October 9 marked the first day of early voting in Arizona and both presidential hopefuls will be making their cases to voters.
Gov. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., the Democratic candidate for vice president, attended events in the Phoenix area on that day, including a meeting with tribal leaders of the Gila River Indian Community before making his way to Tucson. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, DFL-Minn., the country’s highest-ranking Native woman in executive office, said the Harris-Walz campaign knows the importance of Arizona’s 11 electoral votes but also how decisive the Native vote can be.
“In 2020, we watched it come down to Arizona,” Flanagan recounted. “I know how powerful the Native vote was in that election and I anticipate that the Native vote will turn up and turn out yet again.”
Indigenous people account for about 6% of Arizona’s population While Native voters have typically leaned Democratic, Republicans are also aiming to engage them.
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the GOP’s vice presidential nominee, held a rally in Tucson October 9 while early voters began casting their ballots in what’s sizing up to be an extremely tight race.
Voters in precincts on the Navajo and Hopi reservations in northeastern Arizona cast about 60,000 ballots in 2020, compared to about 45,000 in 2016, according to The Associated Press. Flanagan called it “significant” and said she is encouraging all Arizonans to vote early.
“It’s really powerful,” Flanagan emphasized. “Turn up, you vote early and then, you can spend the rest of your time knocking on doors, calling people and having conversations with your friends and relatives about the power of their vote, especially in Arizona.”
Vice President Kamala Harris returned to Arizona for the second time in two weeks, to speak at a campaign rally in Phoenix Thursday evening. Former President Donald Trump will also make his way back to the Grand Canyon State on Sunday October 13 for a rally in Prescott.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
