Arizona Republican State Committeemen re-elected Randy Pullen to another term to lead the party in Arizona today. In a hard fought battle between Pullen and challenger, Lisa James, Pullen collected 521 votes to James’ 474 votes thus widening the gap in today’s rematch. In January 2007, Pullen narrowly beat James by four votes.
Pullen will now muster the GOP faithful in order to further strengthen numbers in the legislature, elect statewide posts and retake critical congressional seats in 2010.
Congratulations to Randy Pullen on a race well run!
What is this nonsense:
“Pullen will not muster the GOP faithful in order to further strengthen numbers in the legislature, elect statewide posts and retake critical congressional seats in 2010″?
So you are congratulating him and then say he will not do the job…has this blog been taken over by aliens ?
It had to be a typo. I’m sure the writer meant now instead of “not.”
Congrats to Randy!
Not is now – then it makes sense. This was an interesting race to participate in (my first in Arizona) and I hope the party does come together and return to the Republican principles. If they do, the Constitution Party, the Libertarian Party and other such diversions are toast in 2010 and Democrats are biscuits with gravy before then.
Great talk from Congressman Trent Franks today. He certainly took the high road in this race. That is well recognized and highly appreciated.
Lisa James giving most of her time to a bunch of other people (unknowns) really hurt her.
I frankly couldn’t figure out which of the women on stage was her.
Ms. James didn’t consider that probably half of the people in the room weren’t at the last go-around between her and Pullen.
She didn’t introduce herself until the last minute of her 10 minutes of alloted time.
She blew it.
However, since I was for Pullen – she did a sufficient job of losing.
Ms. James spent too much time trying to get endorsements of “big” names. She needed the support of the average committeeman/woman. But they were beneath her.
It’s history now. What matters is going forward unified. Remember all that “unity” we heard about? Let’s see some very public signs of it now.
We’ve heard from Congressmen Shadegg and Flake and Senator Kyl before the vote count was in. Will we hear from them on the subject now? I sure hope so.
For my wife, a fellow State Committeeman, she agrees with Joe C. on the huge parade of people who marched in to support James. The final straw, for my wife at least, was getting her daughter to say “Vote for my mom,” to which my wife commented that it was sort of classless to exploit children, cute though it may have been to get her daughter to say that.
I tend to agree. I’m sort of burned out on politics, gave up my newspaper subscription for about three weeks beginning the day before the presidential inauguration so that I wouldn’t have to see this sort of stuff for a while, and since I have a pretty large movie collection I have no need of watching network TV news. It’s been fun to do without this stuff, and the little shots by State Treasurer Martin complaining that “Randy Pullen didn’t return my calls” reminded me of the pettiness which annoys me about politics.
Maybe we can give this stuff a rest for a few months now.
I would like to thank all of the State Committeemen who voted for me today. I pledge to work just as hard these next two years as the past two to build the party and elect even more Republicans to office.
I would especially like to thank Lisa James for stepping up to the microphone to congratulate me, pledge support and to ask for unity.
I was hoping that Lisa James would win, but I was also impressed by Pullen’s obvious dedication to fairness and procedure while chairing the meeting. I mentioned it to him and he shrugged it off, saying that an orderly meeting should be expected, but the truth is it takes patience and determination to run a fair and orderly meeting. Randy Pullen did a very good job giving everyone a chance to speak, within reason, and would actually pause for several moments to ask for discussion on every issue – a marked contrast from the County meeting, where a misguided attempt to do block voting on resolutions caused chaos.
As for Dean Martin’s comments – and, I think the reason many elected officials endorsed James, as well as myself – is a perception that we lost some Republican races by a very slim margin, especially races where we had no state GOP support. Most notably, the Corporation Commission race, where a few more dollars might have made a serious difference. There’s was a lot of resentment over Pullen spending party dollars to attack Dan Saban, when so many other races needed help.
