by admin | Nov 22, 2024 | Elections, News and Updates
Though most attention was directed at the top of the ticket in the 2024 election, many groups on the Left waged high stakes on flipping Arizona’s barely Republican-controlled legislature.
In the two years since the 2022 election, when Republicans dwindled to 31 members of the 60-member House and 16 members in the 30-member Senate, Democrats have been busily planning and building their election takeover. After sweeping the top 3 statewide offices, including the Governorship, 2024 was the inflection point in the story of how Arizona went from red – to purple – to blue.
But that didn’t happen.
Under the leadership of Governor Hobbs and an orbit of well-funded organizations that raised upwards of $10 million to target key swing districts in Arizona, the Left failed to secure their legislative victories. Instead, the Republican-controlled Arizona House and Senate, in fact, expanded their majorities. Despite being outspent in every single race, Republicans now hold 33 members in the House and 17 members in the Senate, a small but meaningful gain. It’s a disaster for Katie Hobbs, who is already fighting low favorability and criticism by her own party for her inability to best Republican legislative leadership and rack up any wins for the Left’s agenda.
But Hobbs’ rivals certainly can’t blame only Hobbs for their election woes. Issues of public safety, the crisis at the border, and unaffordability and inflation consistently ranked at the top as concerns for voters. And at the end of the day, voters believed Republicans have more grown up and responsible solutions to these problems. In stark contrast is what Democrats were offering: ideas Arizonans have watched ruin our neighbors to the West.
Efforts to educate Arizonans about the real looming threats of allowing the state to fall prey to California policies have made their impact. When Arizonans learn how for years Democrats in the state have pushed to make Arizona a “sanctuary state,” to hand out benefits and driver’s licenses to illegals, to legalize squatting and homeless, to make it impossible to lower taxes, to eliminate school choice, and to create a slew of “climate crimes,” it is no wonder why they would make their bet on a generic Republican lawmaker. The legislative victories in 2024 make it clear that Arizona does NOT want to be California, and Democrats offer only Californication.
This shift to the Right in down ticket races is undergirded by a reddening of the state in general in the last two years, as Republicans have grown their state-wide registration advantage to 8.8%, the largest margin since 2012. These trends are not easily reversed and present an even bigger challenge ahead for the Left, who will need to devote ample resources to securing the Governor’s office in 2026 on top of their legislative ambitions.
Meanwhile, Republicans have mostly resolved their interparty squabbles for now, united under the Trump-mandate, and bolstered by the voter affirmation of their ideas on the economy, the border, and a saner culture.
The new majorities should keep these lessons in mind as they continue to hold the line against the advancement of the Hobbs Agenda and continue to ride the red wave into 2026.
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by admin | Nov 14, 2024 | Elections, News and Updates
How do you waste $15 million? Just ask the folks over at the Make Elections Fair Committee. Last week, their insane attempt to force a California-style elections system of ranked choice voting and jungle primaries went down in flames. Prop 140 failed miserably with nearly 60 percent of the electorate voting “No.” And it wasn’t for lack of funding.
With a huge amount of money coming from the pockets of out-of-state billionaires, the Make Elections Fair Committee spent at least $15 million—giving them a 20:1 spending advantage. That’s right. For every $1 spent trying to defeat the initiative, the Prop 140 committee spent $20 trying to pass it! And they still lost by a wide margin!
That’s legendary. If any business idea ever failed that badly, it would be banished and never spoken of again. And that’s exactly what should happen with ranked choice voting and its ugly cousin jungle primaries (which was already overwhelmingly rejected by Arizona voters back in 2012).
Prop 140 was one of the worst ideas ever to be proposed in our great state, and it is fitting that it met its demise from a vast majority of Arizonans. Radical leftists, out-of-state billionaires, and scheming consultants tried to hoodwink voters into adopting this failed system. They spent millions. They potentially misused taxpayer dollars to support the initiative. And they even had to resort to duplicating signatures to qualify for the ballot in the first place.
But voters did their homework. They saw through the misleading and manipulative ads pushing Prop 140. And they said “hell no” to this failed power grab. In fact, our efforts to dismantle Prop 140 were so effective that the Make Elections Fair Committee actually sent an email earlier this week admitting as much. This is a testament to over a year of hard work educating voters on ranked choice voting and why these radical schemes must be defeated.
But it wasn’t just Arizona that rejected this nonsense. Our state joined several other states throughout the country in overwhelmingly rejecting both ranked choice voting and jungle primaries:
On top of this, Measure 2 in Alaska, which repeals the state’s ranked choice voting system, appears to be headed toward passage. And in Missouri, Amendment 7, which proactively prohibits ranked choice voting, passed with almost 70 percent of the vote.
So, how much did all this losing cost? Nationally, groups pushing ranked choice voting spent over $100 million in seven states—only to see it fail in every single one. Could you imagine spending over $100 million without even seeing a hint of a victory?
Clearly, the people have spoken. Ranked choice voting and jungle primaries would be a disastrous transformation of our elections system. Nobody wants it. Now, it’s time for California to keep its destructive policies and systems on their side of the state line.
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.
by admin | Nov 6, 2024 | Elections, News and Updates
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Last night, Proposition 140 was soundly defeated by Arizona voters, rendering a complete rejection of out-of-state billionaires’ attempts to force a California-style elections system of ranked choice voting and jungle primaries. Nearly 60% of the Arizona electorate voted ‘no’ on Prop 140.
