Arizona Republicans Lose Every Statewide Race, Then Argue Over Why
Arizona Democrats swept every statewide office on the November midterm ballot, from governor to the little-known post of mine inspector.
Arizona Democrats swept every statewide office on the November midterm ballot, from governor to the little-known post of mine inspector. They also won a lawmaking trifecta, control of the governorship and both legislative chambers, that the state has not seen since 1966.
The result leaves Republicans locked out of power at the state level. It is a sharp reversal for a party that held every statewide lever in Arizona when Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016, including the governor's office, both US Senate seats and legislative majorities.
Over the following decade, as Trump tightened his grip on the party, Democrats chipped away at that dominance and turned a longtime Republican stronghold into a battleground. This month's vote completed the shift.
A party asking what went wrong
"I could see this coming," said Gina Swoboda, a former chair of the Arizona Republican party. "We weren't talking to people, we weren't listening to people."
Swoboda tried to change course. This year she ran for secretary of state, the state's chief elections officer, but lost the Republican primary to Alexander Kolodin, a Trump acolyte.
The question dividing Arizona Republicans, as the Guardian-style headline puts it, is whether the party was "too Maga or not Maga enough." Maga is the "Make America Great Again" movement behind Trump.
Turning Point under scrutiny
Turning Point USA, the Phoenix-based conservative group founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, put its money and reputation behind Republican candidates. It recruited or supported primary challengers in nearly every statewide race and helped unseat two GOP incumbents.
Its candidates then struggled in the general election, contributing to the Democratic sweep. Turning Point-backed candidates elsewhere also lost.
Republicans are now split over the group's role. Some blame national political headwinds. Others point at Turning Point itself, and some moderates say it should stay out of picking candidates.
Erika Kirk, the group's CEO, has said that now is not the time for finger-pointing.
The argument is playing out beyond Arizona. Commentators on the right are weighing whether to rethink the Maga movement, even as Trump has doubled down on its agenda with his pick of Stephen Miller.
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