That being said, it’s time to put the past behind us. I’m especially tired of hearing that “James is the McCain candidate” and “Pullen is the Palin candidate.” Let’s face it, almost all Republicans would prefer it if we had either Sarah Palin OR John McCain as President instead of Barack Obama.
I wanted Lisa James to win. That being said, Randy Pullen is an extremely intelligent, capable man, and I have high hopes that he will take the lessons of this campaign to heart and focus a bit more on the races that are tight. I fully expect that Pullen will help us get a good slate of candidates ready for 2010. And, I hope we can put this “McCain – Palin” debate aside in the future so as not to squander all our campaign dollars on bitter primary fights.
I was happy with Randy Pullen’s win. I was also happy to see that Lisa had the class to publicly congratulate the winner this time.
I was disappointed with Dean Martin. He sounded petty and I was amazed to hear him say that Lisa would be good on illegal immigration.
As for the McCain/Palin comment, almost everyone I come in contact with would much rather have Palin than McCain. On the other hand, Randy did his best considering Sen. McCain won’t have anything to do with his own state’s grassroot workers and prefers to cosy up to the democrats.
Gary in #5 above: Agreed.
[Comment edited out of respect to Lisa's family.]
Dean Martin slashed his wrists for Lisa James. A serious, dumb move. He should have done what the rest of the elected officials did and just applauded our new Govenor Jan Brewer, spoke about the budget and left it at that. His true colors and petty nature poured all over that stage on Saturday. I’ll be one Precinct Committeeman who tells Dean Martin to pack it in when he comes pandering to us for help on his next election. “Elections have consequences,” Dean. ALL elected officials need to STAY OUT out of Party business. Endporsements are OK. But my God, what Lisa James has stirred up these past three years between those elected and the grassroots Party workers is unforgivable. And it should be remembered … long after Saturday! “Elections have consequences.”
My how those Pullen supporters are pushing for unity!
Congratulations to all for honest and decent campaigns for their leadership races. Congratulations to Chairman Pullen for elections well run in 2008 and for a re-election campaign well run. Congratulations to Lisa James’s daughter for the “cute moment” of the day. Congratulations to Bruce Ash for a fine nomination speech. Congratulations to Randy Pullen for an amazing speech today, and for always standing up for us, looking out for us, working for us. NOW LETS GO WIN SOME EVEN BIGGER GOP MAJORITIES!!!
Right GOProg, We have a conservative Governor to elect in ’10. Back to work. Tomorrow is Sunday. A great day to call on prospective PCs.
Congratulations to Randy and the Arizona Republican Party. It’s a new day and time for us to look forward with our new governor to better times for our state.
I received a full page mailer from Randy Pullen today after I got home from the meeting. I hope he can time the pieces for our candidates a little better. That being said it’s time to move forward and unite. Congrats Randy.
Congratulations Chairman Pullen on your win today and thank you for your leadership which will guide the AZGOP to victory in 2010. Congrats to Linda White and Timothy Lee on their re-election and all members elected today. A triumphant sweep for grassroots politics.
I also got the mailer when I arrived home – definitely not good timing. I hope this doesn’t happen with our GOP candidates in the next election!
Just read the article in the Republic where the Democrats tossed out their State Chair.
Seems that they were disgruntled with the fact that they lost local races in spite of raising more monies and registering more Democrats than the Republicans. I think they would rather be in our shoes – with majorities in both the House and Senate, and yes, maintaining our majority on the Corporation Commission.
Sometimes we need to sit back, take a deep breath and think about the positives. Continued whining and hand wringing is not going to win elections – Republicans working together is the key. And Conservatives are going to have to vote for a Moderate on occasion, but this goes both ways, Moderates you are going to have to vote for Conservatives if we intend to continue winning races. Fight good clean fights in the primaries and unite in the generals.
Congratulations Randy!
Congratulations to Randy on his victory in a vigorously contested and close election. Although I endorsed Lisa James, Randy won and he is rightfully the Chairman. All of us now need to put aside our differences, support the party and its Chairman, and help move the party forward to future successes.
