Ruben Gallego speaks to the press after the debate with Kari Lake
Rep. Ruben Gallego speaks to the press after the Clean Elections Senate debate against Kari Lake Oct. 9, 2024, in Phoenix.
PRESCOTT — Democrats drew more than a thousand people to the historic Yavapai County courthouse on Sunday to rally for U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego and others hoping to make an outsized impact in one of Arizona’s reddest outposts.
Gallego stood at a location that has become a political tradition dating to the 1964 presidential campaign of Arizona’s U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz. One of the organizers of the event estimated the crowd was double the gathering for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., two years ago.
Whatever the crowd size, it was part of a day Gallego barnstormed mainly Republican-leaning northern Arizona to chase every gettable vote in a state where epic finishes have seemingly become routine.
From Payson to Prescott, with stops in Flagstaff, Sedona and Cottonwood in between, Gallego, a five-term Democratic member of Congress, found pockets of blue in areas known as reliably red.
Gallego struck a message perhaps intended to appeal to those who may be less committed Democrats.
“I’m running to represent all Arizonans,” he said during his remarks in Prescott. “Here’s what I have learned: We have so much in common. We all want to defend our freedoms. We all want to take care of our veterans and our seniors, and we all want our kids to be better off than we were.”
In a series of short messages to supportive groups, Gallego retraced his biography as someone who rose from poverty to fight for his country and join Congress.
He didn’t dwell on Kari Lake, his Republican opponent in the race to succeed the retiring U.S. Sen. Krysten Sinema, I-Ariz. He did remind his audiences that abortion rights is on the ballot, along with a chance to stop former President Donald Trump from retaking the White House.
It was a tour of Arizona that included Flagstaff, where the Northern Arizona Trump Force 47 offices feature Trump and Lake items, including a flag that says, “My dog loves Trump.”
A half-block away, a banner supporting Vice President Kamala Harris hung outside a tall building that read, “John McCain was a hero!”
Trump, Lake supporters show up for Gallego events
As Democrats spoke in Prescott, several dozen Trump supporters held signs for him and interjected “Trump” periodically.
Paul Ruske, a 72-year-old Dewey resident, was among those holding signs for Trump. He shrugged off the Democrats’ gathering.
“I thought they would have a bigger crowd,” he said. He and a friend agreed that Trump remains strong in Yavapai County. A friend of his said Lake’s large campaign bus that includes large pictures of her with Trump was “too flashy.”
“I have been disappointed with her campaign. I don’t see her enough,” Ruske said. “I like what she believes in. I like what she says. I think she’ll do the right things, but I feel like her campaign has been a little invisible.“
Lake’s campaign is also hunting for votes everywhere. On Friday, for example, she held a rally near Arizona State University with former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy intended to appeal to younger adults who usually vote for Democrats, if they vote.
How heavily Republican is this area?
Three of the places Gallego visited are deeply Republican-leaning.
In Cottonwood, for example, the GOP has a 15-percentage point registration advantage over Democrats. In Prescott, it’s more than 30 points. And in Payson, Republicans have a 45-percentage point advantage over Democrats.
The Democrats have the registration edge in Sedona by 6 points and in Flagstaff by 14.
Because Republicans outnumber Democrats by such wide margins in Payson, those who lean left in Rim Country have focused on finding common ground where they can.
For about a year, the Rim Country Democrats have held weekly “Donuts with Democrats” gatherings in the Gila County Democratic Party office. Political discussions — with civility — are encouraged, and independents and Republicans are invited, too.
While respectful political engagement is the goal, it isn’t always the norm, in Payson as everywhere in America.
Payson resident Jean Thomas, 84, is a lifelong Republican who voted for Barry Goldwater during his 1964 presidential campaign and all of John McCain’s races as well. She has changed her voting practices in the Trump era, and not everyone approves.
“We put a Kamala Harris sign out front. It was stolen. We put another one out front. It was stolen,” Thomas said. “We had a Ruben Gallego sign out, and nobody’s touched it.”
Thomas said she was immediately repulsed by Trump in 2016 and only remains a Republican now only to help shape the party’s choices in primary elections. Thomas said she “loved” Lake when she was a TV newscaster in Phoenix but now is “appalled” by her rhetoric on immigration matters.
Democrats, independents step out into the open
Clarkdale resident Karen Kumar is a former Republican-turned-independent voter who is enthusiastically supporting Gallego. The 65-year-old retiree showed up for his gathering in Sedona.
“I had voted Republican ever since 1980. The very first time I could vote, I voted for Ronald Reagan,” she said. “They represented what I believe in. … The Republican Party has gone beyond what I think America is.
Kumar is married to an immigrant from India and said Lake’s hostility on immigration feels personal to her.
Besides, “Trump’s an insurrectionist, and she supports that,” Kumar said.
Not everyone was a guaranteed vote for Gallego.
“I came out because I’m still undecided who I’m voting for,” said Spencer Lower, a medical technologist in Clarkdale who saw Gallego at a brewery in nearby Cottonwood. “I gave him a chance to earn my vote.”
Lower is most interested in financial restraint by the government and restoring America’s bond rating. He said he can’t vote for Lake and was still unsure about Gallego. He appreciates Gallego’s military service as a combat veteran in the Iraq War. At the same time, he fears Gallego would support drastic changes like eliminating the legislative filibuster and packing the U.S. Supreme Court.
“What I’m looking for is Krysten Sinema. I’m a libertarian. … She was an independent voice for Arizona. I think she lived up to that, but she got pushed out for being that, and now we have two extremes.”
For committed Democrats who are accustomed to being surrounded by Republicans in places like Prescott, Sunday was a rare treat.
“You’re standing on hallowed ground of the Republican Party,” said Dana McCready, 70.
“This has been a wonderful opportunity for Democrats to step out into the open here in Prescott and show our support for candidates who have a new vision for this country. It’s inspiring to see all these people here.”
Republic reporter Caitlin McGlade contributed to this article.
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Publish date : 2024-10-28 04:09:00
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