by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 10, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Another national poll has former President Donald J. Trump leading current President Joseph R. Biden in the critical swing state of Arizona.
On June 6, Fox News published a poll, showing that Trump was beating Biden in a November General Election rematch by five percent (51-46%).
The poll was conducted June 1-4, 2024, with a sample of 1,095 Arizona registered voters.
President Trump improved his standing in this poll from an earlier survey in March, when he garnered 49 percent, compared to Biden’s 45 percent.
When other candidates are factored into the race, Trump maintains his five percent advantage over Biden, growing that number from March, when he led the Democrat by four percent (43-39%).
The forty-fifth President of the United States enjoys significant leads over Biden in a number of issues of trust for voters. From the poll, twenty percent more Arizona voters trust Trump than Biden when it comes to immigration and the border (58-38%), while fifteen percent more voters trust the presumed Republican nominee over the economy. Trump also enjoys a double-digit lead in trust when it comes to the Israel-Hamas War.
According to the poll, eleven percent more Arizona voters trust Biden than Trump over climate change (52-41%). The two candidates are closer together with the issues of abortion, health care, and election integrity.
President Trump traveled to the all-important swing state of Arizona on Thursday, where he participated in a packed townhall with supporters. The state’s eleven Electoral College votes will be vital to securing the General Election victory in November, and both Republicans and Democrats figure to spend massive amounts of resources to campaign for the votes of independent voters leading up to the political contest. Arizona also has several other races and initiatives that will be key to the state’s future, including the U.S. Senate, control of the Arizona Legislature, and a number of ballot initiatives.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 2, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A new poll from Emerson College and The Hill found that former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden in Arizona and six other key swing states.
The poll, released on Monday, reflected a consistency in swing state preferences since last November, according to the pollsters. Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a press release that the main differences concerned a diminishment in undecided voters and increase in support for Biden in Georgia and Nevada.
“The state of the presidential election in swing states has remained relatively consistent since Emerson and The Hill started tracking them last November,” said Kimball. “The share of undecided voters has reduced and Biden gained ground in Georgia and Nevada, narrowing the gap, while Trump has maintained a slight edge on Biden in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.”
Trump leads Biden by four percent in Arizona (eight percent undecided), three percent in Georgia (nine percent undecided), one percent in Michigan and Nevada (11 percent undecided), five percent in North Carolina (10 percent undecided), and two percent in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (eight percent undecided).
Last November, the pollsters found that Trump led Biden by two percent in Arizona among both registered and likely voters (16 percent and 11 percent undecided, respectively).
In this latest poll, Trump won over more independent voters than Biden in Arizona (48 percent compared to 38 percent), as well as Michigan (44 to 35 percent), Nevada (43 to 37 percent), Pennsylvania (49 to 33 percent), and North Carolina (41 to 38 percent). Georgia and Wisconsin independent voters favored Biden, at 42 to 38 percent and 44 to 41 percent, respectively.
Biden had a 51 percent disapproval rating, compared to 40 percent approval in Arizona. The other swing states had similar dismal disapproval ratings for the president: 52 percent disapproval in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin; 53 percent disapproval in North Carolina; and 51 percent disapproval in Pennsylvania.
Third party candidates reflected a bigger hurt than help for the incumbent president in most swing states, save for Arizona and Michigan, where Biden and Trump came up even for voter support.
The poll found that a plurality of voters in all swing states believed that the New York criminal trial against Trump was appropriate, and not a “witch hunt,” as the pollsters described.
13 percent of Arizona Republicans polled said they would be less likely to vote for Trump if he received a guilty verdict in the trial. Overall, a majority of Republican respondents said they would be more likely to support the former president should he be found guilty.
Independent voters said they would be 32 percent more likely to vote for Trump if he is found guilty, 43 percent said the ruling would have no impact, and 25 percent said they would be less likely to support him.
The poll also asked voters about their U.S. Senate candidates and sentiments of their governors.
In Arizona, 45 percent supported Democrat Ruben Gallego to replace outgoing Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, compared with 43 percent in support of Kari Lake. Gallego had a marginal gain of one percent compared to Lake’s three compared to the pollsters’ previous data from March.
Governor Katie Hobbs received a 42 percent disapproval rating, with 38 percent approving and 20 percent neutral. Hobbs was the only swing state governor on the poll that had a majority disapproval rating.
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by Corinne Murdock | Mar 19, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Kirsten Engel implied that Trump’s recent use of the common “bloodbath” metaphor was a call to violence.
The congressional candidate didn’t come to the conclusion on her own. Engel played off viral claims made in the media by the Biden-Harris campaign and top Democrats. She used the media storm on the former president as an opportunity to condemn her opponent, incumbent Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), for not rebuking Trump’s rhetoric. Ciscomani endorsed Trump earlier this month.
“Just one week after my opponent endorsed him, President Trump warns of a ‘bloodbath’ if he’s not elected in Nov,” said Engel. “Predictably my opponent remains silent. Time and again he’s demonstrated an unwillingness to stand up to extremism. #AZ06 deserves better.”
Democrats and legacy media claimed that Trump mentioned a “bloodbath” in a political rally Saturday night as a promise of violence should he lose the election, many comparing the rhetoric to the 2021 Capitol breach. However, the former president was warning that his loss in the upcoming presidential race would result in a “bloodbath” for the country’s auto industry, as well as the entire economy.
“Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re gonna get that, you’re gonna not hire Americans and you’re gonna sell the cars to us. No, we’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line. And you’re not gonna be able to sell those cars; if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars; they’re building massive factories.”
The “bloodbath” metaphor is a popular one employed often by politicians, and even the same outlets that have now criticized Trump for its usage.