-Jim Kaucher
1st Vice Chairman,
Pima County Republican Party
catsclaw, you missed the best part. The new Democratic chairman, upon being elected, promptly declared that one thing he wants to work on is educating the public that we’ve had TOO MANY tax cuts!
Yeah, I think the Democrats are going to have lots of success with that one…sheesh. If the Dems persist with that line of reasoning, it’s like early Christmas for us!
-Steve
Diogidog, I hope you don’t mean what you wrote about Dean Martin – he is the man who just a few weeks ago forced Janet Napolatano to show her true colors, when his stubborn insistence on actually following state law forced our former governorto all but break down and have a very public, very embarrassing (for her) temper tantrum that proved to be great radio fodder for days.
Elected officials DO have a place in party business – he was speaking from the perspective of an elected official who had turned to the party for help during an election and found it lacking. He’s not the only candidate who felt that way. Hopefully, we can learn from that and move forward. But, Dean Martin is a conservative Republican who has been fighting for us under very difficult circumstances, and when times were tough he was there standing up against Janet Napolitano. We need people like that. Please reconsider, and don’t write the man off just because of some remarks he made in favor of a candidate. He’s doing the job we elected and paid him to do, and he’s doing it well.
Calabrese you are correct. Guess that I got worked up over it.
Randy Pullen is a disgrace!!!! Between his outright lies and his criminal behaviour in fileing fec paperwork he needs to be removed. The truth in regards to what he said on stage is this. The reason that the GOP lost seats in 2006 was not due to Lisa but rather a plan developed by former AZGOP chairmen. The plan was to ignore certain distrcits like LD10 beacuse it was “safe” and focues on others. Well the result was that we lost seats in thos supposed safe districts. What people didn’t hear out front is the discrepencies of the tallying and who was allowed to vote. In Mohave County four extra people were allowed to vote. In that same room Phil Corbell had four proxies when he was not even a state committemen. Does this sound fair to you or just more of Pullen’s divisive dirty campaign tactics? As a grassroots supportee Pullen, Mechem and the AZGOP will not in anyway have my support for the next two years
RPD,
I was doing Credentials yesterday. Per Helen Purcell, a proxy carrier had to be a registered Republican in the Legislative and Congressional District of the person whose proxy you were carrying.
I’m sorry if you’d rather cede our state to the DemocRATs just because your candidate lost.
But if you choose bitterness over service, that’s your call.
Well, the D’s got rid of Bivens, and so what but what’s to become of our favorite punching-bag Emily DeRose? If you’re gong to change your house, you ought to clean out the stable while you’re at it. On the other hand, she’s so personal and ineffective, we might as well just put up with her for fear of a competent alternative.
PPD, read the rules dummy. You don’t have to be a State Committeeman to carry proxies, just in the same County and CD. Corbell was in the same County and CD as the four proxies he carried, so he was legit. You can be sure that nobody was happy to see that crazy man, from either Pullen or James’ camp, but he was legit.
I guess you’ll be one of those James supporters who will NOT be sharing her message of “unity”?
As an Arizona Democratic voter who sees the state turning a deep shade of blue, I would like to congratulate Randy Pullen and say that I am delighted with his victory. Great job, guys!
I’m even more delighted with how our party’s race for chairman turned out.
Good going!
Deep blue?
Hence the immigration amendments in ’06, the marriage amendment in ’08, and the legislative gains in ’08.
Deep blue? Sure you’re not just out of oxygen?
First: Congratulations to Randy Pullen for both his win and the way he conducted yesterday’s meeting.
Second: I am new to politics. However, yesterday there was a resolution resolving to have everyone register as Repubs to vote in the primaries. This is my take: There is a new generation of voters out there. They are not the Repubs of the 80′s. As I looked about the room yesterday, there was hardly anyone in their 20′s and 30′s. My point is that the youth of today are independent, they are savvy and they are interested in what is happening to their country. In a sense, they care less about “Party” and more about their country. They have seen many of their freedoms eroded over the past 8 yrs. Freedom to choose is everything to them. They refuse to be herded under a specific party banner. This is the reality and I think we need to come to terms with this. Young folks DO NOT want to be forced to register with either party — hence the enormous increase in those registering as independents. If we mandate “closed” primaries, I feel we are losing a very important segment of voters. Anyhow, that’s my take on this issue. Thank you.
