As early voting starts across Arizona, Republican and Democrat nominees for President, Vice President – and their surrogates – barnstormed the state to reach voters ahead of the pivotal contest.
Several major events are taking place across Arizona as the November General Election nears.
On Tuesday, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff touched down in Arizona to rally voters for his wife, the Democrat nominee for President, Kamala Harris.
During Emhoff’s event, protestors made their views known about the Israel-Hamas War.
📍Phoenix, AZ
Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff during his rally Tuesday evening.
As the demonstrators were being escorted out of the rally, Emhoff noted the importance of the first amendment in the country. pic.twitter.com/JPmISoYNPN
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared with the Trump Campaign at a Phoenix rally to increase support for the Republican ticket.
Majority Leader Scalise campaigning hard for Trump Force 47 in Arizona and Nevada! pic.twitter.com/8WfcGace8x
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 9, 2024
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, stopped by the state, touching base with voters in Mesa and in Tucson.
We’re excited to welcome @JDVance back to Arizona at the Tucson Speeday on the first day of Early Voting!
The First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, has announced plans to campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket over the weekend in the state.
New this AM: First Lady Jill Biden will return to the campaign trail as a surrogate for Vice President Harris with a 5 day battleground state swing starting on Friday, a source tells CNN. She’ll campaign in AZ, NV, MI, WI and PA https://t.co/7wo79YNaqf
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.
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When former Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump in an announcement posted to X on Sunday, many Arizona Republicans were not surprised. Dismayed? Perhaps. But not surprised. Flake, who was appointed Ambassador to Türkiye by the Biden-Harris Administration, has been a vocal critic of Trump since at least 2021 when he wrote a scathing op-ed against the President in The New York Times.
Given Flake’s well-known antipathy for Trump, AZ Free News reached out to Flake’s team to ask two key questions, which as of this report have gone unanswered:
First: Did Flake receive a policy concession for this endorsement, such as protecting the filibuster, religious liberty, or SCOTUS? If not, why not?
And as a follow-up: People think Flake was promised another ambassadorship or a cabinet post. To remove any doubt and make it clear that this is really country over party, would he commit to refuse any posting in the Harris administration?
The silence from the ex-Senator speaks volumes.
In both video and written statements posted to X, Ambassador Flake said, “I’ll be supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice President. I’ve served with Kamala in the U.S Senate. I’ve also served with Tim in the House of Representatives. I know them. I know first of hand of their fine character and love of country. I would encourage all Republicans who feel this way to do the same.”
I’ll be supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice President.
I’ve served with Kamala in the U.S Senate. I’ve also served with Tim in the House of Representatives.
I know them. I know first of hand of their fine character and love of country.
In a written statement Flake appeared to attempt a moderate stance:
“I believe that we don’t have to agree on every issue or policy, but that we should use the political process created by our Founders to debate and persuade, not disparage and demonize.”
“I want to support a presidential candidate who seeks to unite our country, rather than one who divides us,” Flake said. “One who represents the ideals of new generation of leadership, not based on grievances of the past but hope for the future.”
“Having spent the past three years overseas as a United States ambassador, I’ve seen up close that we have very real enemies abroad,” he continued. “We also have vital and indispensable allies. I want to support a presidential candidate who understands and appreciates the difference.”
Claiming to be a “conservative Republican,” Flake added, “I would encourage all Republicans who feel this way to do the same. After all, in times like these there is nothing more conservative than putting country over party.”
Prominent Phoenix Republican Merissa Hamilton, co-founder of EZAZ.org, reacted to the announcement in a post to X, “Breaking: @JeffFlake supports Fascist Communism and no AZ voter is surprised at all.”
Breaking: @JeffFlake supports Fascist Communism and no AZ voter is surprised at all
As reported by Politico, Flake appeared on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday morning with host Martha Raddatz and repeated the Democrat talking point, accusing Trump of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, citing this as the reason he cannot support him. He claimed to want a candidate who “respects the will of the voters,” despite the well-documented policy of widespread political censorship imposed by the Biden-Harris administration.
“I think Republicans believe in the rule of law in particular, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, having lost an election, tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn that election,” He told Raddatz. “That is anything but respect for the rule of law. So I know that a lot of conservative Republicans feel the way I do, that you just can’t support a candidate like that.”
