There aren’t enough moderate Republicans voting in Arizona primary elections to support candidates who defend democracy. Other voters must join them.
John D. Carlson
| opinion contributor
3 takeaways from Arizona’s July 2024 primary election results
Kari Lake was one of the first winners from the Tuesday election, but she fell short of expectations from her campaign for her win over Mark Lamb.
Not for the first time, Arizona’s 2024 GOP primary rewarded candidates who peddled lies, denied certified election results and stoked mistrust about our democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, GOP candidates defending truth and democracy were defeated.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer’s loss epitomized this dynamic.
His unsparing defense of 2020 and 2022 election results in Arizona’s largest county was admirable, standing up to fellow Republicans who condemned Arizona’s elections simply because Democrats were elected.
Richer spoke up for truth and reality. And lost
Richer came with receipts — lots of them. He reminded us that reality is not partisan.
That elections, like all competitions, are governed by impartial rules, processes and institutions and are subject to facts, evidence, and legal judgments.
That, in democracies, one party can’t claim the system is rigged or must be overturned just because it lost — as Arizona’s “alternate electors” sought to do in 2020. By graciously conceding his loss, Richer acknowledged truth and honored the integrity of our electoral system.
Yet, Richer lost to a fellow Republican who refused to affirm the legitimacy of Arizona’s past elections, perpetuating mistrust and supporting legislation based on conspiracy theories about election fraud.
Likewise, Senate candidate Kari Lake trounced her two rivals despite never conceding defeat to Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022, spreading persistent lies about election fraud, and falsely accusing Richer of counting illegal ballots and causing ballot tabulators to jam.
Her lies defaming Richer led to death threats against him, entailing a court order to pay Richer yet-to-be specified damages.
Republicans haven’t resolved their elections rift
Democracy depends upon a commitment to truth and a willingness to lose. The assault on truth, an obstinate feature of our recent political culture, has eroded civic trust and damaged our republic.
Lies undermining self-government have led to threats and violence against poll workers, politicians and police, not to mention Congress, the Capitol, and the Constitution.
A critical takeaway from ASU’s Recovering Truth project is that election denialism is an intra-party problem — between Republicans who accept reality and embrace democracy (like Stephen Richer and county supervisors Thomas Galvin and Bill Gates) and those who don’t.
So far, the GOP has failed to resolve these divisions on its own. As the last several elections have shown, election-denying candidates safely win GOP primaries even as many go on to lose general elections. Even if Trump loses in November, this pattern is likely to continue — as it has following his previous losses.
Meanwhile, Democrats and most independents — two thirds of Arizona’s electorate — sit idly waiting for the GOP to reform itself. It’s time for another approach.
They need Democrats’ help to vote in GOP races
The formation of a new “Democratic-Republican” (D-R) movement could make a difference. In states with closed primaries like Arizona, Democrats can change their party registration (as I recently did) and independents can request GOP ballots so they can vote for principled conservatives defending truth and democracy.
They would join Democrats already requesting a Republican ballot in states with open primaries. As always, one still can vote for any candidate during the general election.
(If Arizona’s Make Elections Fair initiative passes this fall, all candidates regardless of party would appear on a single primary ballot — a measure that addresses independents’ concerns and would significantly alter Arizona’s election landscape in ways that remain to be seen.)
In addition to retaining experienced and proficient Republican officials, there are several benefits of Democrats changing their party registration in certain circumstances.
First, they would reinforce an existing Democratic-Republican movement that is already nobly defending democracy. For the last 10 years or so, a solid core of principled conservatives (colloquially called Never Trumpers) have rejected their party’s transformation into a cult of personality built around relentless falsehoods, antidemocratic behavior and authoritarian sympathies.
When Arizona Republicans like former Sen. Jeff Flake and Mesa Mayor John Giles have been unable to reform their party from within, they have crossed party lines during general elections to keep democracy afloat. They put country over party when it counted — often at risk to themselves, their families and political careers.
Mesa mayor: Republicans like me must support Harris
But there aren’t enough of these “exiled” Republicans to defeat the antidemocratic impulses within their party.
We need 2 strong parties to debate policy
Democrats and independents are natural allies in the fight with principled conservatives to ensure that “the center holds.” This Democratic-Republican alliance already has solidified a robust consensus about the principles that ought to unite all Americans:
the superiority of democracy over authoritarianism;the importance of the rule of law, an independent judiciary and the peaceful transfer of power;the view that all people are equal in dignity, regardless of class, race, ethnicity, gender and other attributes;the sanctity of voting and the repudiation of political violence;the gravitas of government “of the people, by the people and for the people;”and, finally, a commitment to truth — that reality and facts are sovereign over one’s political ambitions, interests or beliefs.
Secondly, we need (at least) two strong parties. In U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-Calif.) words, “Our country is well served when we have two vibrant political parties who can present competing policy agendas for the public to choose … . The implosion of the Republican party … doesn’t help our country.”
When all candidates are committed to truth and democracy, they can vie for voters by debating policy differences and empirically testing different approaches rather than by exploiting grievances or identity politics.
Arizona’s primary election system has failed
Third, a strong Democratic-Republican movement highlights the failures of our primary election process and the limitations of our two-party system. The case for systemic reform becomes urgent when people must leave a party after decades simply to protect democracy.
That said, as principled conservatives, centrists and progressives form political alliances to defend democracy, new openings also may emerge for constructively addressing contentious wedge issues like immigration, abortion and climate change.
For many Democrats, changing parties is deeply unappealing. Many Americans, Democrats and Republicans alike, tie their identity to their party.
A strategic party-switch in places like Arizona is a pragmatic measure to join forces with others putting country over party to preserve the fundamental principles of American democracy.
The Democratic Party is doing just fine, putting forward plenty of exciting, competent, democracy-supporting, truth-telling candidates. It could survive the defection of members who vote in a different primary to support those defending truth and democracy.
Indeed, Democrats and independents may be the GOP’s best hope to save itself.
John D. Carlson is co-director of the Recovering Truth project at Arizona State University where he is associate professor of religious studies. On X, formerly Twitter, @JohnDCarlson.
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Publish date : 2024-08-08 02:02:00
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