In Arizona's top election contests, Republicans have formed coalitions to support Democrats
PHOENIX - It didn't take much for Steve May, a lifelong Republican from Paradise Valley, to decide to vote for Democrats this election.
Nor was it a hard call for Mesa's GOP Mayor John Giles and a number of other Republicans who have loaned their names to a bumper crop of Republican groups urging their fellow party members — and everyone else — to vote for Democrats this year.
All say they are driven by alarm about the GOP message that the 2020 election results were fraudulent, and that Donald Trump was wrongly deprived of reelection. They see the Democrats as the only logical refuge.
“I’m not going to support anyone who is using the Republican Party to lie to the people," said May, a former state lawmaker who served from 1999 to 2003 and is part of the "Republicans for Katie Hobbs Coalition" backing the Democratic nominee for governor.
"I’m not supporting anyone who sows doubts about the results of the 2020 election.”
The phenomenon of high-profile members of one party publicly promoting a candidate from the opposite party is not new, but has taken on greater prominence since the 2020 election.
Two years ago, an "Arizona Republicans for Biden" campaign dotted roadsides and neighborhoods with signs promoting a crossover vote. Republicans spoke out on why they were backing Joe Biden for president, an overt rejection of then-President Donald Trump.
This year, GOP-aligned coalitions are backing Democrats for each of the top four statewide offices, from U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly to attorney general candidate Kris Mayes.
Credit Trump for these crossover campaigns, said Chuck Coughlin, president and CEO of HighGround, a political consulting firm.
"Trump himself alienates a good number of Republicans," Coughlin said. "And it’s a Trump endorsed (GOP) ticket from top to bottom."
Stan Barnes, president of Copper State Consulting Group and a Republican consultant, said although the groups this year may generate more attention, it's not uncommon to see disaffected Republicans publicly back a Democrat.
He's not convinced they make much of a difference, and said many of the officials in these groups are not seeking reelection, which allows them to speak more freely without political repercussions.
Meanwhile, Kelli Ward, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Arizona, in a statement, characterized these Republicans as RINOs, or Republicans in Name Only. They have lost elections, donated to Democrats for years and have "sour grapes" about Trump, Ward said.
"I can’t take these self-serving 'Republicans' seriously and neither can the voting public," Ward said.
National Republicans weigh in on AZ
It's not just a local issue. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., both have urged support for the Arizona Democratic candidates, given the Republicans' continued insistence that the 2020 election was stolen.
This cross-party effort appears to go largely in one direction, although former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party earlier this month, was in the Valley on Oct. 18 to endorse Republican Kari Lake for governor. Gabbard, who voted for Joe Biden, is now an independent.
During an appearance earlier this month at the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University, Cheney said the state of the Republican Party today compels her to support the opposite team.
"I don't know that I have ever voted for a Democrat," Cheney said, "but if I lived in Arizona now, I absolutely would for governor and secretary of state."
Earlier this month, Kinzinger endorsed Hobbs and Fontes as well as independent Clint Smith, who is running against U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs for a congressional seat.
"Now more than ever, it’s critical we elect leaders up and down the ballot who are loyal to the Constitution and willing to be a bulwark for democracy — regardless of their political party affiliation," Kinzinger said in a statement.
These endorsements are in line with Cheney's and Kinzinger's work to push back on the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen and their roles on the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. It's a rare position for congressional Republicans and a position that has brought condemnation from their own party.
For Kinzinger, his endorsement of the Arizona Democrats, or any Democrat, is a first. But, he said, it's in line with his belief that the best interests of the country come before partisan loyalty.
This is the year when people might have to accept an "uncomfortable alliance" with candidates they don't totally agree with, but who will stand up to protect elections, he said in an interview.
“We’re really sitting on the precipice of us solving problems through violence," Kinzinger said. "So this is the year, this is the one year, where we have to have that uncomfortable alliance.”
Other issues on voters' minds, such as inflation, gas prices and abortion, will remain in the next election cycle, Kinzinger said. But he said he's worried that the ability to solve those issues through a democratic process could be impossible in 2024 if election deniers win office.
Public polling shows this is not the top issue for many likely voters, especially Republicans. The economy ranked as the primary concern for 79% of voters polled by the Pew Research Center, in a survey released last week.
However, in a poll of likely Arizona voters, about 70% of those surveyed said they worried democracy in the U.S. was failing, although perhaps for different reasons. The poll, conducted for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com in late September, found the economy was the top concern, although abortion and threats to democracy were close behind.
In addition, six in 10 Republicans don't believe Biden was legitimately elected, according to a poll from Monmouth University released late last month. That makes the plea to support candidates who defend the 2020 contest a hard sell.
