PHOENIX — One month before the election, two of the Arizona’s top Democrats rallied union members before a get-out-the-vote effort.
Arizona AFL-CIO and AFSCME International members knocked on doors around metro Phoenix on Saturday to promote pro-worker candidates and help people develop plans to vote.
Before they headed out, Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose campaign shirts are printed with “Mayes the machine,” told them it was time to “rage against the machine.”
"You know how we rage against the machine?” she said. “We rage against the machine by getting out there today and going out and knocking on doors and talking to fellow Arizonans about how important this election is.”
Mayes, who won her attorney general’s race in 2022 by a mere 280 votes, said such canvassing efforts are crucial.
“I stand before you as the poster child for the idea, and repeat it with me: that every vote matters,” she said.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
The last day to register to vote is Monday, and early voting begins on Wednesday. Because most Arizona voters cast mail ballots, Mayes said, this weekend is critical to mobilize voters.
“No matter what party you're in, Republican, Democratic, independent, we want you to get out there and vote,” she told ABC15.
Mayes said she plans to talk with Arizonans across the state, saying "there's a lot on the line" this election.
"This is the most important election of our lifetime, literally, and so much will be decided, between what kind of state we want to have to whether we can hold the federal government accountable," she said.
One union member said voters need to elect labor-friendly candidates. Maria Velasco, a community health worker who is president of her union, said she sees the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“It's been really painful to see people struggle for months to get on their SNAP benefits, people getting cut off,” she said.
Since President Donald Trump signed the tax law 15 months ago, Arizona’s enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been slashed by 46%. Expanded work requirements are behind some of the drop, and those changes are also coming to Medicaid in January.
That’s why it’s important that people get out and vote this election, Velasco said.
“I'm really excited to get out in the community, making sure we have a plan, making sure you get your early voter in and making sure you know how to vote,” she said.
On the other side of aisle, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and his running mate, former state Sen. Sine Kerr, also spent the weekend campaigning.
Kerr walked in the Rex Allen Days parade in Willcox on Saturday morning, where attendees cheered her with chants of “USA!”
Both will participate in debates on Monday and Tuesday.
Gov. Katie Hobbs and her running mate, former Mesa Mayor John Giles, however, are skipping the debates.
“If Arizonans saw us both on the debate stage, they would vote for me,” Biggs told reporters last week.
Hobbs didn’t take questions at Saturday’s union rally. The governor has given some interviews to individual media outlets, including ABC15, but hasn’t otherwise talked with reporters in the Valley in nearly a month.
In a statement to ABC15, Hobbs said she’s focused on campaigning.
“This race will be close, and I'm not taking anything for granted,” she said. “Over the next 30 days, I'll be out meeting Arizonans across our state and listening to what matters most to them.”
In August, Hobbs told reporters she thinks such face-to-face interaction with voters is more effective than debates.
At the union event Saturday morning, Hobbs told the crowd that union workers and organizers are the heart of her campaign.
“And every door you knock on, in every conversation you have, it matters, because elections aren't won by who is the loudest voice on TV,” she said. “They're won in neighborhoods, at kitchen tables and in conversations between neighbors.”
Hobbs said the election is a choice between someone who understands the fight working people face and someone votes against them.
“At its core, this election comes down to one single question: Who should our leaders be fighting for?” she said. “And for years, Andy Biggs and I have had very different answers to that question.”
Want more news in your community? Add ABC15 as a preferred source on Google below:
