The long-awaited debate for the U.S. Senate Race in Arizona took place on Wednesday between Kari Lake and Congressman Ruben Gallego. And even the most mainstream of outlets took note, or took pains not to note, that Lake outperformed Gallego.
The Associated Press seemed to call out Rep. Gallego’s performance against Lake in a singular headline that read, “Lake’s Comfort And Polish In Front Of The Camera Stood In Contrast To Gallego.”
From @AP — “Lake’s Comfort And Polish In Front Of The Camera Stood In Contrast To Gallego” pic.twitter.com/t6bm2bnaNg
Jonathan Cooper and Gabriel Sandoval wrote for the wire, “Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake repeatedly reminded viewers Wednesday of her three-decade career on Arizona television, looking to harness the intimate connection she built with voters and overcome Democrat Ruben Gallego’s portrayal of her as a liar in the only debate of the closely watched race.”
“Lake’s comfort and polish in front of the camera stood in contrast to Gallego, a military veteran who occasionally tripped on his words. The hourlong forum, at times caustic and personal, highlighted big differences on immigration, border security, abortion and taxes.”
Detracting from her performance, the outlet noted that Lake didn’t pursue what was potentially the best attack avenue against Gallego far enough. It’s an angle President Trump has levied against Vice President Kamala Harris with great success: citing the Democrats’ current offices and asking why the changes they champion haven’t been made already.
I don't know who's running this country right now, but I've been told that he's a Democrat.
Ruben & the Democrats are in control.
Gallego is talking such a big game about what he wants to do, but his first day in Washington DC was ten years ago.
The AP observed that Gallego focused on election integrity and Lake’s objection to the 2022 gubernatorial race results, bait that Lake refused to take. However, she did pivot to a strong argument on election integrity that Gallego was poorly equipped to answer.
“You know we’ve had problems across the country since 2000. One year the Democrats are mad, the next year the Republicans are,” Lake began. “We’ve got problems with our elections, and there’s no doubt about it. The people of Arizona have been burned. They’re tired of hearing about hiccups and loopholes and problems that happen on Election Day. We just want to make sure that our legal vote counts!”
She then zeroed in on Gallego: “My opponent wants illegal votes to count! He actually voted twice to have illegals vote. He voted against the SAVE Act, which would prevent illegals from voting. I want every legal vote to count. I don’t care if you are the most liberal Democrat or the most conservative Republican or where most of Arizona is: somewhere in between. I want every legal vote to count.”
Lake offered a solution to the matter of election integrity that will likely resonate with beleaguered Arizona voters fed-up with election-day mishaps for over a decade. “My solution would be: let’s get back to something closer to what we used to have: Election day, paper ballots, and we know the results right there on the night of the election. But we definitely can’t have people pouring across our country illegally voting. Not only does he want to let them vote, he wants to give them all asylum, and we’ve got to stop this nonsense at the border and restore our country.”
Even AZCentral, an outlet that has often proven openly hostile to Lake, seemed to de facto concede that Lake, in her confrontational, ‘take-no-prisoners’ debate style, successfully steamrolled Gallego. Bill Goodykoontz wrote in an editorial, “She followed the debate tactics (of) Donald Trump (her ‘good friend,’ she said) and repeatedly went over her time limit and talked over Gallego, often resorting to personal attacks. It was ugly. And she got away with it.”
Goodykoontz observed that though Gallego didn’t take the bait, he “didn’t respond as forcefully as he might have.” Further, Lake from the start, sought to classify Gallego as the “extreme makeover” candidate by drawing stark contrasts between his current talking points and his congression record, in lockstep with the Biden-Harris administration.
“Ruben Gallego has supported — every step of the way — Kamala Harris, the border czar, and Joe Biden’s open border,” she said.
While the New York Times’ Kellen Browning assessed that the debate may not have been a “knock out blow” to Gallego, the momentum generated by a dominant debate performance could move Lake back into striking distance of her opponent.
Kari Lake can still win in Arizona. This race is not over.
She scored big point last night in her debate vs. Ruben Gallego.
In polling per FiveThirtyEight, Gallego achieved several breakaways, carrying him into double digits over Lake, the most recent at the end of September. But in the past week, he has begun to hemorrhage his lead again from thirteen points in September, back down to seven. Should the cycle the two candidates have been locked in for months repeat, it will find Lake likely within margin of error by election day, if not overtaking the Democrat.
An Arizona Republican legislator continues to hold a government agency accountable to the law.
Last week, State Senator Jake Hoffman sent a letter to the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, which was his second letter to this agency, over a new rule it had adopted “requiring candidates to receive at least 1% of total ballots cast in all primaries for their office to qualify for general election debates.” Hoffman’s latest letter called on the Commission “to submit the rule through the standard rule-making process and to invite all qualified candidates to general election debates until any new rules are appropriately adopted in a transparent and lawful manner.”
🚨 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Senate Government Committee Calls on Clean Elections Commission to Comply with State Law on Rule Change for General Election Debates
In a statement, Hoffman said, “Arizona law only gives the Commission discretion to determine the manner in which debates are conducted. It does not give the Commission unfettered discretion to pick and choose which candidates get to participate. If the Commission believes this rule is a good idea, then there should be nothing to fear from holding an open and public process for promulgating rules. Evading this process invites litigation, calls into question the independence of the Commission, and deprives Arizona citizens of the protections afforded under the APA.”
The issue that prompted the initial inquiry by Hoffman was the confirmation from the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission that Eduardo Quintana, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, would not be allowed in the upcoming October debate with Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego. Quintana received 282 votes in the primary – far less than the one percent threshold established by the Commission.
Hoffman has contended that due to the Commission’s rule not being “submitted for approval to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council for compliance with the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act, [the] maneuver violates the 2018 voter-approved Proposition 306.”
Thomas Collins, the Executive Director of the Commission, sent a letter in response to Hoffman’s first inquiry. He said, in part, that the report of the new rule “mischaracterizes a discretionary decision by the Commission, based on input from its contracted debate production and broadcast consultants, to not include the candidates who had received less than 1% of votes cast in their primaries in the 2024 Commission-sponsored debates.” Collins added, “It is both factually inaccurate and inconsistent with the APA requirements to characterize this decision as adoption of a new ‘rule’ for purposes of the APA.”
Collins’ letter prompted this most recent letter from Hoffman, who argued against the Commission’s justification for its action. Hoffman wrote, “You are sorely mistaken if you expected the serious concerns raised in my letter to be assuaged by a lengthy letter filled with fluff about why you think it’s a good idea to remove candidates from state-recognized parties from public debates. While these policy arguments may be convincing to you, it is really beside the point. I shouldn’t need to remind you that the Commission, as part of the executive branch, implements legislative policy – it does not set it.”
Hoffman concluded his communication to the agency, stating, “Because Arizona requires the Commission to ‘sponsor debates among candidates’ and the Green party candidate certainly meets Arizona’s liberal definition of ‘candidate,’ the only conceivable way the Commission could exclude a Green Party candidate from participating would be through a duly passed rule that complies with Arizona’s APA. This, however, the Commission has not done.”
After Hoffman’s newest letter to the Commission, the Arizona Green Party posted the following to its X account: “By barring the Green Party candidates for statewide & federal offices in Arizona from the televised debates over an arbitrary rule, we believe that the Arizona Clean Elections Commission has violated A.R.S. 16-192, which prohibits the use of public resources to influence the outcome of an election. The commission has used taxpayer dollars to present a false, binary choice between Democrats and Republicans in the races for Senate, Congress, and AZ Corp. Commission. This action deprives AZ voters of the knowledge that they have other options, which WILL influence the outcome.”
By barring the #GreenParty candidates for statewide & federal offices in #Arizona from the televised debates over an arbitrary rule, we believe that the @AZCCEC has violated A.R.S. 16-192, which prohibits the use of public resources to influence the outcome of an election.
The Arizona Green Party also stated, “The Arizona Clean Elections Commission & the AZ Media Association, a private entity interested in profit rather than providing the people of Arizona with all perspectives from all parties, are favoring the duopoly candidates in these races over the grassroots & non-corporate Green Party candidates. Following the lead of candidates such as Quintana for Senate, the AZGP is currently in the process of filing official election complaints on these grounds.”
The @AZCCEC & the AZ Media Association, a private entity interested in profit rather than providing the people of #Arizona with all perspectives from all parties, are favoring the duopoly candidates in these races over the grassroots & non-corporate #GreenParty candidates.
It seems that Arizonans are keenly aware of their position as a major swing state for the upcoming election just one month away.
Arizonans ranked the third-highest in Google searches for voter registration following the vice presidential debate on Tuesday between Democratic running mate Governor Tim Walz and Republican running mate Senator JD Vance.
