Rivals step up efforts vs. Dem governor hopeful

Both parties contesting Democratic front-runner

With the primary election fast approaching, Republicans and Democrats alike have stepped up attacks against candidate David Garcia, the apparent Democratic front-runner in the race for governor.

With the primary election less than three weeks away, Republicans and Democrats alike are stepping up attacks against candidate David Garcia, the apparent Democratic front-runner in the race for governor.

Millions of dollars — and thousands of words — have been devoted to taking Garcia down, suggesting he is viewed as a legitimate threat across party lines.

Garcia is set to face challengers Kelly Fryer and state Sen. Steve Farley in the Aug. 28 primary, with the winner likely confronting incumbent Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in November. Farley has out-raised Garcia, according to campaign-finance reports, but Garcia is leading in the polls.

Over the last week and a half, opponents have portrayed Garcia as a hypocrite and flip-flopper, challenging his commitment to public schools and law enforcement

They have questioned his hiring process after a campaign employee was revealed to have posted controversial comments on Twitter, including calling the U.S. a “s---thole country,” and supporting the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

And they have scrutinized Garcia’s writings and public remarks, alternately casting him as too radical and too “establishment.”

Here’s a look at the hits his campaign has taken recently and how Garcia has responded.

Campaign staffer’s tweets

The attack: A blog post published Thursday by “PJ Media” called out Garcia’s digital director, Xenia Orona, for what it described as “anti-Arizona, anti-America, and anti-police tweets.”

The post included a screenshot of a Nov. 6, 2012 tweet that said, “An open letter to Arizona: F--- you.” Another screenshot showed a May 23, 2018, tweet that said, “ICE is abusive and needs to be abolished. But also, watch me speak exclusively Spanish in public at every given opportunity.”

Orona also used the hashtag #ftp, or “f--k the police.”

On Friday morning, members of lawenforcement associations held a press conference in Phoenix to denounce what they viewed as Garcia’s complicity in “anti-police rhetoric.”

The response: “The language and the message of the tweets are not in line with the values and message of our campaign,” said Sarah Elliot, Garcia’s campaign spokeswoman. “The staff person involved offered her resignation, and our campaign accepted it.”

Elliot said Garcia “has the utmost respect for law enforcement and security and military.”

“He’s an Army veteran himself,” she said.

School-choice book

The attack: A political-blog post also published Thursday painted Garcia’s upcoming book as a “blueprint to dismantle public education,” suggesting Garcia’s stated commitment to the public-school system is insincere.

The author of the post described Garcia’s book, set for a Sept. 28 release, as a “how-to playbook for the anti-publicschool, pro-school-voucher agenda pushed by Gov. Doug Ducey and the Koch brothers.”

He described Garcia as a “Manchurian candidate,” which he defined as “a person running for office who publicly supports one group to win an election, but who uses his executive or legislative powers to assist an opposing group.”

The response: In a statement, Garcia said he “wrote a book about school choice issues for MIT press that is an academic treatment laying out the arguments for and against school policies in as neutral a way as possible.”

“It does not present any policy recommendations or detail my personal opinions,” he said. “…These are politically motivated attacks by my primary opponents and their supporters who are becoming increasingly desperate.”

examination of the 196page book revealed a text akin to an aca-