Flake also pointed to Trump’s position on the war in Ukraine, advocating peace rather than “hearing the former president not be able to even cheer for Ukraine.” He added, “That’s a big issue for me, and certainly for all of Europe who have spent a lot of time and blood and sweat and tears trying to help Ukraine deal with this Russian threat. We have to support and work with our allies, and [Harris] understands that.”
Following his terms as Senator, Flake was credentialed as U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye in January 2022. Many have viewed Flake’s ambassadorial appointment as a reward from Biden for siding against Trump, and this has left many Arizona Republicans wondering: What’s in it for Jeff this time?
Recently, Tim Walz said the quiet part out loud, declaring, “We can’t afford four more years of this.” When Walz and JD Vance face off on the debate stage this week, this is one statement they will both agree on: Americans can’t afford four more years of the Biden-Harris agenda transformed to a Harris-Walz Administration.
As we and others around us grapple with skyrocketing inflation, depleting savings accounts, soaring interest rates, and wages unable to keep pace with the financial ruins from the Biden-Harris agenda, Tim Walz is right – Americans cannot afford four more years of Democrat failed policies. We’ve heard time and time again that Kamala is from a middle-class family. However, Harris continues to be oblivious to the consequences of her failed economic policies that impact our families at the grocery store, gas stations, and electricity bills. It seems she’s the only self-identified ‘middle-class’ person who is immune to the inflation crisis that she and President Joe Biden have created.
Here are the inconvenient facts for Harris and Walz. Inflation has cost the average Arizona household nearly $27,000. Everything from energy to food has dramatically increased in price. Our electric bills are up 30%, and gas prices are up 46%. Putting food on the table is increasingly expensive as grocery prices have spiked 21% since President Donald J. Trump left office. Under Biden-Harris, nothing in our lives is immune to inflation, which is a hidden tax on every American. And for growing families, everyday baby essentials have skyrocketed, with a pack of diapers increased by 32% and baby food up by nearly 12%.
While men and women are paying more for just about everything, we are also taking home less after inflation. Families around the nation have had to take out additional lines of credit just to make ends meet. Now, nearly four years into the Biden-Harris failed economy, those credit cards are maxed out, with debt reaching a record high of $1.14 trillion. Thanks to Kamalanomics, one in five Americans’ credit cards are maxed out.
Arizonans are at their breaking point, and the 2024 Democrat ticket will only make these economic crises worse. A Harris-Walz agenda is a page out of the socialist playbook. Between their costly Soviet-style price controls and a tax on small businesses that is higher than the tax rate in China, the Democrats’ agenda puts America last.
Don’t take my word for it; it was Tim Walz himself who once said, “One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.” He also told business leaders, “We’re not taxing people–we’re taxing businesses.” Walz clearly doesn’t understand basic economics. When you tax a business, they pass that cost onto consumers.
These price controls and record-high tax rates will decimate what’s left of the American economy. But it’s not just our pocketbooks that are at risk. Walz, like Kamala, is a far-left radical socialist.
Together, they are the most liberal presidential ticket inhistory.
Tim Walz has a long record as Minnesota Governor that shows us how he would assist Kamala Harris in their shared mission of destroying our country. At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, Tim Walz will help usher in his Electric Vehicle mandate nationwide, requiring Americans to drive unaffordable electric cars that cost on average $56,575, which is over the average yearly salary in Arizona.
Tim Walz has a history of implementing unconstitutional mandates and socialist policies. Walz mandated lockdown long after Covid-19 ended, keeping children out of schools, and promoting the vaccine for children as young as six years old. During the lockdowns, Tim Walz even created a hotline to snitch on people who defied his ‘stay at home order,’ an authoritarian move that took officers from fighting crime to making criminals out of church services, and business owners who did not strictly follow masking rules – a power trip that turned Minnesota into North Korea.
Walz is no less radical on immigration and border security. As Governor, he signed legislation to provide free taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants, and he celebrated issuing driver’s licenses and car registrations to over 81,000 illegal immigrants in his state. Going even further, Walz granted illegals access to free college tuition. It’s clear that he puts illegals above American citizens. In response to President Trump’s border wall, Tim Walz said he would invest in ladders so that unvetted illegal migrants could still come over. It’s hard to believe that this current crisis at the border could get much worse, but it definitely would under the Harris-Walz Administration!