The discovery of these search ratings was made by Final Round AI, which analyzed Google Trends data for the impact the Walz-Vance debate had throughout the country.
The company’s CEO, Michael Guan, said in a press release that the vice presidential debate was less impactful on search spikes than the presidential debate last month.
“With the vice-presidential debate between Governor Walz and Senator Vance on Tuesday, we wanted to see how this affects interest in voter registration topics. We found the debate had caused the third-highest spike in searches so far, behind the spike on September 10 after the presidential debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump. The largest spike on September 17 came in the wake of the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump,” said Guan. “We also found that Georgia looked up voter registration the most, and Atlanta was the most interested metro area in the wake of the debate.”
The data from Final Round AI doesn’t traditionally align with the company’s purpose: their company provides an AI copilot for interviewees to land their desired jobs. Guan said that they applied their technology to bring awareness to misinformation spread by AI impacting politics.
“Voters must be wary of potential misinformation in this intense period, with the advent of AI making it much easier for people to make fake news,” said Guan. “AI has advanced to such a degree that convincing audio and video recordings can be easily made. We urge voters to take care and check that their information comes from trusted, unbiased sources. If news hasn’t come through official channels yet, it is better to wait rather than risk accidentally spreading misinformation.”
As for metro locations, Tucson ranked the fourth highest and Phoenix tied for ranking the eleventh highest.
The top ten metro areas for searches concerning voter registration were, in order: Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Fairbanks, Alaska; Tucson; Columbus, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas/Lafayette, Indiana; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
Georgia was ranked first, and Ohio was second. After Arizona, the top ten searches occurred in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, and Nebraska/Pennsylvania tied for ninth.
However, Arizona didn’t rank as a state or by metro areas in terms of searches for “who won the debate.”
In order, those top ten states were Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Iowa.
The top ten metro areas who topped search engines for asking who won the debate were, in order: Duluth, Minnesota/Superior, Wisconsin; Alpena Michigan; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Bend, Oregon; Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin; Rochester, Minnesota/Mason City, Iowa/Austin, Minnesota; Juneau, Alaska; Mankato, Minnesota; La Crosse/Eau Claire Wisconsin; and Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Republicans in the Arizona Senate are looking for answers about a new rule from the Clean Elections Commission.
Last week, State Senator Jake Hoffman sent a letter to the Arizona Clean Elections Commission about the adoption of a “new rule blocking certain qualified Arizona candidates from participating in general election debates for statewide and federal offices.” In his letter, Hoffman writes that “this rule was not submitted for approval to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) under the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act,” potentially violating Proposition 306, which was passed by state voters in November 2018.
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Senate Government Committee Investigates Unlawful Rule Change Blocking Qualified Candidates from Participating in General Election Debates
The issue that prompted the inquiry by Hoffman was the confirmation from the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission that Eduardo Quintana, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, would not be allowed in the upcoming October debate with Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego. The rule from the Commission stipulates that candidates for public office must obtain at least one percent of all ballots tabulated in primaries for their specific office in order to maintain eligibility for general election debates. Quintana received 282 votes in the primary – far less than the one percent threshold established by the Commission.
“At best, the Clean Elections Commission seems to be creatively, yet intentionally, blocking some candidates from participating in the debate, not to mention subverting the will of the voters to require proper transparency in agency actions through the Administrative Procedures Act,” said Chairman Hoffman. “At worst, the taxpayer-funded Commission has knowingly broken the law. Either action offends the non-partisan intent of the Clean Elections Act. Voters deserve an explanation from the Commission as to why the intent, or the actual text, of the voter-approved Prop 306 was ignored by the Commission.”
Senator Hoffman gave credit to KJZZ for its reporting that appeared to alert him to this issue.
According to the letter, “Under Prop 306 in 2018, Arizona voters required new rules of the Commission to be subject to the statutory rule-making requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act.”
The letter also explains that “had the Commission followed the Administrative Procedures Act as voters mandated under Prop 306, the Arizona Green Party would have had the opportunity to protest the unreasonableness of a rule that effectively precludes their participating based on party registration numbers.”
Quintana posted a note of gratitude to Hoffman on his X account, writing, “A big THANK YOU to Republican Senator Jake Hoffman for standing up for democracy by challenging Az Citizens Clean Elections Commission for refusing to invite the Green Party candidate (me) to the televised debate between candidates Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego October 9.”
A big THANK YOU to Republican Senator Jake Hoffman for standing up for democracy by challenging Az Citizens Clean Elections Commission for refusing to invite the Green Party candidate (me) to the televised debate between candidates Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego October 9.