“Prop 140 was one of the worst ideas to ever be proposed in our great state, and it is fitting that it met its demise from a vast majority of Arizonans,” said Scott Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “Radical leftists, out-of-state billionaires, and scheming consultants tried to hoodwink voters into adopting this failed system, spending millions of dollars and duplicating signatures to qualify for the ballot. We are so pleased that millions of Arizonans did their homework and said ‘hell no’ to, what would have been, a disastrous transformation of our elections system. California can keep their destructive policies and systems on their side of the state line.”
Ranked choice voting suffered losses in every state it was on the ballot this November General Election:
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- Colorado: Proposition 131 was defeated with almost 55% of the vote
- Idaho: Proposition 1 was defeated with almost 70% of the vote
- Montana: Both CI-126 & 127 were defeated
- Oregon: Measure 117 was defeated with almost 60% of the vote
- South Dakota: Amendment H was defeated with more than 65% of the vote
- Nevada: Question 3 was defeated with almost 54% of the vote
- Alaska: Measure 2, which repeals the state’s ranked choice voting system, appears headed toward passage
In Missouri, Amendment 7, which proactively prohibited ranked choice voting, passed with almost 70% of the vote.
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.
by admin | Nov 4, 2024 | Elections, News and Updates
Tomorrow, November 5th, is Election Day! If you haven’t voted, make sure to visit a polling place. If you live in Maricopa County, find a polling place here. If you live in Pima County, find a polling place here. If you live outside of Maricopa and Pima County, find a polling place at my.arizona.vote.
If you cannot wait in line to vote and have your early ballot, at the very least make sure to complete it and drop it off at one of these locations by election day.
For a full description of all the measures and a list of all candidates endorsed by the Freedom Club PAC, visit www.AZBallot.org, where you can also print off all of our recommendations.
Below are some short descriptions of many of the 13 important ballot measures.
Proposition 133 – Preserves our fair primary system by guaranteeing that every qualified party has a right to have representation on the general election ballot. Vote YES!
Proposition 134 – Guarantees our ballot initiative process is fair and balanced by requiring signatures to be collected in every county, preventing out-of-state special interests from parking circulators in just Phoenix and Tucson, ignoring rural Arizona entirely. Votes YES!
Proposition 135 – Similar to what several states have already adopted, this measure protects against the abuse of emergency powers by automatically terminating emergency declarations after 30 days, unless extended by the legislature, and empowers the legislature to call a special session, as soon as day one, with just one third of the members in each chamber. Vote YES!
Proposition 136 – Prevents unconstitutional ballot measures by allowing a person to challenge a measure and if the Arizona Supreme Court decides it is unconstitutional, it would not appear on the ballot. Vote YES!
Proposition 140 – A sprawling measure adding 15 separate amendments to the constitution to enact California-style election schemes in Arizona like jungle primaries and ranked-choice voting that confuse and disenfranchise voters. Vote NO!
Proposition 312 – Defends property owners from out-of-control homelessness by allowing them to be reimbursed for expenses they incurred after repeated failures of the city or county to enforce ordinances against public nuisances. Vote YES!
Proposition 314 – Secures the border, empowering local law enforcement to apprehend illegals who cross into Arizona outside of a port of entry, leading to jail or voluntary deportation. Vote YES!
Remember, make sure to visit AZBallot.org to download a flyer of all recommendations from the Freedom Club PAC.
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.
by admin | Oct 29, 2024 | Elections, News and Updates
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Today, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club released the results of a poll conducted by Data Orbital on Proposition 140, which would enact a California-style election scheme of ranked-choice voting and jungle primaries. The survey showed that the ballot measure is receiving far less than the fifty percent of the vote required for passage in the upcoming November Election.
“This latest poll demonstrates that Arizonans do not appreciate these special interests attempting to commandeer our elections for their radical agenda,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “Arizona voters are diligently doing their research on Prop 140, and they are being turned off by its dangerous effects on our state’s elections and future. We are hopeful this measure will go down in flames on Election Night next week, sending a message to these out-of-state billionaires and California liberals that Arizonans want free, fair, and transparent elections – not a system run by a partisan election official and his band of unelected bureaucrats.”
According to the Data Orbital poll results, Proposition 140 is deep under water with only 42.2% of respondents in support of the measure – well under the 50% threshold necessary for passage. Of the respondents who have already voted, support for Prop 140 was only at 38.4%.
See the toplines and the crosstabs.
Last week, Highground, Inc., the firm behind much of the state operations to promote Proposition 140, released the results of a poll for the races of President of the United States and U.S. Senate. Curiously, Highground did not include any results for Proposition 140, which it surely surveyed due to its interest in the ballot measure.
If passed by voters, The Make Elections (Un)Fair Act would do the following for future Arizona elections:
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- Allows one politician, the Arizona Secretary of State, to decide how many candidates qualify for the general election ballot for every single contest, including his or her own race.
- Would result in some races where candidates from only one political party appear on the general election ballot.
- Would force voters to navigate two completely different voting systems on the same ballot, with some races requiring voters to rank candidates and others that do not.
- Will increase tabulation errors, create longer lines at the polls, and significantly delay election results.
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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