The GOP’s sign shenanigans

Two years ago, a MAGA Republican teenager started a PAC to print signs linking Democratic Sen. Christine Marsh to financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — though she had nothing to do with Epstein, nor did she “vote against prosecuting sex crimes against minors.”

She actually voted for the bill that the sign referenced.

But on some level, the crass tactic worked. Marsh lost her reelection bid in Arizona’s toss-up Legislative District 4 by more than 5,000 votes to now-Sen. Carine Werner, a Republican.

At the time, the sign seemed like a brazenly false and outrageous stunt.

But this year, Republicans seem to be emboldened in using misleading tactics on more campaign signs and further making a mockery of political discourse.

Following the infamous advice of Steve Bannon, they’ve taken to “flooding the zone with shit.”

Plenty of ink has been spilled over the “Democrats for Biggs” signs, paid for by right-wing organization Turning Point PAC, which have been popping up around the Valley.

But there are a number of other shameless examples.

In Arizona’s highly competitive 1st Congressional District, which is one of the most closely watched House races in the country, the campaign of GOP nominee and former NFL kicker Jay Feely has taken to making fake signs on behalf of his opponent, Democratic former state lawmaker Amish Shah.

The signs utilize the same font and color scheme that democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used in his campaign last year and, at first glance, look like they’re made by Shah’s campaign.

But a minuscule line at the bottom of the signs notes they were paid for by Feely’s campaign.

Feely’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

After establishment Democrats spent the primary trying to paint Shah as too conservative for their party, now Republicans are taking the exact opposite approach.

But there’s little in Shah’s voting record at the Arizona Legislature to warrant the “socialist” label. In fact, he often frustrated his Democratic colleagues for working with Republicans.

Republican consultant Barrett Marson dismissed the spin as a common trope.

Shah’s campaign manager, Eve Zhurbinskiy, noted that the Democrat has been endorsed by three police unions and four former Republican legislators, including former Speaker Rusty Bowers and Mohave County Republican Regina Cobb.

But the fact is, legally speaking, it doesn’t really matter what’s printed on those signs.

Their content enjoys robust protection under the First Amendment, Gregg Leslie, the executive director of ASU’s First Amendment Clinic, told us. The only requirements for campaign signs are disclosures about who paid for them, which in Arizona also have to cover one-tenth of the height of a sign.

A complaint has been filed against Turning Point alleging the “Democrats for Biggs” signs don’t meet the disclosure size requirement. But even if the Arizona Clean Elections Commission rules the signs are in violation of the law, all it can do is issue a fine. In any case, the signs aren’t coming down.

And over in LD4 — where Marsh was attacked last election with inaccurate signs — we have a case of déjà vu.

Werner is running for reelection against Democratic former Rep. Aaron Lieberman. One of the signs paid for by Republicans’ Arizona Senate Victory Fund PAC claims boldly that Lieberman’s plan is to restore “voting rights for violent felons.”

However, the bill the sign references — 2019’s HCR2021 — would only have added a paragraph to the Arizona Constitution outlining the right to vote as a “fundamental right” and that restrictions to it should be “narrowly tailored.” It says nothing about felons, nor was it ever voted on by a chamber or committee.

While a few Democratic bills have pushed to restore some felons’ voting rights automatically, Lieberman did not sponsor, co-sponsor or vote for any of them.

Interestingly, the signs list Airbnb as a top donor.

There have always been less-than-accurate or false attacks on candidates in Arizona politics. We’ve been living in the post-truth era for quite some time.

But this year, the boldness of embellishment is at a higher level than usual, including in campaign ads and the AI-generated “Democrats for Biggs” content that could land Republicans in hot water.

Marson noted campaigns are competing for the attention of voters in the same media and information environment that leaves them constantly overwhelmed.

There may be some wisdom in that perspective.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ reelection campaign isn’t even putting up roadside signs, and she noted that she didn’t in either of her two previous statewide runs — both of which she won.

And with this cycle’s signs becoming increasingly full of bluster and erroneous information, thoughtful people have more of a reason than ever to simply ignore them.

Whole lotta mudslinging going on: The moderators had their hands full as Attorney General Kris Mayes and Senate President Warren Petersen called each other names and interrupted each other constantly during their Clean Elections debate Wednesday evening. Mayes called Petersen a “desperate man” with little legal experience who wouldn’t stand up to the Trump administration, while Petersen said Mayes was the “attention general” who sought the spotlight, but was “openly hostile” to sheriffs. One little tidbit that caught our eye: Petersen admitted that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

Just give it a good scrubbing: Democratic congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza purged her social media accounts of references to her opposition to systemic racism, aggressive policing and other topics, the Republic’s Laura Gersony reports. Mendoza’s opponent in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, called Mendoza “dishonest” and said she was trying to hide her “extreme comments and positions.” Gersony pointed out that other candidates, like Republican Rep. Eli Crane, also clean up their social media accounts as they start their campaigns. And as our sister ’sletter, the Tucson Agenda, recently noted, Ciscomani has removed a whole lot of Donald Trump mentions from his website.

Bracing for the worst: Officials in Arizona and other states are still freaking out about Trump’s efforts to undermine the midterm elections, per Votebeat. Gary Restaino, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, urged county officials to have legal motions “already sketched out” in case they get subpoenas from the Justice Department. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said many county attorneys weren’t used to needing to challenge federal orders, but they’re doing it “routinely at this point.” Meanwhile, Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap is blaming Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for withholding a list of felons who aren’t eligible to vote. Fontes said the DOJ gave his office a 1,600-page PDF of names of felons that his staff has to sort by hand. They’re trying to get the list ready by the end of the week, per the Republic’s Stephanie Murray.

A quick about-face: Arizona State University removed former President Barack Obama’s name from a financial aid program — but only for a little while. Right after Axios Phoenix’s Jeremy Duda reported on the name change (the new name was the ASU Promise Plus program), the university reverted to calling it the Obama Scholars Program. ASU officials didn’t give much of an explanation, but the move came as the Trump administration is applying more pressure on universities to fall in line with the president’s priorities.

Bracing for the worst, times two: As cities prepare for cuts to their share of Colorado River water, Peoria officials signed a $104 million contract with Vidler Water Company for long-term water storage credits, KTAR’s Heidi Hommel reports. Over in Phoenix, officials are investing $88 million to renovate a water treatment plant, including a new reservoir that will hold 20 million gallons of water, Adam Klepp reports for ABC15. And Scottsdale’s water recycling plan was short-circuited by public backlash to “toilet-to-tap” policies that the Associated Press calls a “strange wedge issue” in the three-way race for two city council seats.

Poor Kari Lake.

It looks like she won’t be ambassador to Jamaica after all. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is sticking with his plan to block her nomination.

Tillis says he’s not too concerned about what Lake would do as ambassador, but he’s worried about what position she could leap to after that.

A reminder: Lake hasn’t actually won any elections. She’s just really good at hassling people. Ask former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. He sure hasn’t forgotten the hell Lake put him through.