Arizona Democrats Turn Out the Vote

Posted by on October 10, 2006 at 03:01 PM

Lisa, the Arizona Democratic Party Field Director, sent us in this update about Arizona's 50-State Turnout:

In Arizona, Governor Janet Napolitano kicked off two walks in Phoenix. One canvass was meeting at Congressman Pastor's campaign office, where he does a weekly canvass in support of local candidates. Congressman Pastor's volunteers go door-to-door spreading the word about the Democratic ticket - the whole ticket - from our Senate candidate, Jim Pederson, down to the local county candidates.

The Governor also attended a rally/kick off with a group of correctional officers, who were joined with our legislative candidates from the 14th and 15th Districts. After hearing from Governor Napolitano and other organizers, they hit the streets to go door-to-door.

The correctional officers organized the walk themselves. They have been really supportive of the Governor. She's been endorsed by every major law enforcement organization in the state and this was one of the things they wanted to do in order to support her campaign.

Other Arizona campaigns also participated in other parts of the state. Jim Pederson's campaign staff kicked-off the 50-State Turnout with a walk, as did the Giffords' campaign who has been recruiting and sending canvassers out every weekend. In Tucson, Secretary of State candidate Israel Torres and his campaign team recruited volunteers for the 50-State Turnout canvasses.

On the afternoon conference call, we also heard from two of your DNC-funded field organizers, Nathan and Francisco.

Nathan talked about the Arizona field effort, which has been in place for over a year, with voter contact starting early January:

Our voter contact began in January of this year with a door-to-door canvass with Representative Griljava, Representative Pastor and Representative Honda. We began our coordinated campaign program in April and since the April ramp-up began, we have made over 350,000 phone calls and have knocked on 70,000 doors. Because of this great output we have collected more vote-by-mail applications than in 2002. We continue to ramp up for our Get-Out-the-Vote effort, which officially began on Friday, October 5th, as county recorders began mailing ballots to those voters who have already requested.

Francisco, who is tasked with Hispanic outreach, discussed the steps Arizona Dems have taken to reach out to Latino voters:

Our Hispanic Outreach has gotten a tremendous response. Starting in January, we have walked and phone thousands of people in heavily Hispanic areas across the state. We have been able to build strong ties with Hispanic media outlets across the state in all three areas, radio, print, and TV. We have also built a strong network of activists by reaching out to community leaders and organizations who have been active organizers of the pro-immigrant rallies, community events, and neighborhood activities.
Comments (5) «

Has anyone seen this ad from the AARP? It's the "Don't Vote" ad...it actually is encouraging Senior citizens NOT to vote! It is being shown on Fox and CNN.

Here is the ad....

http://tinyurl.com/mwww9

You all know that it is the senior citizens who are hurting the most due to Bush's failed healthcare policy. While making calls for moveOn.org, every senior citizen I spoke to said that the healthcare was the most important issue and they spoke of how expensive their drugs are. Many can't afford to buy their medicines anymore and have cut out some essential drugs because they don't have the drug coverage needed.

Now they are being told "Don't Vote". Sure, it says not to vote unless you know the issues, but I have already heard from some seniors that live in the building where my mom lives that they were told by AARP not to vote.

The democrats need an alternative message out there to convince these people that if they DON'T vote, they will be stuck with the same failed drug policy that Bush has handed to them!

1
mellie on October 11, 2006 at 08:50 AM

Right on, Mellie. I saw those ads too and was totally shocked. AARP represents most Americans over 50 -- what is the Democratic response to turn out some of our most important voters?

2
JohnH on October 11, 2006 at 10:46 AM

AARP is now showing it's true colors. I've dropped my membership, and encourage all retirees to do the same. AARP's main interests seem to be selling us unnecessary insurance, and supporting the Republicans who are shoving the majority of retirees into terminal poverty.
Also everyone, especially older people, needs to get out and VOTE!!!

3
Butte on October 12, 2006 at 09:33 AM

Why do I not see a mention of Harry Mitchell? He is working hard to get rid one of the least effective Congressman in history-JD Hayworth. I certainly hope the national folks pay attention to this race-as he has the integrity and cross-over appeal to win.

4
AZSAL on October 13, 2006 at 01:58 AM

Why do I not see a mention of Harry Mitchell? He is working hard to get rid one of the least effective Congressman in history-JD Hayworth. I certainly hope the national folks pay attention to this race-as he has the integrity and cross-over appeal to win.

5
AZSAL on October 13, 2006 at 01:59 AM


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