— Eduardo Quintana for U.S. Senate 🌻 (@Quintana4Senate) September 10, 2024
The Green Party candidate also appealed to the Arizona Attorney General to intervene, adding, “Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission is discriminating against the Green Party in their televised debates. We think this is illegal. Let’s see what the attorney general has to say about this.”
Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission is discriminating against the Green Party in their televised debates. We think this is illegal. Let's see what the attorney general has to say about this.
— Eduardo Quintana for U.S. Senate 🌻 (@Quintana4Senate) September 10, 2024
Last month, Kari Lake contacted the Commission to ask for Quintana’s inclusion in the October Debate. She stated that “Clean Elections said they will approach Ruben Gallego & see if he agrees to have him on the debate stage.”
Our campaign has contacted @AZCCEC & asked that @Quintana4Senate be included on the debate stage.
Eduardo will be on the ballot in November, & I believe we need to ensure that every candidate & every voter is heard & respected.
As of last week, however, it does not appear that Gallego had responded to Quintana’s and Lake’s appeals – or at least not in any positive manner.
I’m no fan of @KariLake, I’ll assure you. I think her particular brand of Trumpism is dangerous and bad for Arizona.
That said, the fact that she, of all people, has stood up for our democratic right to be included in the @AZCCEC debates and @RubenGallego has not speaks volumes. https://t.co/DSRbg9HFkN
— Eduardo Quintana for U.S. Senate 🌻 (@Quintana4Senate) September 4, 2024
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
It appears there won’t be a debate for the Phoenix mayoral race.
Matt Evans, the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Mayor Kate Gallego, announced on Tuesday that neither Gallego or her campaign had ever responded about scheduling a debate.
The revelation whipped the Maricopa GOP base into a frenzy. The Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) pointed out that Gallego had frequently engaged in debates for her successful 2018 run.
“[Gallego] participated in Debates to get where she is now. This time around, now that someone else is on the ballot, is she—representing 1 person—going to discriminate against the approx 770k registered to vote & 1.7M constituents of #PHX?” asked MCRC.
1/2 DEBATES FOR ME, BUT NOT THEE?@KateWGallego participated in Debates to get where she is now. This time around, now that someone else is on the ballot, is she—representing 1 person—going to discriminate against the approx 770k registered to vote & 1.7M constituents of #PHX? https://t.co/5o2MCJJaVypic.twitter.com/R1ETvcwNvE
— Maricopa County Republican Committee | MCRC (@MaricopaGOP) September 5, 2024
The party compared Gallego’s distancing from debates to a similar avoidance by Kamala Harris and, before her, Joe Biden. The comparison also expanded to both Harris’s and Gallego’s websites lacking any platforms or specific policy positions.
Gallego’s Republican challenger, Evans, includes several policy positions on his website, namely concerning homelessness. Evans, a Phoenix native and Arizona State University graduate, is an IT professional and married father of three.
Evans made an unsuccessful bid for the District 2 seat on the Phoenix City Council in 2022; he came in third out of the three candidates, gaining 17 percent of the vote compared to opponent Heli Nielson (30 percent) and the victor Jim Waring (53 percent).
According to the city of Phoenix’s latest reporting period, Gallego’s reelection campaign has raised over $1.3 million. Her highest donors this campaign in this year all gave $6,650 individually: EMILY’s List; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers PAC; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC; Kathryn Lincoln; Jessica Raymond; Mark Breen; Walter Cichon; Sundae Breen; William Levine; James Pederson; Roberta Pederson; James Gordon; Norma Kafer; Georgia Michaelson; Mike Michelson; Jerry Simms; Jonn Graham; Jamie Hormel; and Susan Guzman.
Others also gave the same high amount — $6,650 — last year for her campaign: Simer Mayo; Ernie Adair; Gary Holloway; Jerry Reindsdorf; Mark Becker; Bob Ramsey; Jacob Zonn; Jaime Scanlin; Jenny Norton; Heidi Jannenga; Andrew Cohn; Jonathan Keyser; Mel Martin; Roberta Koleas; Patricia Christofolo; Jason Morris; Cheryl Najafi; Kurt Mangum; Michael Pollack; and Rosellen Papp.
City campaign finance records reflect that Evans has raised over $3,400. It is also noted that he has a negative balance of nearly $1,000 due to excess disbursements.
Evans’s top donor, Cassius Carter, has given $1,000.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
