Here’s some encouraging news today out of Arizona:
A new poll out of Arizona by a well-trusted, independent national pollster, Public Policy Polling, shows that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I) stands to lose re-election badly in virtually any potential matchup this November and is deeply unpopular among voters.
The survey results, first obtained by Jezebel via an internal Ruben Gallego campaign memo, show that just 27 percent of voters in the state view Sinema favorably and want her to run again, compared to 50 percent of Arizonans who view her unfavorably and 54 percent who say she shouldn’t run again. Rep. Gallego (D-Ariz.), her likely Democratic challenger, has a net positive favorability, with 39 percent of voters approving of him and 28 percent disapproving.
In any likely three-way matchup among Sinema, Gallego and whatever Republican candidate wins their primary, Sinema appears to have virtually no chance of winning. If the GOP candidate is election denier Kari Lake, for example, the new PPP survey shows that Gallego would pull in 42 percent of the vote, Lake 35 percent, and Sinema just 14 percent. The numbers are similar if you plug Jim Lamon or Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in as the Republican candidate.
Sinema is trailing Gallego in terms of fundraising as well. She raised just $2.1M in Q1 compared to Gallego’s $3.7M, and just 0.3 percent of her donations were from small dollar donors, according to NBC News. Roughly a third of her haul came from just five companies, including hedge funds and private equity firms, whereas 98 percent of Gallego’s donations were from donors who pitched in less than $100.
Speaking of Lake:
Kari Lake described running into “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough at the West Palm Beach airport, detailing that Brzezinski recorded the incident, which didn’t seem to phase her.
According to Lake, in an appearance on Steve Bannon’s show on the Real America’s Voice network, she noticed that Brzezinksi was trying to record her on her phone, so she called her out on it.
“Mika was not very pleasant. She started recording me unbeknownst to me,” Lake said. “Which is fine. And when I called her out and said ‘Are you recording this?’ and she said ‘Yes.’ And Joe said ‘Don’t do that.’ Like he was a little perturbed that she was recording.”
And as for the current GOP nominee:
Mark Lamb, the sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, is no stranger to conspiracy theories. He first became a celebrity in right-wing media by refusing to enforce Arizona's stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, which earned him praise on Fox News and helped him build a large online following.
Now, as Lamb begins a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat-turned-independent Kyrsten Sinema, the Republican sheriff is attempting to boost his political profile by appearing on shows hosted by QAnon conspiracy theorists, according to Media Matters.
"He's basically spent years trying to build up his political profile by appearing on these fringe toxic media outlets, including QAnon," said Eric Hananoki, a senior investigative reporter at Media Matters. This is more than a matter of endorsing unpopular or extreme supporters, Hananoki continued. "QAnon supporters have a history of violence, including attacking police officers. You never want to give fuel to conspiracy theories, but especially conspiracy theories that have a violent aspect to them —that's what the concern is."
To date, Lamb has appeared on at least five QAnon-friendly shows, including the podcasts "X22 Report" and "Uncensored Abe" as well as shows hosted by John Michael Chambers and Sean Morgan, both prominent figures in the QAnon movement who have pushed a variety of conspiracy theories to their audiences.
During his appearance on "X22 Report" last January, Lamb said: "I follow the show, so this is a treat for me." That show literally features a section on its website titled "Latest From QAnon."
In that interview, Lamb claimed that "drag shows" were "designed to break the moral compass that exists in each and every one of us, and so it's easier for them to really push that evil and corrupt agenda."
We need to make sure a real Democrat is elected to the U.S. Senate in Arizona. Click here to donate and get involved with Gallego’s campaign.