Opinion: There are still stark and important choices to make in the Aug. 2 primary, even if key issues have been drowned out by nastiness and disinformation.<\/p>\n
Editorial board| Arizona Republic<\/p>\n
Arizona is facing a host of critical questions about education, our water supply, our continued well-being as a state.<\/p>\n
But this election hasnt focused much on answers.<\/p>\n
Thatsdisheartening. If the issues that voters say they care most about and that matter most to our statesfuture cant rise above thenastiness and disinformation that has flowed from candidates, why even vote?<\/p>\n
Because there are still stark and important choices to be made in the Aug. 2 primaryelection. Voters will nominatethe Republican and Democratic contenders whowill face offin the November general election.<\/p>\n
Most posts are up for grabs this year. That includes governor, the 90-member Legislature, secretary of state, education chief, attorney general and one U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n
Here are fourquestionsyou can answer about our states direction as you vote.<\/p>\n
The Arizona primary for governor is a bellwether for the future of politics in Arizona and the United States.<\/p>\n
It will help answer one of the most pressing questions before the country:<\/p>\n
Will the Republican Party continue down the trail of disruptive national populism blazed by Donald Trump, or will it return to its more sober traditions of Goldwater, Reagan and McCain?<\/p>\n
Key battleground: What Trump, Pence visits mean for GOP's future<\/p>\n
The two candidates still standing and competitive are Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson.<\/p>\n
Lake is the female embodiment of Donald Trump, who took the bit of Stop the Steal and never let go. She is pugnacious and iron-eyed like Trump and has sowed doubt about the election results to come should she lose, just like Trump.<\/p>\n
She has Trumps endorsement and his appetite for border politics, and she plays politics like a game of Mortal Kombat.<\/p>\n
Karrin Taylor Robson is a harder read.<\/p>\n
She comes from a family of Arizona Republicans.Hers is an old-school Republicanism. Less bare knuckled and more buttoned down. Less impulsive and more competent.<\/p>\n
The fighting spirit of Kari Lake is attractive to the impassioned base. It wants to blow up the old politics.<\/p>\n
The calm demeanor of Karrin Taylor Robson would steady the party ship. But that may be unsatisfying in revolutionary times.<\/p>\n
And there stands the key question:<\/p>\n
Are Republicans still in a fighters crouch, or do they crave the more stable politics of an earlier time?<\/p>\n
Arizona hasnt had a Democratic governor since Janet Napolitano resigned in 2009 to work for the Obama administration. But given all the turmoil in the GOP, could this be the year that changesthat?<\/p>\n
Democrats will choosebetweenSecretary of State Katie Hobbs or Marco Lpez, a former mayor andObama administration official.<\/p>\n
Hobbs has earned national attention defending the 2020 election, but also for her role in a lawsuitby a former Senate staffer. Two juriesfound the employee was racially discriminated against on the job.<\/p>\n
Thats going to be a powerful weapon against Hobbs should she win the Democratic nomination. Shes been a no-show on many campaign gatherings and refused to debate Lpez, a huge disserviceto voters who deserve to see candidates face off.<\/p>\n
Lpez is seeking to become the first Latino elected governor in half a century, though he has faced an uphill battle to gain recognition, particularly after he was linked to an international bribery investigation.<\/p>\n
Lpez maintains his innocence.<\/p>\n
The choice is simple in the state House and Senate:<\/p>\n
Will voters retain conservatives like Sen. Tyler Pace, Rep. Joanne Osborne and House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who are running for Senatelawmakers who werent afraid to workwith others andvotetheir conscience?<\/p>\n
Or will they choose a slate ofAmerica First candidates thatwant to boot them, who along with a newly formed Arizona Freedom Caucus have promised to vote unquestionably as a bloc, no matter the issue?<\/p>\n
If the latter, voters can bet that this bloc will pressure and intimidate others to steamroll itsagenda one that could plunge the state even deeperinto the ultrapopulist playbook.<\/p>\n
And in that case, it wont matter who wins the governorship, or where others say they stand on the issues. Lawmaking will become the America First way, or the highway.<\/p>\n
Kari Lake and others are already crying voter fraud without offering a shred of evidence.<\/p>\n
Dont believe them. Theyre just setting themselves up for a fight should they lose on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
But its no less dangerous, because theirfalse claims further erodeconfidence in the election process.<\/p>\n
Theyve tried everything to discredit voting. A multimillion-dollar bogus election audit, lawsuits, selecting fake electors to overturn 2020 election results. All of that failed because theres no proof of widespread fraud.<\/p>\n
Arizonans must fight back with their vote.<\/p>\n
Thats how our representative democracy works. People vote freely,without any threat of intimidation. Whoever gets the most votes in a particular race wins.<\/p>\n
Thats why it is important to know that voting is safe and that nobody is stealing or messing with your ballot.<\/p>\n
More than half amillion voters in Maricopa County have already cast their ballot. Those with early ballots can still do so before Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Its too late to mail them. But you can still vote in person or drop off your early ballot at any of the voting locations listed at Locations.Maricopa.Vote.<\/p>\n
Polling locationswill beopen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
This is an opinion of The Arizona Republic's editorial board.<\/p>\n
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4 reasons to vote in Arizona's Aug. 2 primary election - The Arizona Republic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Opinion: There are still stark and important choices to make in the Aug. 2 primary, even if key issues have been drowned out by nastiness and disinformation. Continue reading