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By Kelechukwu Iruoma
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Arizona delegates left the Democratic National Convention electrified and eager to help Vice President Kamala Harris win the presidency.
“We are returning to Arizona with a lot of energy, excitement and enthusiasm,” said Yolanda Bejarano, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. “Our country is on the line, our democracy is on the line and our rights are on the line.”
Arizona is a battleground, and the enthusiasm of party activists – like the 91 delegates in Chicago for the four-day event – is critical. President Joe Biden carried the state by only about 10,000 votes in 2020, and former President Donald Trump, who stumped Friday in Glendale, northwest of Phoenix, was leading narrowly in polls until Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid last month.
The party quickly fell in line behind Harris, drastically resetting the race. She now leads Trump in Arizona, and Arizona Democrats said the convention only accelerated her momentum.
“It exceeded a lot of our expectations,” said delegate Daniel Hernandez, a former state House member. “I haven’t seen this level of excitement since 2008 when people were helping out Barack Obama.”
Sen. Mark Kelly and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, and Rep. Ruben Gallego of Phoenix, who’s hoping to join Kelly in the Senate, each had prime-time slots Thursday night, shortly before Harris delivered her address and the balloons dropped.
“We heard from exciting speakers, exciting leaders and stories about taking care of each other. It’s really inspiring,” said Bejarano.
While Arizona delegates left Chicago on Friday pumped up for the final sprint to Election Day, they also cited particular promises from Harris.
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods lauded her promise to build 3 million affordable housing units.
“We are in a housing supply crisis and housing affordability crisis, and Kamala Harris is the only person who’s presented any plan to actually address that issue in a serious, proactive (way),” he said.
Harris promised in her recently unveiled economic plan to cut the costs of groceries, housing and other basic expenses, and to boost the child tax credit to keep millions of children out of poverty. Inflation spiked early in the Biden presidency, a major political liability for Democrats.
“The people are still hurting from high prices and inflation,” said Karl Gentles, first vice chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party.
Harris’ plan, he said, “is going to help people have a more affordable life, whether it’s buying groceries or it’s buying a new house. … That is going to make a difference in people’s lives.”
Arizona Democratic delegates remained concerned about immigration and border security – another huge advantage for Trump. Republicans have hammered Harris as a failed “border czar,” though her assignment from Biden had been to work on root causes of migration with Central American countries and she had no direct responsibility for border security.
“For Arizona, we’ve been sick and tired of politicians talking about … doing something about the border,” but focusing more on photo opportunities than solutions, Hernandez said.
“In 2016, we had no idea how bad Donald Trump could be as president. We’ve seen it. We know what it’s like, and now we need to make sure we don’t go back,” he said.
He sees Harris, despite being the vice president, as the underdog, especially given her late start as the nominee.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Hernandez said. “Kamala Harris is still introducing herself … but she has better ideas.”
But optimism is also widespread among Arizona Democrats.
Gentles said he’s “very confident” that Harris will win in Arizona. “What we hope is that that domino effect will happen across all those states that are in play, from Georgia to North Carolina to Pennsylvania, all the way down the line to Michigan and Wisconsin,” he said.
Woods, the Tempe mayor, said delegates will make sure Arizona voters get the message about why Harris is the better choice.
“Everyone in this building is going to do everything we need to do,” he said at the United Center, packed with thousands of delegates for Harris’ acceptance speech.
“You can always trust me to put country above party and self,” she told delegates and viewers. “I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads and listens; who is realistic, practical and has common sense; and always fights for the American people.”
Bejarano, the state party chair, called the speech “amazing and incredible.”
“I’ve been involved in Democratic Party politics for 16 years,” Hernandez said, “and I’ve never seen us (this) unified behind the nominee and this ready to make sure that we stop Donald Trump from becoming president.”
