded to Riley’s murder in remarks with Georgia voters over the weekend. The former president was visiting the state as part of campaign efforts promoting the presidential bid of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Clinton reduced Riley’s murder to the GOP’s political ads focused on the injustice and avoidability of her death, and pivoted to promoting the need for mass immigration to offset low U.S. birth rates.
“You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it, about a young woman who had been killed by an immigrant?” said Clinton. “Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted that probably wouldn’t have happened. But if they are properly vetted, that doesn’t happen and America is not having enough babies to keep our population up. So, we need immigrants that have been vetted to do work. There wouldn’t be a problem and he couldn’t keep people all torn up and that’s sad.”
Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia out for a morning jog on campus when 26-year-old Venezuelan gang member Jose Ibarra kidnapped, raped, and beat and strangled her to death in February. Riley did call 911 during the attack, but law enforcement said there was no dialogue on that call.
Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas. He received parole despite his gang affiliations due to ICE’s inability to lodge a detainer in a timely manner or, in other words: Ibarra benefitted from the unofficial “catch and release” policy that has come to define the Biden administration’s immigration approach.
President Joe Biden downplayed Riley’s death during the 2024 State of the Union earlier this year, mispronouncing her name as “Lincoln” Riley.
“Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” said Biden. “That’s right, but how many of the thousands of people [are] being killed by illegals?”
In March, the House passed the “Laken Riley Act” requiring detention of immigrants who commit burglary or theft. From his time entering the country illegally in 2022, Ibarra had been previously arrested for theft.
Ibarra’s trial is anticipated to occur in November. He has pleaded not guilty to the multiple charges he faces.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 17, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Republican Party will forgo tradition and won’t be spending lavishly on an Election Night party this November. Instead, the major swing state party has pledged to put “every dollar” into its candidates as well as those opposition efforts for defeating ranked-choice voting.
The AZGOP announced in a Tuesday press release that it has fundraised $9 million over the last three months.
“All of our resources are being dedicated to helping our candidates win and preventing the far-left from gaining control of our state,” stated the press release. “Instead of spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on a celebration, we are channeling every dollar directly into our candidates’ efforts.”
The announcement marked a turnaround from the AZGOP’s spending approach during the 2022 election. Under former chairwoman Kelli Ward, the party spent over $530,000 on a party and bus tour for the midterm elections, which ultimately saw a blue wave not seen in half a century: Democrats won the top three statewide races and a Senate seat. Under Ward, the party raised around $3 million.
In the past two weeks, the party says it has funded 22 Republican candidates as well as efforts to defeat ranked-choice voting. Part of the candidate contributions include a “judicial mail campaign” seeking to persuade voters to support certain judges more supportive of the Constitution.
Additionally, the party says it launched a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) program to increase early voting among Republicans.
In her statement, Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda said the stakes this year are higher than they’ve been for any other election.
“We believe it’s more important to invest every resource we have into ensuring our candidates’ victories rather than hosting a party,” said Swoboda. It’s all hands on deck until Election Day, and we’re laser-focused on winning up and down the ballot.”
The AZGOP press release came out the same day as the party’s filing for its post-primary election campaign finance report. Per their reporting, the party gave $8,400 to the reelection campaign of State Representative Matt Gress.
The party may be making another big, expensive legal move as well concerning Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voters. Swoboda told Axios on Tuesday that counties had indicated to her that they handle UOCAVA voters differently.
Swoboda sent a letter to all county recorders asking for confirmation of UOCAVA voters’ identities, as well as a promise from counties that they reject registrations lacking proof of citizenship. Depending on their answer, the AZGOP or Republican National Committee may take “imminent” action to challenge UOCAVA voters through a lawsuit.
The latest voter registration statistics reflected over 4.1 million total voters: over 1.4 million registered Republicans, nearly 1.4 million “other” voters, nearly 1.2 million registered Democrats, over 30,900 registered Libertarians, over 29,000 registered No Labels voters, and over 3,000 Green voters.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Oct 16, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
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.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
