The last Democrat to win Arizona in a presidential election was Bill Clinton twenty years ago. Now, his wife is sensing she can carry it again.
Arizona has 11 electoral votes that Trump has been counting on, but an average of polling from the Grand Canyon State shows him leading Hillary Clinton by just one point.
Trump is headed toward an electoral college landslide defeat if he loses in this traditionally red state.
It didn’t help when the conservative Arizona Republic newspaper, which had only backed Republican presidential candidates in its 126 year history, endorsed Clinton this month, saying about Trump, “he is not conservative and he is not qualified.”
Democrats are now sensing victory. Chelsea Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders and first lady Michelle Obama will all campaign in Arizona this week.
The state’s growing Hispanic population could determine the outcome. Sen. John McCain rescinded his endorsement of Trump last week, perhaps sensing that the top of the ticket could hamper his reelection bid.
The fact Clinton is pressing in a Republican state is an indication of her lead in the electoral college. Any extra time and resources Trump is forced to utilize in Arizona takes it away from more critical battleground states that he must carry.
EXTRA: Hillary Clinton was a “Goldwater Girl” in 1964. Here is an exclusive excerpt from Jim’s book Front Row Seat at the Circus!
From the Chapter: The Highest Ceiling
While Clinton is painted as a liberal by Republicans, many are surprised to learn she actually started in politics in 1964 as a young Republican supporter of Barry Goldwater, often called the “father of modern conservatism.”
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with former Sen. Barry Goldwater at his home in Arizona, 1996.
“His emphasis on individual responsibility was exactly in line with the way I was raised,” Clinton told me. “I supported him strongly in that election and I was a Goldwater girl.”
When her husband Bill sought reelection as president in 1996, Goldwater said of him, “If he’d let Hillary run business, I think he’d be better off. I just like the way she acts.”