Where today's GOP fits into Arizona's Republican past
Brit McCandless Farmer 20 hrs agoTraditionally a Republican stronghold, Arizona has rarely been a state that political analysts consider on Election Day. Aside from 1996, when Bill Clinton won by two percentage points, the Grand Canyon State hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1948.
But this year, polling indicates Arizona is worth watching.
"Arizona should not be up for grabs," said 60 Minutes correspondent John Dickerson, who reported from the state for 60 Minutes. "And Arizona is up for grabs because there's something happening in Arizona that's actually happening in the larger country, which is that the electorate is becoming more diverse."
Latinos — many of whom are young, American-born, and coming of voting age — currently make up about one-third of the state's population, which is rapidly growing. Roughly 60 percent of Arizonans live in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale. It was the largest county the president won in the 2016 election, and it is one of the fastest growing counties in the country.
But Arizona's changing demographics and burgeoning population are not enough to explain the state's shift, particularly given the fact that the state's proportions of registered Republicans and Democrats have remained mostly stable. Registered Republicans still outnumber registered Democrats.
Instead, the changes are also playing out within Arizona's Republican Party itself.
THE HISTORY OF ARIZONA'S REPUBLICAN PARTY<..snip..>
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