Tucson Mayor Regina Romero endorsed Joe Biden for president this week โ and was already campaigning for the presumptive democratic nominee by the end of it.
Romero, a Democrat, had previously endorsed Elizabeth Warren in the primary, but the Massachusetts senator suspended her run in March. Romero announced her switch to Biden by tweet on Wednesday.
By Thursday morning, Romero was already aiding the campaign by participating in a video chat with Bidenโs wife, Jill, a professor, who Romero referred to as โour future FLOTUS.โ
โIโm excited to hit the ground running to do everything I can to help @JoeBiden win Arizona and make Trump a one term President!โ she wrote in her endorsement announcement.
Sinema praised for working across the aisle
In news thatโs sure to please Arizona centrists and aggravate left-wingers, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has received high marks for her ability to reach across the aisle.
Sinema was the most bipartisan Senate Democrat and fifth most bipartisan senator overall during the first session of the 116th Congress, according to the 2019 index just released by the independent Lugar Center and Georgetown Universityโs McCourt School of Public Policy.
Martha McSally ranked fifth in bipartisanship among Senate Republicans and sixth among senators overall, just behind Sinema.
The annual index is based on the introduction of bills that draw co-sponsors from the opposing party and the co-sponsorship of bills introduced by the other side.
Rep. Tom OโHalleran was Arizonaโs most bipartisan member of the House, where he ranked 8th among Democrats and 21st overall for his ability to work across party lines.
OโHalleran, Sinema and McSally all put out news releases this week crowing about their bipartisan bona fides.
National gun group pours money into Arizona
The national group Everytown for Gun Safety announced plans this week to pour at least $5 million into Arizona during this election cycle, and not all of that money is going to the most obvious place.
Though retired astronaut turned Senate candidate Mark Kelly is a โlifelong gun safety advocate,โ Everytown also plans to insert itself into races โfrom the state house to the White House,โ said Charlie Kelly, the groupโs senior political adviser.
Everytown for Gun Safety is largely financed by New York billionaire and flash-in-the-pan presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg. The group has said it will spend at least $60 million nationwide in 2020, twice what it plowed into the 2018 midterms.
The โGun Sense Majority: Arizonaโ campaign unveiled on Tuesday will push Joe Biden over President Trump and Mark Kelly over Republican Sen. Martha McSally, while backing Democrats in five key state legislative districts, four in Maricopa County and one in north central Arizona.
The Republican Party of Arizona called it an assault on the Second Amendment in a fundraising email sent out within three hours of Everytownโs announcement.
"We're tough as saguaros," editorial cartoonist David Fitzsimmons says. He says he saw a video made for the people of Detroit and became inspired to do his own take for Tucson.
The Kelly campaign declined to comment on the pledge of support.
And in case youโre wondering, Mark Kelly and Charlie Kelly are not related.
Douglas set for new mayor after runoff
Douglas will have a new mayor after the border cityโs runoff election ends on Tuesday.
Incumbent Mayor Robert Uribe lost the primary election in March, taking third place behind Donald Huish and Roberto Moreno. Now Huish, a city council member, and Moreno, head of a trucking business, face each other in a mail-in election.
Both candidates have avoided making major critiques of each other, and both have argued Douglas needs to better exploit its main economic advantage โ the border crossing to Mexico.
Huish has spent his career in city and school-district positions, in Prescott and Douglas, whereas Moreno has held positions in two municipal administrations in Agua Prieta, while also serving as president of Transportaciones El Angel.
The deadline for mailing ballots has passed, but they can still be dropped off at Douglas City Hall, 425 E. 10th St., and at the government center in Douglas, 1012 G. Ave.
