by admin | Jun 6, 2025 | Misc, News and Updates
Heading into November’s election, the Democratic Party felt good. They thought they had the presidency locked up. And here locally, they were convinced that they would gain control of Arizona’s legislature after outspending Republicans in every single race.
Then, a massacre happened. President Trump was handed a mandate by the American people, and Democrats actually lost ground in our state legislature. That had to feel like rock bottom for the Left, and yet, as we’ve seen so far in 2025, it wasn’t.
On the heels of their historic defeat, the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) faced accusations of financial wrongdoing from one of its leaders, just days before its convention and officer elections in January. Then, in April, the ADP saw even more infighting between party leadership and the state’s top Democratic elected officials: Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Attorney General Kris Mayes, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, and U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego. Now, the latest news shows that, according to its own leadership, the Arizona Democratic Party will actually go broke by the end of this year.
That’s a lot of dysfunction in just a few short months, which is usually the domain for Republicans. But now it appears the Dems have become the standard bearer of political chaos.
In the midst of all this infighting and disarray has been more bad news for Democrats. Voter registration numbers in April showed that the gap between registered Republicans and Democrats in Maricopa County has increased from 85,000 in April 2020 to 191,000 in April 2025. But that’s not even the worst part for the Left. According to the numbers, there are now fewer registered Democrats in Maricopa County than there were five years ago despite the fact that Maricopa County has grown by over 150,000 residents!
It’s tempting to want to grab a bowl of popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show. Heck, it’s better than just about anything Hollywood has put out in years. But the conservative movement can’t afford to take its foot off the gas. Right now, it is critical to keep the momentum going after a successful 2024 in two important ways.
First, conservatives need to unite around winning issues such as border security, school choice, and putting more money back into the bank accounts of Arizona’s families with lower taxes and utility bills. After the Biden administration’s disastrous handling of the border, illegal immigration ranked as one of the top concerns for voters this past November. And there isn’t a person in this state who wouldn’t like to have more money back in their wallets.
On top of that, teachers’ unions made it no secret that their top priority was to roll back and eliminate the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program in Arizona. They spent millions to push candidates with a long track record of being anti-school choice in this past election. And they lost big. Now, more families are recognizing the tremendous benefits of school choice in our state as enrollment in the ESA program continues to grow.
These are winning issues, and Republicans must unite around them to build on this success. But standing on the right side of key issues is only one part of keeping the momentum going.
Leading up to the 2024 election, a strong coalition of conservative groups got proactive. They excelled at registering thousands of new voters and converted countless disaffected Hispanic and young voters into pro-freedom Republicans.
But we can’t be satisfied or rest on our laurels.
Outreach and engagement with families, business owners, and voters all throughout the state of Arizona must be a priority. And if the conservative movement continues to build on these pillars—and the Dems continue to self-immolate—the winning won’t stop heading into 2026.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
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by admin | Jun 3, 2025 | Misc, News and Updates
In November 2022, Arizona voters narrowly approved Prop. 308, making Arizona the 24th state in the nation giving taxpayer-subsidized, in-state tuition rates to illegals. Its narrow passage on the ballot was preceded by its razor-thin passage at the state legislature, slipping out because two former Republican legislators, who since lost their seats to primary challengers, rolled their caucus and voted in lock step with Democrats to force it for a vote.
After making the ballot, the measure was bankrolled by a small but well-financed cohort within the political class, business community, and immigration activist organizations funded by George Soros. Even a handful of Republican elected officials and candidates jumped on board, including a few city council members and current candidate for the Republican nomination for Arizona Governor, Karrin Taylor Robson.
It was in part billed by proponents as only applying to “Dreamers,” or recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program established under the Obama administration. In reality, it allowed for anyone here illegally to get in-state tuition rates as long as they spent at least two years in an Arizona high school—signaling to the rest of the world that if you enter here illegally in time to go to an Arizona high school, American taxpayers will subsidize your tuition at our universities.
But they hid from the public one important fact. It unequivocally violates federal law.
In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton signed a bipartisan immigration bill, which included a provision explicitly prohibiting universities from providing lower tuition rates to illegals than they do to any other U.S. citizen, regardless of their residency. In other words, under this federal immigration law, a state like Arizona could give illegals in-state tuition rates, but only if they provide that same rate to every citizen of the country regardless of their residency status, ensuring illegals are not given a privilege and benefit not provided and extended to every lawful U.S. citizen.
This federal law is explicit and clear, but states have been ignoring it for years. When Hans von Spakovsky from the Heritage Foundation wrote his report on it more than a decade ago, 12 states were in violation. Today, 24 states are still incentivizing illegal immigration by having every other taxpaying citizen subsidize their in-state tuition rate, some even providing scholarships, grants, and aid further subsidizing their tuition.
In the 2011 report, Hans noted that in 2005, it was estimated that providing an in-state rate to illegals in California was costing taxpayers between $222.6 and $289.3 million and in Texas between $80.2 million and $104.4 million. It’s costly for taxpayers, fundamentally unfair, and incentivizes more people to enter our country and states illegally.
But these states, including Arizona, continue to flagrantly violate federal law because there is no private right of action. So anytime a U.S. citizen who is charged more to attend a university than an illegal sues, the courts toss the case for lack of standing. It would take the federal government to enforce its own laws to put a stop to it. Since its passage in the 1990s, no executive has done so.
Until now.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order to, for the first time, do just that, directing the Department of Justice to investigate states violating the law.
Just think about it. A U.S. citizen who is a resident of another state will be charged $34,014 to attend Arizona State University this year, and that’s up from $26,470 just 10 years ago. An international student, someone who is not a U.S. citizen but is lawfully here temporarily to pursue higher education, will be charged $37,202. But a noncitizen who entered this country illegally? They will be charged $11,822, less than a third of out-of-state U.S. citizens and international students who followed the law. Those students and every taxpayer pick up the tab to subsidize the tuition of illegal immigrants.
It was bad policy then, when the border was wide open. It’s bad policy now. It was illegal then, and it is illegal today. It’s time for the Trump Administration to shut it down.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
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