The Biden-Harris campaign also accused Trump of eliciting violence. James Singer, the campaign’s spokesman, passed on a statement to numerous outlets from a press release claiming that Trump was trying to start another January 6 incident.
“This is who Donald Trump is: a loser who gets beat by over 7 million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence,” said Singer. “He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge.”
Biden’s team also issued a response directly from him with a similar accusation.
“It’s clear this guy wants another January 6,” stated Biden.
The campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, also put out the accusation in an interview with former White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 22, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republican legislators continue to work alongside state attorneys general in significant legal fights in federal court.
On Friday, the Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus announced it had joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in Trump v. Anderson, defending the former president’s right to remain on the ballot in Colorado – and every other state – for the upcoming election. This action follows a similar effort, where legislators, led by Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma, signed their names to a brief that successfully petitioned the nation’s high court to hear the case.
This latest amicus was led by the States of Indiana and West Virginia and co-signed by twenty-three additional states. Notably, the legislative leadership of North Carolina also joined the coalition of attorneys general and the Arizona Legislature in the filing. As with Arizona, North Carolina has a Democrat attorney general and a Republican-led legislature.
Senator Jake Hoffman championed the newest sign-on from the state legislature, writing, “With a Leftist AG in Arizona who refuses to stand up for the rule of law, the conservative-led Legislature has stepped up to defend not only the laws of our state, but the very fabric of our republic. Proud to stand with Warren Petersen and the Arizona Senate Republicans on these legal battles.”
Representative Alexander Kolodin added, “Democrats are trying for a Chinese style election where only their presidential candidate appears on the ballot. The Arizona House and Senate Republicans are stepping up to defend democracy against this threat!”
In their brief, the attorneys general and legislators warn that “if the Court endorses what happened in Colorado, then the chaos can only be expected to worsen. No doubt a political tit-for-tat will ensue, in which competing parties will find new avenues to disqualify their opponents. And elections could then come down to small variations among state elections laws and the political composition of state administrations. In short, indulging challenges of this sort and in this posture will ‘sacrifice the political stability of the system’ of the Nation ‘with profound consequences for the entire citizenry.’ At a minimum, it will ‘expose the political life of the country to months, or perhaps years, of chaos.’”
The legislators’ sign-on to this brief marks yet another time they have joined Republican attorneys general on their legal filings over the past couple months. At the start of the year, the Arizona Legislature joined an amicus brief in federal court to help challenge California’s Assault Weapon Control Act. That brief was led by the attorneys general of Idaho, Iowa, and Montana, and co-signed by almost two dozen additional states.
In December, Petersen and Toma joined a public comment letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to address its newly proposed rule, Definition of “Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms.” That letter was led by the States of Kansas, Iowa, and Montana, and co-signed by 22 other attorneys general.
Over the past month, the two Republican legislative leaders have signaled a more aggressive shift in taking the reins from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to defend the law and Constitution. Attorneys general are not usually joined by outside parties on their amicus briefs, yet multiple coalitions of Republican state prosecutors have included Petersen and Toma on these major filings. In previews for the 2024 legislative session, both the House and Senate Majority Caucuses indicated more of these efforts are to be expected throughout this year.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 14, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s leading Republican lawmakers are again joining state attorneys general on another matter of national importance.
Last week, the Arizona State Senate Caucus revealed that President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma had joined an amicus brief to urge “the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a dangerous ruling out of Colorado” that had barred “former President Donald Trump from the GOP primary ballot in the 2024 presidential election.” The filing was led by the States of Indiana and West Virginia and joined by 25 additional states, as well as the Arizona Legislature.
In a statement that accompanied the announcement, Petersen said, “If the high court does not immediately act, we anticipate election chaos will ensue over former President Trump’s eligibility as a candidate. This is clearly a case of judicial activism and a violation of the separation of powers. Leftist bias and prejudice are on full display from the Colorado Supreme Court. These justices are only playing partisan games by recklessly feeding a false media narrative that seeks to disenfranchise voters. I’m confident the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down this dangerous attack on our democracy.”
Petersen’s news release called the Colorado State Supreme Court’s decision to bar Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution “an egregious abuse of power,” asserting that America’s governing document “reserves the power to determine the political question of what constitutes an ‘insurrection’ to Congress – not rogue courts.”
Shortly after the brief was transmitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the challenge was scheduled for arguments before the nation’s high court in early February.
The legislators’ sign-on to this brief marks the second time they have joined Republican attorneys general on their legal filings in 2024. At the start of the year, Senate Republicans shared that the Arizona Legislature had joined an amicus brief in federal court to help challenge California’s Assault Weapon Control Act. That brief was led by the attorneys general of Idaho, Iowa, and Montana, and co-signed by almost two dozen additional states.
In December, Petersen and Toma joined a public comment letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to address its newly proposed rule, Definition of “Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms.” That letter was led by the States of Kansas, Iowa, and Montana, and co-signed by 22 other attorneys general.
Over the past month, the two Republican legislative leaders have signaled a more aggressive shift in taking the reins from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to defend the law and Constitution. Attorneys general are not usually joined by outside parties on their amicus briefs, yet multiple coalitions of Republican state prosecutors have included Petersen and Toma on these major filings.
Both Majority Plans released by Senate and House Republicans preview their commitment to aggressively weigh in on state and federal litigation to defend the interests of Arizonans and uphold the rule of law. Senate Republicans wrote that they “firmly believe in the rule of law and will continue to defend state laws, especially when our Attorney General refuses to do so. We will also continue to seek appropriate relief through the courts to serve as a necessary check on abuses of executive authority at both the state and federal levels.” House Republicans added that “under the Biden administration, our constitutional rights and individual liberties are under daily threat…this complete disregard for the Constitution will not be tolerated. House Republicans will always protect rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
