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Primary highlights
August 29, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Some of the highlights from Tuesday's primary:
Disgraced former Senate president and de facto governor of Arizona, Russell Pearce, lost his comeback bid after being recalled last year when the entire City of Mesa finally decided that they had had enough of his racist antics. The murder-suicide by Russell's Neo-Nazi buddy J.T. Ready in May probably was a factor as well.
Ol' Russell's brother, the corrupt former judge Lester Pearce, also lost his race for Maricopa County Supervisor (Dist. 2), despite being endorsed by Sheriff Bull Connor Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio. The Pearce brothers lose: Is this a sign?
If independent Mike Stauffer would drop out of the sheriff's race, Democrat Paul Penzone might be able to defeat Crazy Uncle Joe head-to-head. Joe keeps running up legal bills and judgments against Maricopa County, and there is that racial profiling decision from the Court that is expected in September.
Pearce banned reporters and photographers from attending his election-night party at Rockin' R Ranch, an Old West dinner theater in southeast Mesa. He refused to come out of the event and make a comment as the results began rolling in. Worsley beats Russell Pearce in Mesa Senate race. Stay classy, Russell.
In the most insane district in Arizona, District 1, House Speaker Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, and Rep. Karen Fann, R-Prescott, easily turned back a challenge from Sen. Lori Klein, R-Anthem. Klein is famous for her outrageous statements and pointing her loaded pink gun at a reporter's chest. She had the support of Herman Cain and Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher. Andy Tobin is equally as bad, but Lori Klein is truly batshit crazy. Good riddance.
The Final Race to the Finish
August 29, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Primary Election is over. Based upon unofficial results (subject to revision), statewide voter turnout was a pathetic 23.01%. The highest voter turnout was in sparsely populated Greenlee County at 42.13%. The worst performance for voter turnout was in Yuma County at 18.03%. The state of Maricopa was not much better at only 20.37%.
Elsewhere in Baja Arizona, Pima County voter turnout was 30.97%, topped only by the far less populated Graham County at 31.32%. Cochise County was only slightly better than the statewide voter turnout, at 23.92%, followed by Santa Cruz County at 20.69%, and Pinal County competing with Yuma County for the bottom, at 19.18%.
There were a number of write-in candidates for various races who did not appear on the ballot or in reported election results. We will not know if any of these write-in candidates received enough votes to qualify for the November ballot until the primary election vote is certified. In the meantime, I will include their names with the write-in designation.
So who made it to the starting gate for the final race to the finish?
U.S. Senate
Richard Carmona (D)
Jeff Flake (R)
Marc Victor (LBT – write-in)
U.S. House – Dist. 1
Ann Kirkpatrick (D)
Jonathan Paton (R)
Kim Allen (LBT – write-in)
U.S. House – Dist. 2
Ron Barber (D – Inc.)
Martha McSally (R)
U.S. House – Dist. 3
Raúl Grijalva (D – Inc.)
Gabriela Saucedo Mercer (R)
Blanca Arsenia Guerra (LBT)
U.S. House – Dist. 4
Johnnie Robinson (D) – too close to call
Mikel Weisser (D) – too close to call
Paul Gosar (R – Inc.)
Joseph Pamelia (LBT)
Richard Grayson (Amer. Elect – write-in)
U.S. House – Dist. 5
Spencer Morgan (D)
Matt Salmon (R)
U.S. House – Dist. 6
Matt Jette (D)
David Schweikert (R -Inc.)
Jack Anderson (LBT)
Mark Salazar (GRN – write-in)
U.S. House – Dist.7
Ed Pastor (D -Inc.)
Scott Fistler (R – write-in)
Joe Cobb (LBT)
U.S. House – Dist.8
Gene Scharer (D)
Trent Franks (R – Inc.)
Stephen Dolgos (Amer. Elect)
U.S. House – Dist.9
Kyrsten Sinema (D)
Vernon Parker (R)
Powell Gammill (LBT – write-in)
Goldwater endorses Dr. Richard Carmona
August 29, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Nice way to start the general election campaign. Goldwater endorsed Dr. Richard Carmona for U.S. Senate. Joanne Goldwater, the eldest daughter of late-Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, that is. Press release from the Carmona for U.S. Senate campaign: Joanne Goldwater, members of Goldwater family endorse Rich CarmonaGoldwaters say Carmona will serve Arizona over ideology … Read more
AZ09
August 29, 2012
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Posted by Bob Lord It was jubliant at the Sinema primary party last night, as well it should have been. She ran a solid race and won easily, despite being outspent heavily in the closing weeks. (Disclosure: I've supported Sinema's campaign). Kyrsten's victory speech in my mind struck the right tone, heavily emphasizing the craziness, … Read more
Takeaways from the primaries
August 29, 2012
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by David Safier A few random thoughts about some of the primary elections: Raul Grivalva won big! Yeah, we all knew it was gonna happen, but it still feels good to see it on paper. Russell Pearce lost substantially! Proving in Arizona, it is possible to be too right wing, too beligerent and too much … Read more
Gov. George Wallace in a dress says President Obama is pandering, race-baiting for Latino vote
August 28, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Our Gov. George Wallace in a dress, Jan Brewer, can barely contain her contempt for that Black man in the White House, President Obama. Today, Brewer: Obama Pandering, Race-Baiting For Latino Vote: As Republicans continue their struggle to win over Latino voters, few party members have embodied the party’s image problem with … Read more
Gabriela Saucedo Mercer and religious bigotry McCarthyism
August 28, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Oh no. Someone has been spending way too much time hanging out with Rep. Trent Franks, and wants to join him in his religious bigotry McCarthyism.
CD 3 Tea-Publican candidate Gabriela Saucedo Mercer hates on "Middle Easterners." She does know "those people" includes Israeli Jews, right? Gabriela Saucedo Mercer: We don’t want Middle Easterners in U.S. | TPMMuckraker:
In an interview with a conservative website earlier this year, Saucedo Mercer talked in depth about her views on immigration. A Mexican immigrant herself who became a U.S. citizen, she said the issue was important because people from places other than Mexico were among those coming across the border illegally.
“That includes Chinese, Middle Easterners,” she said. “If you know Middle Easterners, a lot of them, they look Mexican or they look, you know, like a lot of people in South America, dark skin, dark hair, brown eyes. And they mix. They mix in."
“And those people, their only goal in life is to, to cause harm to the United States. So why do we want them here, either legally or illegally? When they come across the border, besides the trash that they leave behind, the drug smuggling, the killings, the beheadings. I mean, you are seeing stuff. It’s a war out there.”
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She has been endorsed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who is scheduled to attend a fundraiser for Saucedo Mercer on Sept. 12 in Tucson. She was also facing attacks from the campaign of Rep. Raul Grijalva, the Democrat she is trying to unseat.
Before the primary polls even closed, Grijalva’s campaign posted a video to YouTube highlighting Mercer’s comments. It [is] titled “The Real Gabriela Mercer – We Don’t Want Middle Easterners” and dated on Monday.
Saucedo Mercer gave the interview originally to a conservative website called Western Free Press, but it went almost unnoticed until now.
Video below the fold.
A perfect Republican story
August 28, 2012
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by David Safier This story is so satirically rich, it could have been made up by The Onion, but it's not. The report comes from the Ohio Plain Dealer. Romney held a rally August 14 in a coal mining area in Ohio. Hundreds of coal miners attended to show their . . . Not their … Read more
