This past week has been a continuation of voter outreach energy. Have you felt it? Our campaign hosted two ballot events that brought resources straight to the community to empower their vote. It is incredible to see a room full of people taking the time to educate themselves and ask questions.
Every conversation, every vote matters.
As we get in the weeds with the ballot I also want to pull out a bit to reframe the magnitude of what Americans are faced with in their leadership choices. My kids are getting old enough to be able to read the political street signs and understand what an election means. They are asking questions about Trump and Kamala, often repeating things they hear adults and kids around them say. For as partisan as my job can be, I want my kids to think critically for themselves and understand the ‘why’ before the ‘what’. We don’t blindly ascribe to something, we understand the values and choices that lead us to our decisions. This morning they asked me who I was voting for. My answer was boiled down as simply as I could think of in the moment:
Do you want a leader that is going to help you or hurt you?
Help, they said.
Do you think your teachers, coaches, and leaders should lie or tell the truth?
Not lie, they said.
I realized that these simple questions boil down almost all of the choices between candidates from the bottom of the ballot to the top. We don’t need extremists like Shelli Boggs and Jerry Sheridan who have vowed to serve as MAGA conduits of power. Or Justin Heap, who wants to end 33 years of Arizonans voting by mail and pushes lies that the last election was stolen. We have quality candidates ready to serve so that education, public safety, democracy, and our economy improve.
And this extends to the propositions as well. In conversations with voters on both sides of the aisle they bring up how “foolish”, “impossible”, and “reckless” the state propositions sound. Yes, I tell them. They are. The same concerns you have over them are the same ones my democratic colleagues and I fought against putting on the ballot because they do not benefit people or our state. Out of 13 propositions, only 2 were put on by the will of the people. The other 11 are culture wars and temper tantrums intentionally disguised to confuse you and drive up the taxpayer tab and budget deficit.
So, I ask you two things in this final stretch:
1) Vote - and return your ballot as quickly as possible. Nine days remain to mail it back!
2) Share your knowledge and resources so that the people around you are informed and empowered like you are.
Democrats stand for truth, not conspiracy. We have plans, not concepts. And we continue to work this final stretch to reach every last voter. Thank you for caring and all that you are doing.
