Arizona gained two electoral votes following the 2000 Census, and its population continued to grow rapidly.  From April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003, the state's population grew by 8.8%, the second fastest rate in the nation.  According to the Census Bureau three of the five fastest growing cities (population over 100,000) in the country are in Arizona--Gilbert, Chandler and Peoria (April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2002).  Twenty-seven percent of Arizonans are of "Hispanic or Latino Origin" (July 1, 2002).

Total registration increased by 470,209 (21.6%) over 2000.  Republicans headed into Election Day with a registration advantage of  5.33 percentage points, roughly the same as in 2000 (5.11%).  Paralleling national trends, the percentages of those registered in the major parties decreased while those registered as "Others" increased, going from 17.58% in Nov. 2000 to 24.80% in Nov. 2004.  Democrats did have the advantage of holding the governorship following the election of Janet Napolitano in 2002.  Sen. John McCain found himself in an interesting position: he was friends with Sen. John Kerry, but served as a chair of President Bush's re-election campaign.  Despite their differences on some key issues, in Spring 2004 Kerry reportedly sought to persuade McCain to become his vice presidential nominee (speculation ended by June 12, 2003 news stories).  McCain stumped for Bush in the fall.

Kerry made a handful of visits, including a swing from Winslow to Kingman via train with a trip to the Grand Canyon, on his post-Convention tour in August.  Democrats had put together a solid campaign; they had more field offices in Arizona than in any state except Ohio, and at one point the staff was over 80 strong.  In early August, however, the DNC decided to pull its funding.  With support from the Arizona Democratic Party most of the offices were kept open.  Coordinated Campaign Director Ana Ma stated, "We also had the largest numbers of organizers, house parties and volunteers we ever had in the state."  By September, Bush clearly had the upper hand, evidenced by AP articles headlined "Campaign: Kerry still committed to Arizona" (Sept. 10) and "Kerry not ceding AZ" (Sept. 23).  Ma summed up, "We did turn out the numbers we needed to win - but so did the other side."

Arizona drew the spotlight on October 13, 2004 when the third presidential debate, moderated by Bob Schieffer, was held at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.

Immigration was a important underlying issue.  On August 16, 2004 Protect Arizona Now qualified Proposition 200, a controversial citizens' initiative.  "The Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act" proposed to require proof of citizenship to register to vote, photo ID to vote, and proof of eligibility for non-federally mandated public benefits.  Individuals and groups opposing Proposition 200 united in the Campaign to Defeat Prop 200.  The measure passed by 55.6% to 44.4% (1,041,741 votes to 830,467 votes).

Looking at the results by county, one sees that the Bush-Cheney ticket increased its percentage of the vote in every county compared to 2000, while Kerry-Edwards improved upon the Gore-Lieberman share of the vote in just four counties.  Maricopa County accounted for 59.26% of the votes in the race for president (1,192,751 of 2,012,585).  In Maricopa County Bush increased his share of the vote from 53.34% in 2000 to 56.97% in 2004 while the Democratic share dropped from the 42.97% obtained by Gore to 42.33%; Bush's plurality in the county increased from 93,284 in 2000 to 174,606 in 2004.

See Also: Marc Cooper.  "Arizona: Turning Blue for Kerry?"  The Nation.  September 27, 2004.
 
 

Bush-Cheney '04	Kerry-Edwards 2004
Organization details...	details...
BC'04 State Chair: Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl Exec. Director: Lisa James Comm. Director: Blanca Esparza Office: 4647 N. 32nd Street, Suite 125, Phoenix Arizona Republican Party State Chair: Bob Fannin Exec. Director: Bill Christiansen Office: 3501 North 24th Street, Phoenix	KE State Director: Douglas Wilson Comm. Director: Sue Walitsky Office: 2910 North Central Avenue, Phoenix  Coordinated Campaign Director: Ana Ma Arizona Democratic Party State Chair: Jim Pederson Exec. Director: Paul Hegarty Office: 2910 North Central Avenue, Phoenix

Travel  compare...