Barnes said the "save democracy" message is in the mix of issues, but not the determining factor driving a voter's candidate choice.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who harshly criticized GOP gubernatorial Kari Lake for her election denial stance, has softened his tone, telling The Republic recently that he is less concerned about democracy being imperiled by candidates who don't accept the 2020 election results as economic and safety issues have surpassed them. Ducey has defended Arizona's election system to Trump, telling him it works "and can be trusted."
A signal that it's OK to cross party lines
Whether these coalitions matter much in an election won't be known until Election Day. While Democrats have welcomed the support, Republicans have downplayed their effect.
Barnes said he doubts they hold much sway outside of the "echo chambers" of political insiders. Many of the Republicans in these coalitions are John McCain loyalists unhappy with the GOP ticket, he said.
“The remnant McCain voters are not happy about Kari Lake’s comments about McCain," he said. Lake celebrated her victory in the hotly contested GOP primary last summer by saying, "We drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine."
She has said McCain, who died in 2018, "is reaching up from the grave trying to keep power in Arizona ... and rarely did he do anything good for the people."
Coughlin said these coalitions aren't about persuading voters as much as they are a signal that it's OK to vote for someone from the opposite party.
"It’s giving unaffiliated voters and Republicans permission to vote for Democrats," he said.
It takes some of the sting out of the argument that the Democrats are clones of President Biden, he added. Biden's policies have dragged down Democratic prospects in this midterm election.
For Democrats, the coalitions are needed to score a win in Arizona, where Democratic voter registrations lag behind those for Republicans and independents.
“In Arizona, you see success when you see people build a broad-based coalition," said Sophie O'Keefe-Zelman, political director for Adrian Fontes, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state.
The "Republicans and Independents for Fontes Coalition" counts supporters such as Giles and former state Sen. Heather Carter, a Republican turned independent. There also is a business leaders for Fontes group, which organized a fundraiser.
It's these kinds of actions that help build support across party lines, O'Keefe-Zelman said.
The existence of similar campaigns for Kelly, Hobbs and Mayes, she added, “helps create the chorus.”
But whether voters hear the song remains to be seen.
Glenna Bray, a Prescott Republican, said she hasn't heard of the Republicans for Hobbs, and even if she had, it wouldn't influence her vote. She's a staunch Trump supporter and believes it's imperative to elect Lake as governor to save the state.
Aishia Jones, a Phoenix Republican, also said such coalitions aren't persuasive.
“Although I vote along party lines for the most part, I don’t look at what polls or groups tell me what to do," she said. "I do my own research."
Easy call to reject GOP candidates
Giles, the Mesa mayor, has played a prominent role in supporting most of the statewide Democratic candidates.
For him, it was an easy call. A lifelong Republican, Giles said he would stand with Republicans, such as county attorney candidate Rachel Mitchell, who don't subscribe to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. He calls it his "low bar" for screening candidates.
But the current slate leaves him little choice, he said.
“I think our republic is in danger, but they are the danger, not the solution," he said of the GOP lineup.
Former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley cites similar reasons for why he's supporting Mayes for attorney general.
Her opponent, Republican Abe Hamedeh, has vowed to "lock up" people who were responsible for the 2020 election outcome, which Hamedeh believes was stolen. Romley calls that stance disqualifying.
“Lock them up with no evidence, no evidence at all," Romley said, adding that it's a dangerous stance for the state's chief law enforcement officer to take.
Other Republicans object to the party's hostile stance toward early voting, as it seeks a court ruling to declare the 30-year-old practice unconstitutional.
Mark Finchem, the GOP nominee for secretary of state, has criticized early voting as susceptible to fraud. While not calling for an outright end to the practice, he has said he prefers a system where people vote in person at the polls on Election Day with a hand count of ballots. He favors limited absentee voting for overseas military and people with disabilities.
Bettina Nava, a former state director for the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, said she can't support anyone who wants to get rid of early voting, a system that Republicans evolved into a widespread and effective method of voter turnout.
Nava said she's troubled by the tone of politics, saying candidates need to learn how to accept a loss with grace.
It's also important for voters to realize ballots aren't static, where a voter is bound to vote a straight party ticket, she said. Voters should consider the candidate, not just the party affiliation, Nava said.
Independents have also joined in these campaigns. Carter, a Republican state lawmaker for 10 years, switched her affiliation to independent earlier this year.
She's publicly joined coalitions urging support for Democrats up and down the ticket because, she said, the other choice is a slate of extremists who reject the 2020 election results.
"We can’t have robust debates about policy in Arizona with people who can’t even agree that the 2020 election was fair and accurate," Carter said.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.