Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs declared it was “ridiculous” that the border crisis was a core issue for the governor’s race. Hobbs made the remarks during an interview with the Arizona Republic.
Hobbs asserted that it wouldn’t matter how she talked about the border because Republicans would only twist her words. It is unclear whether her observation came from recent controversy over her apparent reversal on the Biden administration’s plan to rescind Title 42.
“It’s ridiculous that we are talking about this as a core issue in the governor’s race,” said Hobbs. “I could stand here and say ‘Build the wall,’ and they’re gonna call me open borders. It doesn’t really matter what I say for the Republicans, they’re going to just misconstrue everything.”
Hobbs’ latest statement appears to be a pivot from her remarks issued last October, when she insisted that alleviating border crisis pressures would be one of her primary focuses as governor.
“The situation at our border puts pressure on all our communities. We have to reduce illegal border crossings in a way that promotes security and safety for everyone and most efficiently uses taxpayers’ dollars,” said Hobbs. “Arizonans need a leader who is learning from the officials who are on the front lines and understand this important issue best. I’m committed to listening, learning, and working on the ground to ensure our borders are secure.”
The situation at our border puts pressure on all our communities. We have to reduce illegal border crossings in a way that promotes security and safety for everyone and most efficiently uses taxpayers’ dollars.
Hobbs also changed her perspective on the revocation of Title 42 recently. Within one month, Hobbs shifted her public message from supporting Title 42’s immediate end because it “isn’t working” to declaring that doing so would be a “rash decision” that would result in a “disaster.”
Hobbs hasn’t been the only Democratic candidate for a state-level office to dismiss border concerns this week. Democratic congressional candidate and former state senator Kirsten Engel went one step further, arguing that the current state of the border doesn’t constitute a crisis.
Engel issued that assessment during a Wednesday night debate hosted on “Arizona Horizon” by PBS. Engel’s Democratic opponent, State Representative Daniel Hernández Jr. (D-Tucson), contended with her denial of the border crisis.
Hobbs and Engel represent a greater division within their party on the significance and reality of the border crisis. Hobbs’ opponents, Aaron Lieberman and Marco Lopez, have each offered their own takes. Lieberman has said he will defer to federal actors to work out the border crisis.
Arizona Governor Candidate Lieberman Talks Higher Education, Paying Teachers, Ag and Border in Yuma https://t.co/9CSKzi9EcB
Lopez has insisted that rhetoric painting the border situation as dangerous was misleading.
“There is no invasion,” said Lopez.
Don't be fooled by the GOP rhetoric and scare tactics…this is what the day to day at the border actually looks like: hardworking people looking for opportunity, not to mention contributing $16 billion and 200,000 jobs to our trade economy. pic.twitter.com/JaqL29vp0N
Democratic congressional candidate and former state senator Kirsten Engel declared on Wednesday that there isn’t a border crisis.
Arizona Horizon host Ted Simons asked Engel during an election debate whether she agreed that the current state of the border constituted a crisis. Engel said she didn’t, adding that additional borders security wasn’t the solution.
“No. It does need help at the border. We do — Washington, I would say, has failed us. It’s not just this administration. It’s the past administration. We do need help at our border. We do need to secure our border. We have issues of drug trafficking and human smuggling that need to be addressed, but certainly not walls. I mean walls are a 13th century solution to a 21st century problem.
Engel, who resigned from the state senate last September, insinuated that turning away illegal immigrants was the real crisis.
“I mean, let’s look at what’s going on here. We have people, migrants, coming who want to make a home in our country. You know, these people are like our ancestors coming here. That is — that’s the crisis. That’s a humanitarian crisis,” said Engel. “What we need from Washington is having an orderly asylum process. That’s national law, that’s international law. We need comprehensive immigration reform. We have to help our Dreamers.”
WHOA: Democrat candidate Kirsten Engel, who’s running in a swing border district, denied the border crisis exists in a debate last night.
Simons: “Does Arizona have an immigration crisis?” Engel: “No.”
The debate also featured Engel’s Democratic opponent, State Representative Daniel Hernández Jr. (D-Tucson), who disagreed with Engel. He said that a wall wasn’t enough, pointing out the need for more security technology like drones.
“We are seeing that people don’t feel safe where they’re living, even though we are saying that this is an issue that has gone time after time,” said Hernández. “To say there is no crisis is wrong.”
Engel agreed that a federal presence was necessary at the border, as well as more technology, but emphasized her opposition to a border wall.
“Walls are not going to do it, and neither are photo ops,” said Engel. “It’s not all drug smugglers. It’s families with little kids.”
Hernández said that his perspective on rescinding Title 42 reflected that of Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema: the policy should be removed, but there should be a plan ready to fill the void left behind.
“These are people coming here trying to get a better life, so we should treat them humanely with dignity, but make sure we have a plan to actually address [them],” said Hernández.
Engel agreed, calling Title 42 a “stop-gap solution.” She pointed out that about half of the people returned to Mexico under Title 42 ended up reentering the country, citing that as a failure of the policy. Like Hernández, Engel said she wanted to see a plan first before rescinding the policy.
“There’s no adjudication of their claim,” said Engel. “Title 42 is not the answer.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The testimony of a whistleblower from San Luis, a border city in Yuma County, was featured in the 2020 election fraud documentary “2000 Mules.” The inspiration for the documentary title came from the number of alleged “mules” across the five battleground states that visited 10 or more ballot drop boxes during the 2020 election. A “mule” is an individual that delivers harvested ballots to election drop boxes.
In addition to the whistleblower testimony, the documentary presented ballot drop box evidence as proof that widespread election fraud rigged the 2020 election to ensure President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump, a belief critics dubbed “The Big Lie.”
The Yuma County whistleblower explained that she worked as a receptionist for an organization that received harvested ballots all week long from various individuals, mostly female, who would come into the office on Fridays for their payment. She explained that it was part of a greater network she called the “Mexican Mafia.”
According to the woman, someone would call periodically to ask how many ballots were brought in to her and if they were already filled out. Then, a woman would come in to review the ballots. Afterwards, the other woman would deliver them in a drop box or ask the whistleblower to deliver them to a local library’s drop box at night because it had no cameras. The whistleblower didn’t have an estimate for how many ballots she dropped off, agreeing that the count could have ranged in the hundreds.
She asserted that ballot harvesting ensured fixed elections long before they took place.
“I don’t even think they know the meaning of what voting is,” said the woman. “[The elections] are fixed. They’ve been fixed. They already know, seriously, who is gonna win the next election before it even happens.”
The whistleblower explained that the people in her area are an easy target because they’re mostly Hispanics unfamiliar with the law.
“They look at [ballot harvesting] as ‘Oh, she’s trying to help us because we’re older, because she’s having someone come and pick it up at my house, because I don’t drive,’” said the woman.
The woman explained that peers dissuaded her from educating the community about ballot harvesting because she would “end up in the trash can in pieces” for subverting the election mafia’s will.
True the Vote, the nonprofit that combed through geotracking data and 4 million minutes of ballot drop box video feed, estimated that there were around 2,000 mules who visited 10 or more drop boxes across Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania for the 2020 election. However, when they lowered the criteria to include those that visited five or more ballot drop boxes, the number of alleged mules increased to 54,000.
Under the first criteria of individuals who visited 10 or more drop boxes, Arizona had 200 mules in the Phoenix area averaging 20 drop box visits and five ballots each, totaling 20,000 votes. Biden won the state by around 10,000 votes. When accounting for the 54,000 suspected mules, researchers estimated that the average of five drop box visits and three votes cast accounted for about 810,000 votes in the 2020 election. Of those types of votes, Arizona accounted for over 207,400.
Overall, the 2000 alleged mules that visited 10 or more drop boxes each averaged 38 drop box visits each, with an average of five ballots inserted — about 380,000 votes the documentary claimed were illegal. Michigan allegedly had 500 mules averaging 50 drop box visits and five ballots each, totaling 125,000 votes. Biden won the state with 154,000 votes. Wisconsin allegedly had 100 mules averaging 28 drop box visits and five ballots each, totaling 14,000 votes. Biden won by around 20,000 votes. Georgia allegedly had 250 mules averaging 24 drop box visits and five ballots each, totaling 30,000 votes. Biden won by around 12,000 votes — 18,000 less than the votes linked to the mules. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania allegedly had 1,100 mules averaging 50 drop box visits and five votes each, totaling 275,000 votes. Biden led Trump by around 80,000 votes — around 195,000 less than the votes linked to the mules.
When accounting for the alleged mules that visited five or more drop boxes each, Wisconsin had over 83,500 of those drop box votes; Georgia had over 92,600; Pennsylvania had over 209,500; and Michigan had over 226,600.
The bulk of the research for the documentary came from True the Vote, a Texas-based election integrity organization founded in 2009. The founder and president of the organization, Catherine Engelbrecht, and an election intelligence expert of 40 years, Gregg Phillips, presented a summary of their discoveries in the documentary.
Engelbrecht shared that, according to whistleblowers, mules receive an average of $10 per ballot and are generally required to take pictures of the ballots as they’re delivered into the drop boxes. Engelbrecht dismissed rebuttals to the claim that those identified as mules might be individuals with large families or those who happen to drive by ballot drop boxes frequently. She explained that the mules’ travel patterns concentrated around origin points at organizations where ballots were given to the mules, then drop boxes, then back to organizations that had ballots to dole out for mules. Phillips clarified further that the drop boxes were often in locations that required individuals to diverge from main roads.
The pair noted that they discovered multiple drop boxes’ video feed was shut off.
“You don’t need a lot of fraud. You just need a little in the right places at the right time,” explained Engelbrecht.
The day of the announcement of a State Grand Jury indictment of two individuals in December 2020, Engelbrecht and Phillips showed video evidence that Georgia mules donned blue surgical gloves when stuffing drop boxes with ballots during the runoff election. Phillips explained that the FBI used fingerprints to identify the Arizona ballot harvesters.
Two individuals accused of ballot harvesting during August 2020 primary election indicted in Yuma County.
Guillermina Fuentes and Alma Juarez, both of San Luis, were both indicted for 1 count each of Ballot Abuse. Ballot Abuse is a class 6 felony in AZ.https://t.co/tLlbBm8jwD
Silly Season is that time when professional sports teams announce major trades, resignations, and firings. It starts in Major League Baseball later this month when the World Series is finished, and will be on full display within NASCAR once the season-ending checkered flag waves at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 7.
This fall, the 55th Arizona Legislature is having its own version of Silly Season, with myriad vacancies that will change the dynamics of the House and Senate when the second regular session starts in January 2022.
One of those vacancies is slated to be filled any day now by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors following last month’s resignation of Rep. Aaron Lieberman (D-LD28) who is running for Governor. Lieberman’s replacement will be selected by the county board once it receives a list of three nominations from the precinct committeemen of the Democratic Party of Maricopa County.
Sen. Kristen Engel (D-LD10) has also resigned to focus on her campaign for Congressional District 2. The Pima County Board of Supervisors has already received three nominations from the Pima County Democratic Party precinct committeemen for Engel’s replacement, one of whom is Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-LD10).
Stahl Hamilton is seen as the favorite when the county board votes Oct. 19, meaning the Pima County Dems would then have to repeat the precinct committeemen nomination process to fill Stahl Hamilton’s seat in the House.
However, not all of the vacancies will be connected to campaign efforts.
Rep. Randy Friese (D-LD9) announced in March he was running for CD2, which would have pitted him against Engel and Rep. Daniel Hernandez in the Democratic Party primary. Friese, who is a physician, dropped out of the race in September, citing personal and professional considerations. He recently confirmed his intention to leave the Legislature in the next few weeks.
Once Friese’s resignation is formally tendered then the Pima County Democratic Party precinct committeemen will meet once again to nominate three replacements for the Pima County Board of Supervisors to choose from.
In early September, Rep. Bret Roberts (R-LD11) announced his resignation effective at the end of the month due to a planned family move out of state. His district covered portions of Pima and Pinal counites, but it will be the Pinal County Republican precinct committeemen who will nominate three replacements for the Pinal County Board of Supervisors to choose from.
Of course, the most shocking resignation occurred in August when Sen. Tony Navarrete (D-LD30) was arrested for multiple felonies related to child molestation. The vacancy of Navarrete’s seat was filled by Rep. Raquel Teran (D-LD30), whose replacement in the House has not yet been announced by the Pima County board.
But it does not take a lawmaker’s resignation to mix things up at the Legislature.
Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-LD23) announced earlier this month she is stepping down from one of the most influential legislative assignments – chairperson of the Senate Government Committee. She told Senate President Karen Fann that she will continue serving on the Appropriations, Commerce, and Finance committees, and stands “ready and committed” to election reform, one of the key subjects handed by the Government Committee.
The unexpected announcement by Ugenti-Rita, who is running for Arizona Secretary of State, has already led to backdoor discussions and public posturing by some senators hoping to sway Fann’s decision on who replaces Ugenti-Rita on the Government Committee as well as who Fann names as the committee’s new chair.
Meanwhile, last month’s death of Rep. Frank Pratt (R-LD8) will trigger another round of recommendations by Pinal County’s Republican precinct committeemen to the Pinal County board to fill Pratt’s seat.
One thing is certain about the landscape of Arizona politics – it will look much different after the 2022 general election due to a guaranteed change of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state treasurer.
There will also be several changes in the state legislature in 2022 as more lawmakers announce runs for state office, including Sen. David Livingston (R-LD22) who announced his candidacy last week for treasurer; Rep. Aaron Lieberman (D-LD27) who announced he is running for governor; and Rep. Shawnna Bolick (R-LD20) who has kicked off her campaign for secretary of state.
Bolick is seeking the Republican nomination against Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-LD23) and Rep. Mark Finchem (R-LD11) who previously kicked off campaigns for secretary of state to serve as Arizona’s top elections official and the first in line to succeed the governor in the event of death, resignation, or removal from office.
Other announced Republican candidates for secretary of state include Beau Lane, Remo Paul, and Wade Wilson. The Republican primary winner will likely take on either Rep. Reginald Bolding (D-LD27) or former Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, both of whom publicly announced their candidacies in June. One other Democrat, Dennis Florian, is also running.
Lieberman hopes to move on from his seat in the House to become Arizona’s next governor. He will go up against current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez Jr. in the primary, along with fellow Democrats Peggy Betzer, Steven Noon Jr., and Trista DiGenova-Chang.
The winner of the Democrats’ primary will take on the Republican nominee from a growing candidate list which now includes Steven Gaynor and former Rep. Matt Salmon, both of whom recently threw their hats in the ring.
Previously announced Republican candidates for governor include current State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, Board of Regents Secretary Karrin Taylor Robson, and former Phoenix-area news anchor Kari Lake. They are joined by Ameer El Bey, Kelly Garett, David Hoffman, Bryan Masche, Callie Morgan, Michael Pavlock Jr., Julian Tatka, and Paola Tulliani.
Four Libertarians -Robert Baxter, Barry Hess, Bill Moritzky, and Steve Remus- have also filed a statement of interest for the governorship.
With Yee not running again for state treasurer, Livingston is currently the only candidate who has filed a Statement of Interest for the office with the secretary of state.
But it is not only state races that are garnering lots of attention. Many eyes are on the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mark Kelly, a Democrat.
Kelly is expected retain his party’s nomination but whose name appears on the ballot for the Republican Party will be heavily contested, not only by Brnovich but also corporate executive Jim Lamon and retired Arizona Adjutant General Michael McGuire. In addition, Blake Masters -president of the Thiel Foundation- is rumored to be announcing his candidacy to challenge Kelly later this week.
Other Republicans already vying for the nomination are Wendy Acuna, Craig Brittain, David Buechel, Dan Butierez Sr., Ronald Coale, Eric Corbett, Mark Fisher, Kelly Garett, Vlad Hermann, Josh McElroy, Rob Paveza, Thomas Tripp, and Chad Yosick.
With Brnovich running for Congress, Andrew Gould recently resigned his seat on the Arizona Supreme Court to seek the Republican nomination. Gould will likely face Lacy Cooper and Tiffany Shedd in their party’s primary.
For the Democrat Party, former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes announced her candidacy for attorney general last month. She is expected to be joined in the primary by January Contreras and Diego Rodriguez. One Libertarian, Michael Kielsky, is also running for attorney general.
There are also several current state representatives who will be leaving the legislature to make runs for Congress in 2022. They include Walt Blackman (R-LD6) who is running for CD1 and Sen. Kirsten Engel (D-LD10) who is running against Rep. Randy Friese (D-LD9) for CD2.
