Republicans’ stronghold of Arizona now a hard-fought battleground
THERE were more Make America Great Again caps than masks at Mike Pence’s rally in Phoenix. Even cowboy hats gave masks a run for their money. And social distancing was not in evidence.
“I had a little debate with Kamala Harris,” Mr Pence told the crowd. “Some people think we did all right.”
“You whooped her,” yelled a supporter.
With the president indisposed, Mr Pence had been dispatched to Arizona as the cavalry. The Grand Canyon state is emerging as a key battleground that could tip the election scales. Traditionally Republican, it is hard to see Donald Trump remaining in office without it. But Joe Biden leads here by six points according to polling.
For that reason, all roads led to Phoenix yesterday. Mr Biden and Ms Harris both descended for their first joint in-person events since becoming a ticket.
Down the road, Mr Pence sweated blood for his boss, speaking for 40 minutes outdoors as temperature soared over 37C. His rally was at TYR Tactical, a supplier of body armour to the US military and police. His audience of about 200 included Latinos For Trump, Assyrians For Trump, a girl aged about eight leaping in the air yelling “Four More Years”, and a man in a suit designed to look like the border wall with Mexico.
Mr Pence said Mr Biden was a Trojan horse for the radical left who wants more taxes, socialised medicine, and to pack the Supreme Court to ensure a liberal majority.
His audience was jubilant about the debate, dismissing suggestions he interrupted Ms Harris too much.
Debbie Lesko, the Republican congresswoman for Phoenix, said: “From one woman looking at another woman, I thought Kamala Harris came across very rude, kind of condescending, smug... smirky.”
Ms Lesko said she felt “very good” about Mr Trump’s chances in Arizona because the Biden-Harris campaign had done no in-person canvassing due to the pandemic.
“We’ve been door-knocking for months,” she said. “I’ve personally gone to swing voters and asked them ‘Are you voting for President Trump?’ The vast majority said yes.
“There’s real concern about all the rioting and looting. More people here are buying guns. They’re afraid.”
Mr Biden and Ms Harris’s first stop was to meet leaders of the Navajo Nation. They were joined by Cindy McCain, widow of the Republican senator John McCain.
They then embarked on a “Soul of the Nation” bus tour. Stopping at the cavernous Carpenters Local Union hall, they spoke to 20 workers wearing masks and sitting in socially distanced chairs.
Mr Biden told the carpenters Mr Trump “looks down on you” and “ignores you”.
‘I thought Harris came across very rude, smug... smirky’
In 2016, Arizona was the focus of Mr Trump’s policies to block illegal immigration, and he won it by four points. He has been back five times this year, and had to cancel two rallies due to his Covid diagnosis.
Since 1952, the state has voted Democrat only once – for Bill Clinton in 1996.
Back at Mr Pence’s rally, Jonathan Christie (74), a retired US Air Force pilot, said: “Trump will win. Arizona is a conservative, God-fearing state.” He added: “As a Christian, I really zoned in on the president’s comment that getting Covid was an Act of God, because in days he was better. That was a great example for all American citizens... that it’s something not to be afraid of.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)