BUSH-CHENEY	KERRY-EDWARDS
Final Month (Oct. 2-Nov. 2, 2004)
George W. Bush - 1 visits (2 days) Dick Cheney (and Lynne Cheney) - 0 visits Laura Bush (solo) - 0 visits	John Kerry - 1 visits (1 day) John Edwards -  0 visits  Teresa Heinz Kerry (solo) - 1 visit (1 day) Elizabeth Edwards (solo) -  0 visits
Eight Months (March 2-Nov. 2, 2004)
George W. Bush - 3 visits (4 days) Dick Cheney (and Lynne Cheney) - 2 visits (2 days) Laura Bush (solo) - 0 visits	John Kerry - 4 visits (6 days) John Edwards - 1 visits (1 day) Teresa Heinz Kerry (solo) - 1 visit (1 day) Elizabeth Edwards (solo) -  1 visit (2 days)

Newspaper Endorsements

BUSH Arizona Republic  (10/17/04)

KERRY Arizona Daily Star [Tucson] (10/03/04)

More Endorsements

KERRY Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr.

Third Party and Independent
Nader Ballot Access
Arizona requires Independents to submit 14,694 valid signatures, including specific numbers from each CD, to the Secretary of State’s office by 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2004.  [Nomination Other Than By Primary ("Independents" A.R.S. § 16-341)].  This is the second earliest deadline in the country after that of Texas.  Nader's campaign submitted more than 22,000 signatures on June 9.  On June 23, Dorothy Schultz and Betty Elizabeth Hughes, a couple of Arizona Democratic voters acting with the backing of the Arizona Democratic Party, filed a suit in Maricopa County Superior Court challenging the petitions.  On July 2, the campaign announced it was withdrawing its effort to get on the ballot after review by the Secretary of State's office showed it had fallen approximately 550 signatures short.  (In an Aug. 6, 2004 L.A. Times column Nader explained: "In Arizona, 1,400 signatures were challenged because the signatories, although giving their complete address, did not include the name of their county.  We could not afford to pay defense counsel and incur delays.")  The campaign said it would encourage voters to write in Nader and Camejo.

Then, on Aug. 16 the campaign announced it was filing suit in Federal District Court in Arizona challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's ballot access law on the basis of the early deadline and the requirement that petitioners be qualified to vote in and residents of Arizona.  The Federal District Court denied the campaign's motion for a temporary restraining order to place Nader and Camejo on the ballot.  The campaign then appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  On Oct. 15 a three-judge panel affirmed the district court ruling noting that early voting had begun on Sept. 30 and citing an earlier ruling that "interference with an election after voting has begun is unprecedented."  The decision did not address the merits of the constitutional question.  Nader v. Brewer, 04-16880.

State Coordinators
Nader: Cheryl Rohrick
Badnarik: Mike Van Milligan

Candidate Visits
Nader
October 13, 2004
-Press Conference next to Gentle Strength Co-op at 234 W. University Drive in Phoenix, AZ.
-One on one with media-Anderson Cooper.

April 21, 2004
-Meets with volunteers' speaks on college tuition and ballot access; meet and greet and media availability at Estrella Community College in Phoenix, AZ.
Drive to Tucson.
-Meets with Students United for Peace & Justice in the Middle East and volunteers; speaks on international law and the Middle East and ballot access at University of Arizona, Ares Auditorium College of Law Building in Tucson, AZ.
-Fundraiser at The Fountains-Catalina dining room in Tucson, AZ.

Badnarik
September 2-4, 2004
Sept. 2
-Tours the Arizona-Mexico border  -not confirmed
Tapes an interview for KUAT TV's "Arizona Illustrated" news program.
-Rally at Old Main and campaign speech and Q&A at the Integrated Learning Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ.
-Dinner, speech, Q&A and campaign rally at Cody's Beef n' Beans in Tucson, AZ.
Sept. 3
Ed boards, radio shows and interviews in Phoenix, AZ.
-Campaign party at private home in Phoenix, AZ.
Sept. 4
-Arizona Breakfast Club speech at Beafeater's Restaurant in Phoenix, AZ.
-County Fair in Flagstaff, AZ.
-Dinner at Elks Lodge in Flagstaff, AZ.

Copyright ©  2004, 2005  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.

AZ Republican Party www.azgop.org	AZ Democratic Party www.azdem.org	www.turnazblue.com
AZ Libertarian Party www.azlp.org	AZ Green Party www.azgp.org	Constitution Party of AZ www.freewebs.com/cparizona
			...Senate
John McCain (R) www.friendsofmccain.com	Stu Starky (D) www.starkyforsenate.com	Ernest Hancock (L) www.ernesthancock.com
		...Proposition 200
Protect Arizona Now  (Yes on 200) www.pan2004.com	Arizonans for Real Immigration  Reform (No on 200) www.noon200.com