by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 25, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Republican Party of Arizona is fighting hard for Hispanic votes in the all-important 2024 November General Election.
Last week, the AZGOP released a Spanish-language ad, which will be running during the 2024 Copa America tournament. The ad features the chair of the state Republican Party, Gina Swoboda, and a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives, Steve Montenegro.
In the short commercial, both Swoboda and Montenegro speak in Spanish to potential voters, noting the challenges facing everyone in the state – “high prices for food, gasoline, [and] homes; high crime; [and] protecting family rights in deciding what is the best education for their children.” They then highlight the commitment of the Arizona Republican Party “to protecting the American Dream” and coming alongside all families to help “achieve a better economy…in Arizona.”
The Pima County Democratic Party mocked the commercial from its state political rival. The “X” account for the county party wrote, “Spolier Alert. They’ll make a bunch of empty promises all while they get busy deporting your family members.”
Republican State Senator Janae Shamp praised the effort, saying, “Keep the American Dream alive!!”
Recent polls across the country have indicated that Democrats may be losing support among the key Hispanic voting bloc in the upcoming election – and that Republicans have been picking up some of those voters. Last week, a poll from Equis of registered Latino voters showed that a majority of respondents have more trust for former President Donald J. Trump over President Joseph R. Biden when it comes to the issue of immigration (41-38).
An April poll from the New York Times / Siena College showed that Biden may only have a nine-point advantage over Trump with Hispanics (50-41). Also, a poll from Axios / Ipsos around that time showed Biden dropping twelve points from his previous support from Hispanics, falling to within single digits of his competitor (41-32).
Any shift in any significant voting bloc in November’s General Election could be the difference between Republican and Democrat victories and majorities in the crucial Grand Canyon swing state. Trump and Biden are vying for Arizona’s eleven Electoral College votes, and those tallies to the national total have been very hard to come by in the past two presidential contests. Additionally, Arizona has a very competitive U.S. Senate seat up for grabs, the control of the state legislature in the balance, and multiple propositions to determine state policies and constitutional amendments for the future.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 15, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Republican Party of Arizona is raking in the financial dough.
Earlier this week, the AZGOP announced that it had raised $1.37 million over the past 13 weeks.
The “X” account for the Party thanked donors for their “incredible support” and assured readers that “we’re well on our way to victory in 2024!”
The AZGOP’s fundraising haul is especially notable since its chair, Gina Swoboda, has only been in her position since late January, when she assumed the role in a special election.
Swoboda and company will have to keep fundraising through the election to play both offense and defense in a very critical swing state. The Republican Party will be attempting to capture Arizona’s eleven Electoral College votes for former President Donald J. Trump in his rematch against President Joseph R. Biden, after the 46th President won the state in 2020 by an extremely narrow margin.
Republicans are also trying to hold on to a slim majority in both chambers of the Arizona Legislature. Should Democrats flip both the Arizona House and Senate, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs would likely have free rein to sign any progressive bills that would be passed by her same-party legislature. Such a power sharing arrangement would allow Arizona Democrats to remake the state into the realities of many of their policy dreams.
The Republican Party of Arizona figures also to be active in some of the ballot initiatives that are likely to appear on the November General Election ballot, including abortion, an election system overhaul, border security, and potentially others.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 5, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Republican Party of Arizona (AZ GOP) won’t be punished for challenging the 2020 election. The court vacated the attorney fees awards issued by the trial court and court of appeals, and vacated the court of appeals’ opinion.
“Petitioners’ claim was not groundless and arguably was made in good faith,” ruled the court. “‘Raising questions’ by petitioning our courts to clarify the meaning and application of our laws and noting the potential consequences of the failure to do so — particularly in the context of our elections — is never a threat to the rule of law, even if the claims are charitably characterized as ‘long shots.’”
In a press release, the AZ GOP said the ruling was a victory for election integrity. The case concerned the party’s lawsuit against Maricopa County election officials’ administration of the mandatory hand count of ballots following the 2020 general election.
“This ruling reaffirms the fundamental legal principles that raising questions about the interpretation and application of election laws is a legitimate use of the judicial system, not a groundless or bad faith action,” stated the party.
The AZ GOP’s lawsuit against the county sought declaration that the 2019 Election Procedures Manual (EPM), passed under then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, violated state law directing precincts to be the sampling source for the hand count, rather than voting centers.
The AZ GOP sued to prevent the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors from canvassing the votes before the late November deadline.
In the ruling, authored by Justice John Lopez, the court determined the AZ GOP hadn’t brought a groundless claim, and that therefore the trial court and court of appeals had erred in awarding attorney fees against the AZ GOP.
The Supreme Court ruled that the trial court was wrong to find the AZ GOP’s claim was groundless over several criteria: the party failing to name the secretary of state as a defendant, seeking mandamus relief unavailable as a matter of law, and improperly contesting a pre-election procedure.
“It is untenable to invoke an alleged procedural defect like the one in this case — readily remediable and, in fact, remedied one day after the complaint was filed — to irrevocably mar a complaint as groundless,” wrote Lopez. “Whatever the Secretary’s interest in Petitioners’ declaratory action, it was fairly debatable whether Petitioners’ naming of the County as a defendant in their complaint was adequate, and, regardless, the parties agreed to the Secretary’s intervention just one day after the complaint was filed.”
Lopez wrote that the requested mandamus relief was fairly debatable, not groundless.
“Thus, because the Maricopa County election officials enjoyed no discretion in the discharge of their hand-count duties — a prerequisite to mandamus relief rather than a legal disqualifier — the trial court erred,” wrote Lopez. “[W]e only hold that Petitioners’ requested mandamus relief was not groundless because it was at least fairly debatable, even if a ‘long shot,’ whether the County was obligated to conduct a hand count consistent with [the law] or an arguably conflicting EPM provision.”
Lopez further wrote that the trial court erroneously assumed that the challenged hand count constituted a pre-election procedure subject to the election-law time bar. The judge noted that the 2019 EPM also doesn’t include hand count among its pre-election procedures.
“[T]he hand-count protocol continues past the election’s conclusion. In fact, although the statute directs the sampling from precincts, the actual selection of polling places does not commence until after the election,” wrote Lopez. “The merits of Petitioners’ claim are not before us; therefore, we need not determine whether, or to what extent, the election-law time bar applies to a procedure, like the hand count, that straddles the election. We merely conclude that Petitioners’ post-election claim was not groundless because whether their claim was time-barred by our jurisprudential election-law procedural rule is at least ‘fairly debatable.’”
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by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 28, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Republican Party of Arizona is moving its shop ahead of the November General Election.
This past weekend, The AZGOP announced that it “had a successful ExComm with a quorum from across the state representing county parties who are energized and ready to win in November.” The party revealed that an “overwhelming” majority of the Executive Committee had made “a strategic decision to select a new office space.”
AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda released a statement following the vote of the Executive Committee, saying, “First and foremost, we need a location with easier access for volunteers and campaigns. Funds from the sale will be placed in the dedicated building fund account for the next administration.”
She added, “This board is always going to follow the wishes of the body. Strategically relocating the office is another great step in moving the party forward. We are focused on one thing and one thing only: winning.”
The vote, according to the AZGOP press release, was 38-4 in favor of selling the current location. There were four abstentions.
The announcement highlighted that in the spirit of transparency, “all offers [for the sale of the property] and evaluating the locating of the [new] office” will be presented to the Executive Committee “before any action takes place.”
Daniel Scarpinato, Chief of Staff to former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, praised the move in a post on his “X” account. He wrote, “A great move by Gina Swoboda – this was a horrible location for a party HQ. Impossible to park. No access to the building. Try getting volunteers in there. Another step in the right direction.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 31, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The 45th President of the United States proved, yet again, to be the Republican kingmaker in the Grand Canyon State.
After a sudden vacancy at the Republican Party of Arizona, former President Donald J. Trump broke his curious public silence over the politically volatile situation, endorsing a surprise contender, Gina Swoboda, for chair. Trump said, “Gina Swoboda has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be Chairwoman of the Republican Party of Arizona. She is an outstanding person with incredible passion for our Party, which she will quickly MAKE GREAT AGAIN! ARIZONA2024”
Many Republicans from different factions across the state quickly echoed the former President’s sentiments, throwing their support behind Swoboda. This flurry of activity and endorsements ended up giving Swoboda a massive victory at the annual party meeting on Saturday.
Once Swoboda secured her runaway win to become the next chair of the state Republican Party, she expressed her gratitude to Trump for his support. On “X,” Swoboda wrote, “Arizona is the key to the presidency. I was proud to have the support of President Trump in this victory to lead the AZGOP into the most important election of our lifetime. Now it’s time to turn out every last vote for the 47th President, DONALD J TRUMP!”
Karoline Leavitt, the National Press Secretary for the Trump Campaign, responded to Swoboda’s hat tip to the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination, saying, “Congratulations to the newly elected Trump-Endorsed Arizona GOP Chairwoman, Gina Swoboda!”
Swoboda’s ascension to AZGOP Chair appeared to come out of nowhere as the hours ticked away toward the annual meeting. After the chairman’s vacancy occurred, two competing slates quickly emerged for the job, and speculation indicated that one of the candidates may have, at the least, been inquiring about information for a challenge to the state party’s top spot – even before the opening. Trump’s endorsement then flipped the narrative and potential outcome, showing the party faithful and outside onlookers alike that his endorsement reigns supreme for State 48 Republicans.
The new Republican Chairwoman of the AZGOP will have her hands full this year as she attempts to lead her party back into the win columns during the November General Election. Securing Arizona’s eleven electoral votes for Trump will be top of mind for Swoboda, followed by competitive U.S. Senate and congressional races. She will also be expected to lead the Republicans to victory at the state legislature, ensuring that Democrats and Governor Katie Hobbs are held in check for the next two years. Additionally, the state Republican Party will likely weigh in on several key initiatives that are expected to appear on the ballot for voters, including abortion and election system reform.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
