A problem at the top

What’s Kamala up to these days? … The ballot has questions … And politics is all acting anyway.

Four years ago, President Joe Biden beat President Donald Trump in Arizona by roughly 10,000 votes, an impressively slim margin that cemented his national victory and minted Arizona as an officially purple state.

It’s tempting to think that given the choice between the same two candidates again, Arizonans will make the same decision. 

But these are not the same two men who stepped onto a debate stage in 2020.

Since 2020, Trump has proven to be the single greatest threat to American democracy in our lifetimes with his plot to steal the election and launch an insurrection against Congress. 

And since last week’s debate, Biden has proven himself mentally unfit to handle the rigors and demands of the job, giving one of the worst debate performances from a presidential contender in history. 

After last Thursday’s troubling performance, there has been no shortage of calls from pundits, politicos and voters for Biden to drop out of the presidential race. The New York Times’ editorial board, for example, urged Biden to abandon his hope of a second term, declaring it the best way to protect “the soul of the nation” from Trump. 

Of course, if he doesn’t drop out, the Times’ editorial board is still in the bag for Biden, the writers noted. But they think there’s a good chance that Biden costs Democrats the White House and, far worse, allows Trump to win it.

“To make a call for a new Democratic nominee this late in a campaign is a decision not taken lightly, but it reflects the scale and seriousness of Mr. Trump’s challenge to the values and institutions of this country and the inadequacy of Mr. Biden to confront him,” the Times wrote.

In many ways, 2024 is shaping up to be a potentially strong year for Arizona Democrats.

As a new purple state, Arizona will draw tens of millions of dollars from national groups trying to achieve a repeat of their top-of-the-ballot victories in 2020 and 2022. 

A popular pro-abortion measure will likely appear on the statewide ballot, driving Democratic enthusiasm and a real opportunity to flip control of the state Legislature, swipe up to two of the state’s congressional seats and win back its second U.S. Senate seat.

But you know Biden is struggling when his campaign has to reassure the Arizona Republic that there is no coup afoot to replace him as the party’s nominee ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August, and coverage of the debate-watching parties includes quotes like, “He’s going to poop his pants!” from attendees mocking Biden’s age and performance.

Polling already puts Trump ahead of Biden in Arizona, and now local Democrats are running away from the president as fast as their feet can carry them. 

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego wouldn’t even comment on the president’s performance when the Republic asked, while Hobbs dodged questions from 12News’ Brahm Resnik about whether Biden should drop out, reminding people that she is “not a fan of debates” and had bailed on her own gubernatorial debate against Kari Lake in 2022 to avoid a Biden-level meltdown. 

“You’re not concerned by what you saw?” Resnik asked, questioning whether Biden’s performance would hamper Democrats across the state.

“I am focused on the down-ballot races,” Hobbs replied.

In the past, Arizona Democrats have counted on the top-of-the-ticket races to help generate enthusiasm for those elusive lower offices. This year, it could be those down-ballot candidates and issues that drag Biden across the finish line here.

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Long ballots ahead: Voters will see 11 referrals that Republican lawmakers sent to the November ballot, mostly to get around Gov. Katie Hobbs’ prolific veto stamp, Capitol Media Services’ Bob Christie writes. Issues range from immigration policy to making it harder for citizens to propose laws. And that doesn’t include the many citizen initiatives that are still attempting to qualify for the ballot. Initiative signatures are due on Wednesday and could significantly lengthen the ballot, depending on how many qualify and survive legal challenges.

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Don’t forget: Today is your last chance to register to vote in the July 30 primary election or to change your voter registration status ahead of the primary. Independents can vote in any primary they choose, but members of political parties can only vote their party’s ballot. Early ballots start going out on Wednesday.

Homelessness is now a crime: Municipalities are preparing for the fallout of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Grants Pass case after the court upheld the Oregon city’s restrictions on homelessness. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had called those restrictions illegal, preventing cities in the West from enforcing “public camping” prohibitions. While aid groups are concerned, cities are promising to use judgment in enforcement of any existing ordinances, and state lawmakers are once again weighing a state law banning public camping, Capitol scribe Howie Fischer reports.

Keeping up with the Goons: Writer Rachel Monroe tags along with Gilbert’s soccer moms for a deep dive in the Atlantic about the culture that drove Gilbert kids to become Gilbert Goons. 

“Look, I wasn’t perfect. I did my best, and stuff still happened,” one local mom told Monroe. “No one talks, like, ‘My kid is being a complete shithead, I’m struggling, I don’t know what to do.’” 

So many candidates, so little time: Local newspapers are hard at work serving confused voters across Arizona as they attempt to find information about down-ballot candidates for mayor and city council. Check out the Scottsdale Progress’ candidate guide and election coverage for the Scottsdale City Council and mayoral race. The East Valley Tribune has you covered for the Mesa council and' mayoral races. The Republic has a helpful guide to some of the other Valley suburb races. In Santa Cruz County, the Nogales International has profiles of the local supervisor candidates. The Payson Roundup has a roundup of the mayoral candidates' positions on local issues.

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It’s a short week! And like everyone else, we will be taking off Thursday and Friday for an extended Fourth of July weekend. 

But first, this week will bring us two of the most exciting legislative debates in the state.

Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers and Republican Rep. David Cook will face off in the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections debate for the Republican nomination in Legislative District 7, which covers eastern Arizona from Flagstaff and Payson down to the mining communities of Mammoth and Oracle. Tune in at 6 p.m. tonight here. 

And don’t miss the Legislative District 1 showdown. The district covers the Prescott area, from Black Canyon City to Sedona. Its Senate GOP primary race — in which Republican Sen. Ken Bennett will attempt to fend off MAGA challengers Mark Finchem and Steve Zipperman — is one of the marquee elections in the state. Catch the Clean Elections debate here Tuesday at 6 p.m. 

And ballots will start getting sent out to voters on Wednesday! Watch your mailbox early next week. 

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Before deciding to jump into the crowded Democratic primary for the chance to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, Marlene Galán-Woods was chasing another dream.

She was trying to become an actor in Los Angeles. 

A mash-up of some of her more embarrassing audition tapes is making the rounds online.

Politicos are taking issue with the fact that telling Arizona voters she has lived in Arizona for decades while telling Hollywood producers she’s “based in L.A.”

But the absolute best part of this story is that the videos are still just sitting on a Vimeo account in her name. Watch them all here!