Thank you so much, LD9 voters, for making me the top vote-getter in the August 4 Primary Election, with 29,713 votes (50.7%).* Even though the LD9 House Democrats — Dr. Randy Friese and me — didn’t have a primary challenger, LD9 voters turned out the vote and heavily supported both incumbents over the General Election challenger. In November 6, 2018 election, Friese ended the night a few hundred votes ahead of me (less than 1%). This August, I’m a few hundred votes ahead of him … a statistical dead heat in both elections. Thanks for supporting both of us. I think we make a good team. Let’s do this again on November 3, 2020, LD9.
Another pleasant outcome on Tuesday was the substantial showing that both Friese and I made, compared to our Chamber-backed Republican challenger Brendan Lyons. I am currently beating Lyons by 11,608 and Friese by 822, as final votes are counted. Below is the full screen shot from the Secretary of State’s website as of today (August 11). Lyons has hired a large, out-of-state consulting firm to run his campaign to oust me from the Arizona House. In 2018, I beat my Democratic challenger by >14,000 votes and beat my Republican challenger by almost 13,000 votes. Bring it on.
While the Lyons has been reaching out to lobbyists and their corporate clients for backing and money, my campaign has been reaching out to voters through social media, e-newsletters, online LD9 town halls and events, video updates, and my blog. In fact, for someone who is running as the Tucson Chamber of Commerce candidate, Lyons certainly buys a lot of services from out-of-state businesses. Nearly 100% of my $49,823 will be spent in Tucson with local vendors.
Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities and events coming up in August and throughout the fall.
Onward to victory in November. The Legislature will face some very tough financial and public health decisions in the coming year. The last thing Arizona need is one more vote in the Legislature for Big Business and continued Corporate Welfare … and one less vote for the people.
As one of the few Clean Elections candidates left in the Legislature, I am not owned by Big Money donors or Dirty Money. I am honored to be your independent voice in the Arizona Legislature. Please support my re-election for a third term.
* Votes are still being counted as of this writing. These are not the final figures.