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Nov 22, 2022Liked by Rachel Leingang, Hank Stephenson

Yesterday was my last day working as a temp in the Maricopa County election call center. Being aware of the news helped with a fair number of calls. Just yesterday I got a call asking why Republicans wouldn't certify the election and I was able to explain that's only in Cochise County. That was before Mohave announced their stunt yesterday. Also confused voters why Prop 210 wasn't on the ballot, etc. Having a concise source for state news was a big help and I put that to use.

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So glad to hear the news helped you help others! Warms my heart. Thanks for working the call center!

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Nov 22, 2022Liked by Rachel Leingang, Hank Stephenson

If you had to wait an hour to vote in Maricopa, you were inconvenienced, not disenfranchised. If you voted in Mohave, you were not disenfranchised by someone being inconvenienced in Maricopa.

I know that Ward, Lake, et al. are just performing and aren't really as stupid as they sound, but it's still infuriating that they are so willing to burn down Arizona because they lost.

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Nov 22, 2022Liked by Rachel Leingang, Hank Stephenson

One other point about the Congressional delegation results: while discussion about campaign finance and tactics is good to do, we should also note that the change from 5D/4R to 3D/6R is consistent with the changes in boundaries provided by the Independent Redistricting Commission. While we don't have an gerrymander like that of other states, the IRC certainly gave us a tilt in the R direction.

That being said, the corresponding changes in state legislative boundaries would have suggested at least a slightly more Republican legislature than what we're ending up with. As with the statewide offices, "candidate quality" certainly mattered too (as did very active campaigns, including by independent organizations).

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Definitely could’ve been worse in the legislature if it had operated more like a typical midterm year this year. But hopefully seeing results (dems in single shots winning by a lot, close CD1) in this first year after redistributing will show donors and power players the potential for more pickups.

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Let's start a contest to guess where Kari Lake goes from here. My guess:

She moves to southern Florida and hosts a little-watched show on OAN. She's visibly angered when she reports that Trump has selected Elise Stafanik to be his running mate.

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She runs in 2024 for David Schweikert's seat after he resigns for multiple campaign finance violations (AGAIN) and then loses to Jevin Hodge in the general election but also doesn't concede defeat because that's what maga candidate losers do.

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Congratulations to Arizona Agenda for several Arizona Press Club Awards.

Virg Hill Arizona Journalist of the Year

1st Place: Rachel Leingang – Arizona Agenda & Arizona Republic

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