Additionally, Walz and Harris’ radical defund-the-police ticket should concern every community in Arizona and around the country. Just a handful of years ago, Walz essentially stood by while his own cities burned down and businesses were looted and violently destroyed, and then Kamala Harris helped raise money to bail the criminals out of jail. They make quite a team in these and many more areas. Americans be warned: this is what would be heading to our Arizona cities if this weak, failed, and dangerously liberal ticket has its way.
Americans can’t afford to send the most radical socialist ticket in U.S. history to the White House. With days left until election day, we must vote for a strong economy, safety in our communities, and a secure border. To do that, we must send tested and proven leaders to the White House—Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance. Let’s make the right decision for the future of our great nation!
Congresswoman Debbie Lesko represents Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. She is currently running for Maricopa County Supervisor in District 4.
You’ve seen “Black Women for Kamala” and even “White Dudes for Kamala,” but don’t expect to see “Parents for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is squarely against parental control of what young children are taught about sex, gender and homosexuality in school. On Tuesday, she chose a running mate — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a former schoolteacher who shares her extreme, anti-parent views.
Harris and Walz are out of line with what most Americans think. Not just Republicans; a majority of Hispanic and Black Democrats don’t want gender ideology in elementary school classrooms, according to Pew Research and You/Gov polls.
On July 25, Harris promised the American Federation of Teachers convention that she opposes the wave of state laws that bar preschool and elementary school teachers from indoctrinating children about sexual orientation and gender choices. Harris also opposes book bans, suggesting she’s OK with giving young children books that encourage them to question their own gender identity.
“We want to ban assault weapons. They want to ban books,” she railed. At issue are books for the youngest readers, like “I Am Jazz,” that tell little girls they can be boys, and little boys that they can be girls. Jazz “had a girl’s brain in a boy’s body. … Jazz was transgender.”
Parental rights and the innocence of young children are at stake in this election, warns Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, which launched an $18 million ad campaign across seven swing states. Schilling calls Harris an “extremist.”
All people, regardless of their sexual orientation, deserve respect. But parents need the final say on what their children are taught.
Harris has a history of bashing lawmakers who side with parents. At a June 23, 2023, pride rally, she called them “extremists.”
Who’s extreme here? You decide.
An AFT report deplores a Henrico County, Virginia, parent for questioning the appropriateness of “I’m a Gay Wizard,” a book in the school library, which depicts two boy characters having oral sex.
Former President Donald Trump vows to cut federal funding for any school or program that tries to push gender ideology and other “inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
On June 18, Harris posted a picture of herself hugging a tall man in drag, dressed in a metallic bikini and stilettos, on Facebook, adding the message, “Our LGBTQI+ children should not fear who they are.”
Of course they shouldn’t. All children deserve respect.
But this battle isn’t about inclusion. Inclusion is a good thing. This is about indoctrination. According to the AFT, “Books that normalize sexual identity confusion can help young people realize that they are not alone in their struggle for identity clarity and confirmation.” What the AFT goes on to say is that “the lack of candid conversations in families” about “nonheterosexual identity development” must be offset by teachers bringing it up.
Sorry, most parents don’t want the AFT — or local school authorities — replacing family. Harris apparently does. So does her new running mate.
Minnesota parents who opposed “Call Me Max,” a book about a transgender boy, being read aloud in kindergarten asked why they should let a teacher plant seeds of doubt in their kindergarteners about their sexual identity. Several states have banned the book from classrooms, but amazingly, California’s state education department recommends it for kindergarteners, first graders and second graders.
On May 22, Walz signed a law barring parental groups from removing books or materials from Minnesota school libraries based on content, calling the parental efforts “regressive.” The bill mimics legislation already passed in California and other blue states that leaves educators, not families, in charge.
Walz also championed legislation to provide tampons in all boys’ bathrooms, in case a transgender needs one. That’s pushing an agenda.
Meanwhile, Harris mocks parents, exclaiming, “Book bans in this year of our Lord 2024.”
The choice in November is between California values — extremely liberal Harris values — or the values your family chooses.
Meanwhile, the real emergency in education is being ignored. Fewer than one-third of fourth graders are proficient in reading, and barely one-third are proficient in math.
Blame the AFT. Its website is all about immigration rights, transgender rights, banning firearms, and other political issues. Not a word about pedagogy — how to teach reading and math effectively.
After Walz’s selection Tuesday, both the AFT and National Education Association rushed to applaud the pick.
Parents: If you care about your children’s innocence and their future, don’t elect AFT toady Harris and her anti-parent running mate in November.
Betsy McCaughey is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