Habit4ming, I understand what you say about younger voters, but the truth is that we are the REPUBLICAN party, and that loses meaning when outsiders who don’t share common ideas are allowed to vote in the primary. Also, there is a clear record of Democrats and other people firmly opposed to the Republican platform “crossing over” by temporarily changing their voter registration so as to dilute the vote for firmer Republican candidates.
If a person does not wish to join a party, they should have no say in choosing that parties’ candidates. Period. That being said, Independents and other parties are free to put up candidates of their own. I will concede that both the Republican and Democratic parties have both deliberately made it difficult for other parties to compete – in prior years, subtle matters like charging smaller parties for voter lists that are provided for free to the two larger parties, increased procedural requirements, and other dirty tricks have made it harder for other parties to get traction. I support a fair playing field for all – let the other parties, and any independent who has enough signatures for that matter, have access to the same tools we have. But, I don’t want non-Republicans voting on who our candidate is going to be.
Habit4ming,
I think an important question is whether open primaries encourage independent voters to become Republican, and whether that is worth giving independents the ability to game the system or to have great influence on the candidate.
Important to remember that during a primary election a voter is not simply casting a vote, but helping to decide the party’s candidate for the general election.
Thus, if all it does is assure the the more “moderate” candidate will be chosen in a primary election, then it may only serve to remove the differences between the R and D candidates (a specific problem that our party is now suffering from).
Perhaps there are other ways to appeal to independents without allowing our primary elections to be affected. If your thesis is true, independent voters may not desire any other affiliation than being able to determine the candidates for a party they do not agree with, nor desire any attachment to. That seems like a high price to pay.
Steve and Joe: Thank you both for your comments. I know the Democrats have open primaries and wondered if that was a factor as to why they increased party membership (notwithstanding the Obama draw). And, Steve, I, too, feel other political parties should be allowed to be included in the political arena. They should be permitted to play on a level playing field and to debate with the two major parties. Some of those candidates had excellent ideas, but they are shut out. I say this because, at times, it seems there is not much difference between the Dems and Repubs — esp. once they get to Washington.
Anyhow, thank you both for enlightening me on why it is best to keep our primaries “closed.”
Non-Republicans have no business voting for Republican nominees. Ever. Anywhere.
It would be much more inclusive if the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed other AFC teams to call some plays in the Superbowl. yeeesh
Habit, you ask “I know the Democrats have open primaries and wondered if that was a factor as to why they increased party membership (notwithstanding the Obama draw).”
The answer is that it was not a factor. The Republicans also have what you call open primaries and both parties have had them for years. So it would not have been a factor in changes in voter registration.
In fact, open primaries are what contributes to the growth in registered independents. After all, if you don’t have to be in a party to vote in their primary, then why bother registering in a party? If all parties closed their primaries, fewer would register as independents.
We are a center-right state, the 20-30′s are no less so. They may have a different perspective; which we must recognize and address. How about we do a better job of proving our value? We will dominate on the merit of our platform and provide a sustainable voter majority.
Congrats, Randy! I hope McCain, Kyl, Dean Martin, Len Munsil, Lisa James and others got the message that we are NOT Open Borders Republicans.
I applaud Trent Franks for being a true conservative. If McCain doesn’t run for re-election in ’10, or even if he does, I hope Trent will run. We need a TRUE conservative in that seat, not the Dem we have now.
The John Shadegg-Sean Noble attack on conservatives at the District level was all for naught.
Two weeks ago Rob Haney showed their big effort to turn the Party moderate was colassal failure. Naming Tom Husband MCRC Exec Director was brilliant! Thanks Shadegg-Noble for the two big promotions! Haney to County Chair and Husband to County E D!
