Why Democrat Katie Hobbs is such a threat to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
Arizona surprised many in the election of 2020, when Fox News called it early for Joe Biden, and it flipped blue by a small margin for the first time since 1996. No one was more surprised, however, than Donald Trump who was hoping for a chance to declare himself winner on election night and by extension, the Arizona GOP who demanded an audit that is continuing despite being an incredible racist farce. There were some heroes in the story, however, as Mark Kelly ran for John McCain’s former seat in a special election and Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs certified Biden’s 10,457-vote victory despite protests. Now, Hobbs has her eyes on doing more to save democracy: running for governor in 2022.
Arizona has been trending blue for some time, with election analysts predicting a Biden win, and even some speculation that Hillary Clinton might have carried the state in 2016 prior to Comey’s memo dropping. The current Gov. Doug Ducey is term-limited so it will be an open seat contest and now Democrats have a solid candidate to get behind, one who has been a fierce critic of the Arizona State Senate audit. This shows a strong refusal on Hobbs’ part to back down, as she faced a number of death threats for simply doing her job – enough for Gov. Ducey to assign special protection for her and her family.
In just a short time, we’ve managed to get two Democratic senators elected and flip the state blue in one of the most crucial presidential elections in memory, and now we have the opportunity to elect another Democratic governor in a rapidly changing state, while doing everything we can to make sure Sen. Mark Kelly is re-elected to a full term.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making