The Arizona House Minority Leader has announced the death of the Democratic Party in Arizona. After the Republican sweep in last Tuesday’s General Election, Chad Campbell called for an autopsy of the Party.
The Yellow Sheet reported that Campbell said, “There’s got to be a serious autopsy. And I say ‘autopsy’ because I think we’re dead, at this point. The infrastructure is dead, the party structure is dead. So, there has to be an autopsy to figure out why it died, and move forward with a new model.”
As the Republicans turned their backs on Latinos while claiming they were reaching out to them, the Democrats counted on their vote, and it did not materialize. According to the Yellow Sheet, Campbell said the Democrats failed at basic get-out-the-vote operations.
Campbell’s shock at the lack of success is hard to fathom. The only real race the Republicans had was the spot for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The establishment of the Republican Party refused to step up for their popular candidate, Diane Douglas because she opposed Common Core. Common Core is a product of the chambers of commerce, and the establishment answers, for the most part to the chambers.
That race was called in Douglas’s favor by the AP on Sunday. Douglas was challenged by David Garcia, who gave her a run for her money. Running as a Clean Elections candidate, and with little Party assistance, Douglas beat Garcia. According to the AP report, “Douglas had decisive leads in Pinal, Yavapai, Mohave, Yuma, Graham and Cochise counties and also won La Paz and Gila.”
Douglas was challenged by David Garcia, who gave her a run for her money. Running as a Clean Elections candidate, and with little Party assistance, Douglas beat Garcia.
Operatives in the Republican Party, who make their living off of tight races, convinced even the most seasoned politicians that the Democrats had a chance.
Campbell complained that the Democrats should have spent more money on State House races to protect incumbents like Demion Clinco in LD2 from attacks. Campbell said the Democrat’s decided to “throw money” into the “totally unwinnable LD18 Senate instead of State House races.
Clinco’s loss will change little in the House. The Republicans elected Chris Ackerly, a staunch supporter of the teacher’s union. The union will surely benefit from Ackerly’s ability to caucus with Republican majority, giving the union far more access to power than they have had in the past.
According to the Yellow Sheet, Campbell didn’t buy the Democrats’ “dark money” excuse for losing. “Don’t act like this is a surprise. We all knew it was coming… It’s not just money, we have a much bigger problem than that,” Campbell told the Yellow Sheet.
State Senator Farley did buy the “dark money” excuse and went even further. He blamed the Obama administration. “The Obama administration refused to crow about its own advantages. Obamacare has actually been a huge success, even in red states, but they haven’t done anything to market that,” he told the Yellow Sheet.
With the exception of Arizona, which is not expected to pick up any new Republican congressional seats, the Republicans swept the nation last Tuesday’s. That sweep was seen by many as a repudiation of the Obama administration.
Farley most recently became the subject of ridicule when he compared Tucson’s streetcar to a “majestic whale.”