I'm exhausted and I am at least going to give you two more tonight so I'm going to keep these short. More craziness out of Arizona today Sheriff Joe Arapio's favorite candidate:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
A Republican candidate for governor of Arizona said during an interview this week that she has an unconventional way of practicing her technique at the gun range: She shoots with her eyes closed.
Christine Jones, the former chief legal officer of GoDaddy, revealed her unusual tactics during an interview with Phoenix television station KSAZ, which took place at a local gun range.
"I don't change clothes. I don't change glasses," Jones told the Fox affiliate. "I often shoot one-handed. I often shoot with my eyes closed."
The reporter interviewing her appeared to be surprised about the last part and asked her about it.
"Because chances are if somebody attacks you it's gonna be in the night," Jones said. - TPM, 7/30/14
Yep, and this kook has a shot at winning the GOP nominee:
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
Another poll shows Arizona Treasurer Doug Ducey and former GoDaddy general counsel Christine Jones running neck and neck in the Republican primary field for Arizona governor. The telephone survey conducted for the Arizona Free Enterprise Club shows Ducey, former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, with 23 percent and Jones with 20 percent. However, 21 percent are undecided or not supporting any primary candidates yet.
Former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, the most moderate candidate in the primary, got 15 percent in the poll. Secretary of State Ken Bennett got 10 percent, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas 9 percent, and former California Congressman Frank Riggs 2 percent.
Riggs points out that he’s done well an informal straw polls at Republican Party and other primary-related events. He’s also got the backing of controversial gun-toting rocker Ted Nugent and even more controversial former state legislator Russell Pearce.
Some other recent surveys have also shown Ducey and Jones running first and second in the primary, but those same polls also show ample numbers of undecided voters. The polls show the primary contest could come down to who grabs momentum and fends off attacks better during the last month of the campaign.
The primary is Aug. 26. - Phoenix Business Journal, 7/30/14
And of course all the GOP candidates are trying to prove to GOP voters who's the most anti-immigration candidate:
http://www.chron.com/...
Secretary of State Ken Bennett proposed the creation of a "strike force" of National Guardsmen, as well as state and local law enforcement officers, to interdict cartel and gang members.
Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has based his entire campaign on immigration. His first TV ad touted his background fighting illegal immigration and said he needs to be elected "before it's too late" to stem an invasion from Mexico. Former veteran and California Rep. Frank Riggs made immigration a campaign issue early on, speaking out in favor of SB1070's most contentious elements and saying an insecure border is the biggest threat to public safety.
Former Cold Stone Creamery CEO and current state Treasurer Doug Ducey wants to deploy satellites, and one-time Internet company executive Christine Jones frequently touts her idea of building a fence and sending in the National Guard.
Former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith slammed Ducey and Jones for pandering to voters with unrealistic promises. He touts his own record of having police in his city enforce immigration laws and apprehend migrants who don't have authorization to be in the country.
Smith is calling for congressional action to deport adults recently arrived from Central America and for expedited hearings to return tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors.
No matter their positions, the issue is clearly resonating.
An Associated Press-GfK poll this week found that two-thirds of Americans say illegal immigration is a serious problem, up 14 points since May and on par with concern about the issue in May 2010 — just around the time Arizona passed its immigration law.
It's not clear how long it will remain an issue, however.
The winner will have to appeal to a more moderate base in the general election against Democrat Fred DuVal, a former Clinton administration official who was a member of the governing board for the state's universities.
Chip Lewis is among the many undecided Republican voters who are still weighing the various candidates in the race. He has grown tired of the barrage of TV ads and immigration rhetoric that he describes as "pandering to the uneducated public." - Houston Chronicle, 7/30/14
Ducey and Jones have been self fundraising and getting a lot of support from Super PACs hence why they're ahead. Now I prefer Jones wins the nominee but as PPP showed a few months back, Fred DuVal (D. AZ) would be pretty competitive against either candidate:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
• 33-39 vs. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith (15-13)
• 33-37 vs. Secretary of State Ken Bennett (12-24)
• 36-35 vs. state Treasurer Doug Ducey (11-20)
• 35-32 vs. physician John Molina (7-12)
• 36-32 vs. former California U.S. Rep. Frank Riggs (5-13)
• 37-33 vs. former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones (9-15)
• 37-32 vs. state Sen. Al Melvin (4-22)
• 40-35 vs. former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas (13-29)
DuVal by the way's been distinguishing himself from the GOP candidates. Obviously he supports immigration reform and DREAMers but here's another way he's tried to distinguish himself:
http://www.azcentral.com/...
Democrat Fred DuVal today issued a challenge to his Republican opponents in the race to see who will be Arizona's next governor.
In a nutshell, it's this: Just say no to dark money.
"People deserve openness and transparency, they have a right to know who's paying to influence their vote," he said, in a statement. "The growth of anonymous, 'Dark Money' groups is bad for Arizona. We don't know who is paying for these ads. There's no transparency. We need sunlight, and until we get it, the women and men who want to lead Arizona should stand up and say No More Secretly Funded Attack Ads.
"Here's my offer: if Doug Ducey, Scott Smith, Christine Jones, Ken Bennett, and Barry Hess will join me, I'll reject any and all support from 'Dark Money' groups. If they run ads to support me, I will call on them to stop. If they run them anyway, I will give to charity the same amount of money used to support me or attack my opponent. "
Of course, that's an easy pledge to make because the chance of that happening is about the same as the chance that you'll need to wear a sweater today in Phoenix.
Unless DuVal is willing to make good on his pledge anyway, that is. (And wouldn't that send a strong signal about who is committed to transparancy and who is not?)
In all, more than a million dollars has been spent to date on dark money in the governor's race – most of it revolving around Doug Ducey and Christine Jones. - AZ Central, 7/23/14
Obviously none of the GOP candidates were going to bite but still a good move. We won't know until the end of next month who DuVal will face but at this point anything can happen. But lets get ready to pull off a sleeper victory but getting involved and donating to DuVal's campaign:
http://www.fred2014.com/