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The US presidential election is likely to be decided in only a few states. One of them is Arizona. Almost nowhere is the fight as hard as here
Vote or Die: You can see on the billboards in Arizona how tough this election campaign is going.
Edgard Garrido, Reuters
MAGA. You can’t miss the four letters on a mountain off Interstate 10 from Los Angeles to Phoenix; also because the color and lettering look exactly like the Hollywood sign over the city of angels. MAGA stands for “Make America Great Again,” which wouldn’t be a bad thing at first, but it’s not so much an invitation to address as the slogan of Donald Trump supporters. It is an indication that you will now arrive on a battlefield of sorts: Maricopa County in the US state of Arizona. It is one of a dozen places in the United States where presidential elections are likely to be decided.
Americans call these areas battlefields, and what that means can already be seen while driving. Shortly after crossing the border, the funniest street sign in the world first appears (“Next Exit: Prison. Don’t Take Hitchhikers”), and then it begins: the roadside is paved with billboards, and that only rarely for you of the two candidates is advertised, but mostly only against something. In addition to deep mutual contempt, both sides are united by the prediction that the United States would plunge into chaos if the other won. There are boards against: the possession of weapons or stricter regulation, abortion or its prohibition, immigration or dealing with it.
“He died alone”
You have plenty of time to look at the street signs and think about it on this road, between Brenda and Buckeye there are 140 kilometers in a straight line through the desert, and two questions arise: Are the Americans really for something in this election? ? And how the hell could Arizona, where, with the exception of Bill Clinton’s landslide victory in 1996 since 1952, has always been won by the Republican candidate by a wide margin, a battleground state?
There is an initial response in the hotel room in Phoenix. You can see election advertising on television and it is only shown here in Maricopa County. This is the district around the capital, Phoenix, where 4.5 million people live. The rule is: whoever wins here will get all eleven Arizona voters. The campaign here is different from what he’s used to in California, where Joe Biden will win.
To the extent that this is possible, it is even more monstrous, even more acute, even more inexorable. Democrats are spending a total of $ 17 million on commercials in the two weeks leading up to the election, with the Phoenix and Tucson markets ranking first and third on the national list for advertising costs. Almost half a million is reserved for advertising in Spanish.
Kristin Urquiza can be seen in a commercial, Our PAC financed it; an association that seeks to get Latin Americans to vote. Urquiza tells the story of his father, Mark Anthony, with whom he touched everyone at the Democratic Party conference. Mark Anthony Urquiza voted for Trump in 2016 and this year he followed his advice not to be afraid of this coronavirus.
“His only weakness was trusting Donald Trump,” says the daughter. He went to a karaoke bar in late May and died of Corona a few weeks later: “He paid for his trust in Trump with his life. He died alone, only a nurse took his hand. “
The power of Latinos
Urquiza is Latina, they want to reach the Democrats. The proportion of Latin Americans who vote in presidential elections is growing steadily in Arizona. It was 37 percent in 2012, four years ago it was 42 percent, this time it could be more than 50 percent. Trump won Arizona four years ago with just 91,234 votes, so it doesn’t take much to beat him here.
The symbolic figure of the political interest of Latinos is Carlos García, a guy in shirt sleeves and long black hair who prefers to wear jeans and a T-shirt that I brought. He began protesting in front of the office of Joe Arpaio 13 years ago, who described himself as “the toughest sheriff in America” and whose misconduct resembles that of Trump in the last four years; it can’t be a coincidence that it was. He was pardoned by Trump in 2017.
Alone: The night Trump was elected president of the country in 2016, the people of Maricopa County voted against Arpaio for the first time in 24 years. Two years later, Garcia was elected to the Phoenix City Council. Kyrsten Sinema won a Senate seat for Democrats for the first time in 30 years.
“The time has come to defeat the Arpaio of the White House,” says Garcia, and it’s not just Latinos, who make up about a third of Maricopa County’s population, should help. The area is seen as an alternative for corporations that cannot afford the huge costs in California; Electric truck startup Nikola is headquartered here or semiconductor manufacturers Amkor and On.
These companies attract young talent, and during the coronavirus pandemic, many people from liberal California moved to the neighboring state due to the low cost of living. Young, well-educated people vote, simply put, more like a Democrat. According to polls, Joe Biden is ahead with about 2.5 percentage points.
Trump trusts the presence
That’s a small advantage, as close as in almost any other battlefield state, which of course means Republicans fight hard too. Phoenix and Tucson are in the top two places in the television budget, but Trump spends just over $ 6 million on them. It is based on the so-called running game, on the presence: two weeks ago he arrived in Prescott and Tucson, on Wednesday in Phoenix.
He first embarrassed Republican Sen. Martha McSally (yelled at her to say something quick, although people don’t care anyway) and then said what he’s opposed to or what the challengers are: “Biden and the Socialists want the Democrats to slow down. developing vaccines, prolonging the pandemic, closing schools and ruining our country. “
Trump can count on loyal aides in the running game. The guy selling Trump memorabilia on Lincoln Street in downtown, of course, is also drawing votes. What worries you: Business is booming, persuasion is stagnating. Trump fans vote for Trump, of course, but he would like to reach out to those who are being fought for at Battleground State. But that’s not easy, he says.
His bestsellers are Trump’s blue flags and red hats that say “Make America Great Again.” Question: What happened to the successor slogan “Keep America Great”? There is no item in the range that says this. Always fair: MAGA, as in the desert hill. The man shrugs his shoulders as if to say: Due to the current situation, you cannot sell that to anyone, that the USA.
