Arizona lobbyist Fred DuVal, who is running for Arizona governor, filed his nominating petition signatures on Thursday, May 8. DuVal, was ordained as the Democratic Party’s nominee after House Majority Leader Chad Campbell dutifully bowed out of the contest.
DuVal, who worked as a lobbyist for years, for T. Boone Pickens and other business interests, gained national attention this year when he darkened his face to appear Latino for prank that went awry.
DuVal released a photo of himself with his face darkened to show republicans that he’s a “good sport.”
DuVal’s unusual explanation stems from the fact that his darkened face picture was created in response to GOP operatives who labeled him “The World’s Most Uninteresting Man” playing off the imaginary Latino character; “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” in Dos Equis commercials played by Jonathan Goldsmith, in which he speaks with a voice inspired by his deceased friend and famous actor, Fernando Lamas.
According to the Arizona GOP, “DuVal digitally morphed himself to resemble the person pictured here, put the doctored image out on Twitter and hand-delivered a printed copy to the AZGOP. Painful attempts at humor, especially with racial overtones, usually backfire on candidates.”
In a press release, DuVal said he was “flattered” that the republicans would start targeting him so long before the election, and that rather than attack in response, he wanted to show them that he’s a “good sport.”
Conservative Latinos and Americans of African descent did not find it funny; they say that DuVal and his fellow democrats have a history of using race and racial divisions to raise funds on the backs of the very people their boycotts and other political stunts have hurt.
Jose Borrajero, of the Arizona Latino Republican Association said at the time, “As a Latino, I was not offended at all by the allusion to the Dos Equis commercial guy. It was a very stupid prank by someone who wants to be taken seriously as a gubernatorial candidate. But one must admit, it was amusing. What is not funny is that the Democrat party has become the party of economic oppression of Latinos and other “minorities”. Unlike the Democrat policies of the JFK era, current democrat policies are specifically designed to keep Latinos and others dependent on government programs, in a state of permanent financial slavery.”
“We should be focusing our attention on this rather than the silly pranks of silly candidates,” concluded Borrajero.
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One republican operative who asked not to be identified said, “This is the kind of thing you might think was funny but would never do… unless you started drinking too many Dos Equis.”
According to a poll conducted late last year, Campbell would have beat Fred DuVal for a spot on the General Election ballot.
According to a poll, by a Virginia-based firm, which questioned 623 likely Democratic primary voters, Campbell had a 13-point lead over DuVal. The Yellow Sheet reported that the “live-caller poll, which was conducted by Myers Research & Strategic Services between May 22 and June 13, has a +/- 3.9 percentage point margin of error. Campbell’s lead increased after the pollster tested a series of positive and negative messages on him and DuVal.”
Both candidates had low name ID, according to the poll, which found that 82 percent had no opinion on DuVal and 84 percent had no opinion on Campbell.
The poll pointed out that DuVal had voted to increase tuition when he served as a regent, and worked as a career lobbyist for big oil, according to the Yellow Sheet. DuVal denied the claim.