After 2 close races, Hodge looking toward the future
Considered rising star in state’s Democratic Party
After coming up short in two devastatingly close races, Democrat Jevin Hodge is looking to the future. For now, that appears to be another go at Arizona’s 1st Congressional District seat in what could be a rematch of the 2022 election.
Hodge, 29, who is in charge of the oldest Head Start Program in Arizona, is considered a rising star in the Arizona Democratic Party.
“We built a big, powerful movement to change the status quo in Washington . ... I’m getting very strong consideration and very strong encouragement to run again. But I’ll make that decision in due time,” Hodge told The Arizona Republic in an interview. “I’m proud of the coalition that we built, proud of the people that were involved that have never been involved before. It leaves me very motivated for what’s to come.”
To be successful in any future run, Hodge will have to lean on the support of his self-described movement, which he characterizes as “truly beautiful because we have been able to bring together folks from all walks of life. I have supporters from this campaign and previous campaigns from all wings of the political spectrum. People who voted for (former President Donald)
Trump, people who were anti-Trump people.”
“It’s about having leaders that are from and of the community, that look like their community, that have the experience of our community.“
The economy is a major issue in the 1st Congressional District, which is one of the wealthiest areas in Arizona. The district encompasses Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills and northern parts of Phoenix. Economic empowerment is a major tenet of Hodge’s platform.
“It’s creating high-wage jobs; it’s cutting cost for our families. How do we ensure that people to live their lives fully and effectively and they don’t have
to worry, and they have the support and systems in place to do so? We take a deeper dive in that, it’s prioritizing education and healthcare,” Hodge said.
Hodge traces the importance of the economic empowerment to how he grew up. An Arizona native, he and his brother was raised by a single mom, Berdetta Hodge, who serves on the Tempe City Council. In 2016, she became the first Black woman voted into public city office in Tempe. She has also been both president and vice president of the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board.
“My mother raised my brother and me by herself and taught us everything we needed to know to be successful. But through that hard work and that perseverance, I was able to create what we’ve created, become a business executive, et. cetera,” Hodge said.
Hodge said the “icing on the cake” of the movement is the preservation of democracy and “ensuring ... we have a republic that we can pass on to future generations.”
He cites how he conducted himself after he lost both elections as an example of upholding democracy.
“I lost two very close races . ... The first race I was winning for almost two weeks and the second race I was winning for almost a week. And when I stood up for democracy, I conceded and I did so peacefully,” Hodge said. “It’s important for people to know that the process must be respected and that we have to still have honor and integrity involved in our political systems.
In 2020, Hodge lost his race for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors by 403 votes.
In November 2022, Hodge lost to Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., by 3,195 votes. The 1st Congressional District race last year saw the closest finish of Arizona’s nine U.S. House of Representatives elections.
Schweikert has been plagued by ethics issues in the past, with campaign finance violations and 11 ethics breaches that led to $175,000 in fines from the Federal Election Commission and Congress. Those infractions have long been brought up by his political opponents, but so far have not doomed his political career. They have, however, dampened Schweikert’s ability to fundraise. Hodge outraised Schweikert by around $460,000.
Schweikert also may have been hurt by his connection to former President Donald Trump.
After the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, Schweikert voted to certify Arizona’s election results, but voted against certifying Pennsylvania’s outcome. Trump also endorsed Schweikert in the 2022 election.
To that end, Schweikert has taken steps to separate himself from the right wing of the Republican party. Earlier this month, Schweikert, one of the founders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, left the group because he did not want to be aligned with Arizona’s Freedom Caucus.
He told Punchbowl News: “There’s a difference between conservatism and populism. These people are operating much more on their passions than protecting all the gains they made in the last couple of years in the state Legislature ... “
“... But the more difficult thing in my district is actually explaining the difference between my state Freedom Caucus from the federal one. It’s just so hard to explain that they get to use our name, but they’re not us,” he said.
The next Democrat who is nominated to represent the 1st district in 2024 might have an easier time demographically than in the last election. While the district is considered competitive, it favors Republicans. It is expected to become more favorable to Democrats in the future. However, the district might be changing faster than some analysts initially expected.
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the group that made the new districts that went into effect last election, says the 1st district currently has a 2.60% “vote spread” favoring Republicans.
The commission characterizes “vote spread,” as “the difference between average Democratic and average Republican votes in nine state elections.” The vote spread in “highly competitive” districts is under 4%.
The analysis website fivethirtyeight says the 1st district votes Republican 7% more than the country as a whole.
Voting participation in a presidential election is higher than in the midterms, which could benefit 1st-district Democrats in the next election.
Chuck Coughlin, president and CEO of the Phoenix-based consulting firm HighGround Inc., told The Republic earlier that the closeness of the last election between Schweikert and Hodge “shows that in a presidential cycle, which will be in ‘24, Mr. Schweikert is definitely vulnerable.”