And now Chairman Pullen shows two years of an MIA congressional delegation only endeared him more to the state’s rank and file!! What a beautiful two weeks!
Oh, and I was so disappointed to see the Rob Haney slate of CD-3 MAL SWEEP! In case you missed it, Horst Kraus lost by 50% of the vote!
Have a Congressman visit your district and endorse a RINO slate of District Officer candidates. It can pay great dividends!!
What does it tell us when the incumbent Republicans are aligned with the majority of voters (they keep winning) and the party leadership and a majority of PC’s are not?
Perhaps that the party is irrelevant to political reality?
Incumbency is one factor that makes the parties irrelevant. Term limits is another, because with a prominent politician can run for any other office without the party saying boo about it. Clean Elections is still another factor.
This is going to sound like sour grapes, but conservatives running the party means nothing to conservatives who want to actually get elected.
Rock, so let me get this straight- you don’t want a Congressmen to visit your district and be involved in party politics? I’m sorry, but they are elected and represent US. How can you not respect a congressman? Or are you better than a congressman?
Can’t Recall……,
You make an excellent point. Randy has never done well when in a real election with the voting public. In fact, he does embarrassingly poor.
Maricopa,
In the case mentioned, Shadegg showed up to D6 to endorse for and against people he knows nothing about. Yesterday one of his picks said all elected officials who endorsed James “are an embarrassment to the GOP.” And this guy will forever write in his bio. That he “was endorsed by John Shadegg.”
It cannot be wise for a Congressman to make endorsements at the District Office level.
The people he is endorsing against, Republican activists, go home having been insulted by their Congressman. Watch how fast those folks turn out for the next John Shadegg rally, or help with his petitions or make a donation. But, this is how desperate the delegation was to win at the County and State elections. Desperate enough to run over Mom and Pop PCs at District meetings. They took the Congressman’s insults and laughed all the way to the County and State elections!
Rock is making my point. Once elected, these guys have no need whatsoever for Mom and Pop PC’s and the district meetings. They buy signatures, have fundraisers held by industry lobbyists, and can do whatever they want. Some care about the party, some don’t. The party can do nothing to hurt them or help them.
The system of discipline used by parties to control its elected members is run by the elected body’s leaders, e.g. Kirk Adams and Bob Burns. Not the party’s figurehead, Pullen.
There is much truth to what you say; this intraparty stuff is really important to those who play that game and that’s about it. The clean elections changes might make it more relevant but not likely. The local LD’s play a much heavier role than the county or state organizations in grassroots recruitment and real workers and from what I’ve seen, don’t get much help from either the county or state.
The state party in AZ has been out of touch for years and doesn’t look to get much better. In other states, it means something to be party chair or a national committeeman. Here, I wonder how many people you would have to survey, registered R’s, before any of the people who hold those 3 offices could be identified?
This could be more about the turn-over in residents but the party itself has just not ever shown itself to be that much of a political machine. If Randy Pullen or Bruce Ash held a fundraiser dinner in a rural area and they were the only speaker, who would come?
Does anyone know of a single successful candidate in this cycle who was recruited to run by Pullen?
Allen in LD5, albeit for the House, and Montenegro in LD12 both come immediately to mind. But you would also have to pay attention to the number and quality of training schools and resources made available that helped Republicans all over to win their races. And how many primaries were avoided by the intervention of the State Party? Those might have drained resources and caused bad feelings that would have taken away from the general election.
Get over it folks. Pullen won in 2008 and he just won again at the convention. The party picked him and now he’s on to 2010. Quit being such sore losers.
Casual Observer – Being from one of those rural areas I can tell you that Bruce and Randy are quite popular and well liked out here. If they held a fund raiser in this area they would get a nice crowd – maybe not as a big as you would get in Maricopa County but a good crowd. Contrary to popular belief we do pay attention to what goes on and are quite politically savvy.
Randy, as opposed to past State Chairs, frequently visits us here in the boondocks and attends our meetings, Lincoln Day functions, etc.