JoAnna Mendoza (AZ-SD-11) and Felipe Perez (AZ-HD-11) are the future of Arizona politics.

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{Cross-post of a Blog Post I published on Dailykos.com on 9.27.2020}


 


I don’t need to tell you the news.

Today every State Legislative race in the USA got a huge kick in the pants.

(Link to Amy Klobuchar speaking for all of us.)

Our best and first line of attack is our state legislatures.

Who we elect and where we elect them matters. Now, more than ever. Not just in terms of defending our rights and fighting the GOP gerrymander, but also in terms of passing laws that reflect the will of the people.

And yeah, whether it’s the ACA or Roe, Gun Sense or LGBTQ equality, Voting rights or BLM, if the Republican party can’t respect the clearly expressed voice of the people then the people need to kick the Republican party out on its posterior.

(That link is to the just released DLCC Act Blue page targeting 48 races to flip power in no fewer than 10 Republican controlled state legislatures.)

So let’s talk about Arizona.

Arizona’s state legislature is currently primed to flip both the Senate (3 Seats to FLIP) and the House (2 Seats to FLIP.)

The districts, unlike other states, overlap exactly. 

In this case LD-11, per the local Dem website, covers the Northwest portion of Pima County as well as portions of Pinal County.

And we have two excellent candidates in a “stretch-the-map” district not included in the DLCC’s list above, but who are very much worth a look.

Veteran, mother and leader, JoAnna Mendoza is the Democratic Senate candidate in AZ LD-11 who is running exactly the kind of people-powered, close to the district campaign that would do Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy proud...which is no coincidence because she has the backing of none other than Democracy for America.

The thing is, if you read JoAnna’s bio, you will be inspired by her journey as Just a Kid from Eloy through 20 years in the Navy and Marines including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and serving as a Marine Corps Drill Instructor.  (You read that right.)  

She writes:

I am the kid people didn't expect to make it out of the poverty because the odds were stacked against me. But I did and now I am back to make a difference in the communities in which I grew up in. I have never forgotten where I came from or who I've been fighting for. Committed to changing our district in a positive way, I will not stop fighting until we have achieved unity, progress, and the future we deserve.

-JoAnna Mendoza, AZ SD-11 Democratic candidate

Felipe Perez is an MD who worked who worked his way to being a family physician at one of Arizona’s largest community health centers and is the Democratic House candidate in AZ LD-11 (running against two Republican opponents for one of two seats.)

Both candidates have an impressive array of endorsements that include excellent environmental, reproductive rights, gun sense and labor groups (Here and here) as well as, as of yesterday, President Barack Obama.

Every last vote they turn out will help Dems win in Arizona.

Every last vote for these two candidates will send the clearest message in opposition to Republican attempts to foist their minority views on the majority of the population.

JoAnna Mendoza and Felipe Perez are leaders who represent the FUTURE of Arizona politics, but that can only happen if we have their backs in what promises to be a hard fought campaign.

Why not check out the inspiring and funny social media below, and consider donating above?


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About this series:

I’m a longtime local election activist and Dailykos blogger dating back to 2003. I was part of helping local blogs and the netroots drive Democrats to take back the House in 2006 and helped build some of the biggest and most successful grassroots and online groups supporting Barack Obama.

The 2020 Democratic State Legislative candidates are heroes, and deserve our support. They are our best chance of changing US politics including GOP voter suppression and gerrymandering for decades to come and many of them will run campaigns that help us win electoral college votes and key US Senate and House votes:

Mokah Jasmine Johnson (GA) | Akilah Bacy (TX) | Joanna Cattanach (TX)| Ricky Hurtado (NC) | Sara Rodriguez  (WI) | Franccesca Cesti-Brown (FL) | Brandy Chambers (TX) | Anton Andrew (PA) | Chokwe Pitchford (MI) | Sarah Yacoub and Emily Siegrist (WI) | Travis Boldt (TX) | Patty Smith and Lindsay Drew (PA) | Keke Williams (TX) | Donna Lake and Nicole Quick (NC)

You can also visit the State Level Impact 2020 ActBlue Page (Page created w/ an email privacy option for those who prefer to make a one time donation to multiple candidates.)


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