299…Who’s running?
So, who’s running for this Senate seat we keep talking about? Aside of course from buffoon and embarrassment to the state of Arizona, Convict Joe Arpaio?
I’m so glad you asked! It turns out there are several qualified candidates on the left, and…well, I guess Martha McSally isn’t insane or stupid, which by today’s bar is highly qualified.
But this blog is about getting Democrats elected in Arizona. So for right now we’re just going to look at who is running for the Democratic nomination, none of the others. If anyone starts looking like they are a front runner who isn’t a Democrat we’ll talk about them then. Except for Convict Joe. Convict Joe will be made fun of any time he says any of the stupid, racist, conspiracy theorist garbage he spouts off.
So we’ll do this the old fashioned way.
Deedra Abboud
Deedra Abboud is a lawyer based in Phoenix. As you might have guessed from the head scarf, she’s also a Muslim woman. Most of her policy positions are pretty much what you would expect from a Democrat on things like schools, net neutrality, and immigration. In large part, the policy positions she has on her campaign’s official website are somewhat boiler plate. I am hopeful that her positions will become a bit more nuanced and sharper as the campaign goes on.
You might remembering hearing Deedra’s name last summer. After she shared a picture of the Declaration of Independence and a fairly straightforward Fourth of July message, she was trolled and cyberbullied by a bunch of garbage trolls with disgusting messages about her faith. Jeff Flake stepped up and defended her and told her to keep her head up.
Bob Bishop
The information on Bob’s website is pretty thin. His main stances are on healthcare for all (without many details), support for the CLEAR Act, and changing usury laws that allow credit card companies to incorporate in states that don’t have usury laws.
Cheryl Fowler
Cheryl’s website also seems to be a work in progress. Her main platform is a right for health care for all Americans. Her other stances are pretty standard Democratic stances. From what I can see she seems to be the most progressive candidate in the group.
Chris Russell
Chris Russell has an interesting tool on his website. When it comes to issues, he is leaving it up to a vote from his constituents. His focus on issues will be what the voters tell him his focus should be. This is a new take that I haven’t seen from a candidate before. He is pro-medicare for all, pro-sensible gun reform, and anti-military adventurism.
The one potential drawback I see for this method of choosing his focus is that an argument could be made that his priorities should be the ones he is passionate about. This will be an interesting candidacy to follow.
Krysten Sinema
Krysten Sinema is currently the front runner for the Democratic nomination, based largely on the fact that she is already a sitting congressperson, and has assembled the best war chest so far.
Her campaign website lacks…anything so far, except for a donation button. I am hopeful that we will see that remedied shortly. Her policy positions and priorities are listed on her official house.gov site, but I think it’s a mistake to not have them on her campaign website as well.
