Will former Vice President Joe Biden win Arizona for Democrats for only the second time since 1996? We may have a strong indication by Tuesday night, crossed fingers, but what we know for sure right now is that Latina and Latino activists in the state have been working their butts off to bring Arizona back from Republican extremism.
Among them is Lucia Salina, an immigrant who lost her job amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. After having to ration her diabetes medicine, she’s fortunately expecting to work again soon. She’s also among the activists who along with Latino organizations are working to knock on 800,000 doors, an operation “the likes of which the state has never seen until now,” Laura Barrón-López reports.
On Mobilize America, there are hundreds of campaigns and local Democratic parties organizing (mostly virtual) get-out-the-vote activities. Find one near you, and connect with members of your community while doing work to turn out the Democratic vote.
Activists and groups in the state have already shown their muscle, following fights against the SB 1070 “Papers, please” law, and former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2016, Bazta Arpaio recruited hundreds of volunteers to knock on thousands of doors in the weekend leading up to his race. According to organizers, it was the largest GOTV canvassing in Arizona’s history. Arpaio lost—as well as lost further attempts to get his old job back.
But does Trump stand a chance of losing the state? Possibly, and with a major assist from organizations like hospitality union Unite Here, LUCHA, and Poder Latinx, the latter of which has been “focused on registering and mobilizing Latinos and other voters of color,” Barrón-López reports.
What can’t be lost are the incredibly personal reasons why many Latino and Latina voters in the state are being motivated to cast ballots this year. COVID-19 has decimated families—recent polling has found that Latinos name the pandemic their top issue this election—while others are voting to protect programs that have protected their loved ones. Edwin Arredondo, an organizer with Poder Latinx, told Barrón-López that two of his siblings are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. He’s the only eligible voter in his family.
“I'm the product of undocumented parents,” he said in the report. “My brother and my sister are both DACA recipients. I am fortunate enough to have been born here.” Much like Latino and Latina voters in recent ads from United We Dream Action PAC, he says his vote is not just for himself, but also for them. “I speak for all of my family and the biggest, the closest thing to my heart is immigration and a pathway to citizenship for my brother and my sister,” he continued.
“It was not long ago that Arizona was considered a Republican stronghold,” Steve Singiser recently wrote for Daily Kos. “In fact, Bill Clinton’s 1996 landslide was the only time since 1948 that the state has gone blue. But Democrats have been chipping away, driven by in-migration from blue states coupled with a growing Latino population. The net result? Arizona has moved markedly toward the Democrats, who nearly picked off the state from Donald Trump in 2016, and then seized a Senate seat in 2018.”
As Advanced Native Political Leadership cofounder Kevin Killer also recently wrote for Prism Reports, the state has also seen “revved up” work by Native American organizers and activists. Following SB 1070, “[g]rassroots groups from around the state formed the amazing One Arizona coalition, which focuses on outreach to Latino and Native voters during this election cycle.” This election is a real possibility.
Source: Daily Kos
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