Maricopa County, Arizona – Arizona is expected to be one of the most closely watched and competitive battleground states in the upcoming presidential election, and the state's largest county will determine who wins the state and ultimately the White House. will play an important role in determining the
Maricopa County, a county of more than 4.5 million people surrounding Phoenix in south-central Arizona, is widely considered one of the nation's major battlegrounds due to its diverse political disintegrations, with former President Trump either It would bring in 11 important electoral votes. Or Vice President Kamala Harris.
”“Maricopa County is the largest and most populous county in Arizona, containing more than 60% of the voters in the entire state,” Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Gina Swoboda told Fox News Digital. That's a third Democrat, a third Republican, and a third independent. It fluctuates a little. But essentially, we are third, third, third. ”
“Phoenix has what I would call a dense urban center. And then you have the suburbs, which are growing. Phoenix has always been one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. This county consists of It's very diverse because of the increasing urbanization, the creation of suburbs, and the rapid urbanization of small towns. That kind of growth puts a lot of pressure on communities. voting attracts a lot of attention. ”
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Arizona's 11 electors will be important in determining the 2024 White House winner (Fox News)
Swoboda told Fox News Digital that if you're running for office in Maricopa County, you have a “broad range of voters” and “you have to talk about their issues.”
Swoboda said the key issues this election cycle are the economy and immigration.
”“Inflation is number one, and when it comes to inflation in Arizona, we're one of the hardest hit states in the country by rising prices,” Swoboda said. “But part of that is unaffordability. “It's a residential building,” he said. And that's a big problem in Arizona, especially in fast-growing Maricopa. ”
In the 2020 election, President Joe Biden won Arizona by less than 1.5 percentage points, and Maricopa County was also close, with Biden defeating former President Trump by 2 percentage points.
The Harris-Waltz campaign has been active in the county in recent months, with the Arizona campaign team telling Fox News Digital they have knocked on 90,000 doors, made more than 1.7 million phone calls and made 10,000 phone calls. He said 5,000 volunteers completed the shift. county.
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A sign directs voters to a ballot drop box for early voting outside the Maricopa County Counting and Elections Center ahead of the Arizona midterm elections on November 3, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. ((Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images))
“Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, Second Gentleman Emhoff, and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz all visited Arizona in September,” the campaign announced. “Vice President Harris recently visited Douglas, Arizona, to promote policies to keep Arizona's borders secure, marking her eighth trip to Arizona this year.”
Polls increasingly show Trump leading Harris among low-propensity voters; Improved concentration In the trump ground game. The same is true in Arizona, particularly in Maricopa County, where Turning Point Action, which has been a leading organizer of President Trump's GOTV efforts, has used “Commit 100” and “Chase the Vote” campaigns to mobilize voters. We have launched programs such as
A spokesperson for Turning Point Action told Fox News Digital that the organization is actively targeting Arizona's 400,000 low-propensity voters and that Republican voter registration efforts in the state over the past two years have increased the “This state is mathematically very difficult for Democrats.”
Migrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, Dec. 7, 2023. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
An RNC spokesperson told FOX News Digital that the Republican Party has “doubled” the Republican voter registration advantage in Arizona since 2020, and that the RNC is entering the state as part of its “Trump Force 47” initiative. He said he has nearly 12 offices and aims to be “a place to meet voters.” teeth. “
Immigration is one of the most important issues for voters nationally, according to polls, and it's no different in Arizona, where voters interviewed by FOX News Digital are most concerned about which candidate will develop the crisis. They said immigration was their biggest concern, despite differing opinions on how best to deal with it.
“We have to move faster at border incarceration,” Mary, a Phoenix resident, told Fox News Digital. “And if you suspect they are about to commit a crime, lock them up.”
Mary said it was “frustrating” that the recent bipartisan border deal was rejected in Congress, and that if Harris were elected, “she would sign the deal.”
Sun City West's Nick told Fox News Digital that Harris' immigration policies are “disastrous at best.”
On July 15, 2024, former President Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) appeared on the first day of the Republican National Convention. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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“Control your borders,” he said. “Let's at least keep our borders secure. Don't let people get in who shouldn't be able to get in unless they go through normal routes.”
Recent polls show Trump holding a narrow 2-point lead over Harris in the battleground state of Arizona.
The former president's approval rating appears to be driven by support from voters over the age of 50. According to an AARP poll conducted from September 24 to October 24, 49% of Arizona voters favored Trump and 47% favored Harris. 1, released on Tuesday. According to the poll, Green Party candidate Jill Stein has 1% support, with 3% undecided.
“Sixty-five, 68 percent of the entire population of Arizona lives in Maricopa County, so in some ways it's like a separate state,” Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake told Fox News Digital. . “This is one of those huge counties. Frankly, I think it's a huge county, but it's still a huge county. So it's a really important county. What happened in Maricopa County. Because we know that it has the potential to impact the entire country and, in fact, the entire world.'' Maricopa County can lead the entire country in any way that way. , that it is an important county because it is so huge that it can lead the entire state in that way.. ”
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report
