Southern Arizona's Pima County, one of the bluest parts of
this all important battleground state.
What is this place? An island of blue in a
sea of red.
We were a red state
when I was growing up,
and recently we've changed to blue state.
If Democrats want to keep it that way,
running up the margin here,
Crucial. If Democrats don't perform well in Pima County in
Arizona,
what happens? We lose.
Yeah, that's that's how it goes.
We spoke to lots of Pima Democrats,
younger and older, progressive and centrist.
One thing clear is the desert air.
President Joe Biden has a problem
with his own voters. Yeah,
I wish we had a different candidate.
If there were a younger candidate that can connect
with younger people, I do not think I'll be voting
for Joe Biden in the primary.
On the national level, I'm not really impressed with anyone.
More than 3,000,000 Arizonans cast votes for president in
2020. Biden won by
10,457 votes. Nowhere was the margin bigger than Pima County,
where he bested Trump by nearly
100,000 votes.
One issue driving Democratic dissatisfaction?
The president's handling of the conflict in Gaza.
During a weekend event in Tucson,
First lady Jill Biden interrupted several times by pro Palestinian
protesters
he needs to call a ceasefire.
Jenna Mycheck owns a bicycle shop.
She wants to see Joe Biden take a much tougher
line with Israel and he has several months to do
the right thing. 19 year old Grady Campbell is excited
to vote in his first presidential election,
his enthusiasm dampened by the Israeli offensive in Gaza
and the US response. I think that obviously Hamas did
commit a terrible terrorist attack,
but I don't think that the response from Israel is
appropriate and I think that to see that our tax
dollars are going to fund that.
Democrats here say other concerns will help Dr.
Voter turn out in November.
Have you signed the petition to protect the right to
choose in Arizona,
including an expected measure on the ballot enshrining abortion rights
in the state's constitution?
And people are certainly concerned about this issue.
A lot of people have been extremely
shocked to see women's rights
reversed after all of these years.
Arizona a battleground not just at the presidential level.
This November, it's home to a competitive U.S.
Senate contest and a pair of House races.
Even the state legislature here is up for grabs.
Democrats haven't controlled both state houses since
1966, and I'm here at Joe McLean,
who's running for the Arizona Senate.
The strategy? Turn out voters by energizing them on local
issues,
and Biden will benefit when people realize that,
you know, voting rights, women's rights,
public schools, all of these things are settled at the
state legislature.
The light bulb goes on.
These are issues that are important people's everyday lives.
Another factor motivating many of the Democratic voters we spoke
to?
Their fear of a return to the White House
of Donald Trump. There's no doubt in your mind if,
if it's Joe Biden and Donald Trump in November,
you'll vote for Joe Biden.
Absolutely.
With an eye roll, with a huff,
with a yeah, with like a sigh,
you know, But like, it's nothing against him or or
the work that he is doing or trying to do.
It's just I just wish we had more energetic,
younger candidates.