‘My family are all Republicans but half are voting Democrat,’ says Arizona voter as swing states prepare for election
The sprawling state of Arizona was once reliably Republican but in 2020 that changed.
Joe Biden became only the second Democrat to win here since 1948, winning by less than 11,000 votes, and polling suggests Arizona could once again be won and lost by the narrowest of margins.
Above Phoenix, Dobbins Lookout provides a panoramic view of the rugged Grand Canyon State.
Many of the people there to watch the Friday night sunset were contemplating a consequential decision.
Those include Jennifer Montero and her fiance Richie Garcia, who say their vote on Tuesday is based on their economic circumstances.
“Prices have gone up like crazy,” said Ms Montero, “and then, especially now that I’m wanting to get married and have kids, I definitely want to be able to go to McDonald’s and afford a spicy for a dollar like they used to be.”
Until 2020, Arizona was reliably Republican
The couple are of Mexican descent, in a state where one in four voters are Latin American and the debate about immigration is complicated.
For Mr Garcia, being born in America means the border is less of a concern.
“Times are changing. I think a lot of the Hispanic community was very inclined to vote Democrat due to immigration status, but my parents are citizens. I believe that immigration status doesn’t really matter to me much anymore,” he said.
Less than 30 minutes away in downtown Phoenix, people were already beginning to vote at a drive-through polling centre.
Renee Rojas, a lifelong Republican who is voting Democrat for the first time
One of them was Renee Rojas, a lifelong Republican voting Democrat for the first time.
Ms Rojas, who is of Native American and Latino descent, says that decision is down to Donald Trump.
“Recent rhetoric and the changes of the Republican Party just made me realise that things are not going the way they should be,” she said, before adding, “My mom, my grandmother is a Republican. She’s Navajo. You know, my other family members and friends, they’re all Republicans, but half of them are voting Democrat this year.”
US election latest: Harris and Trump make late bid to woo voters
Ms Rojas’s thoughts on the prospect of trouble after the result are a reminder of the strong Conservative values of the state she lives in.
“I’m an Arizonan. I have a gun myself, I have several different kinds of firearms, heavy machine guns and handguns. So I am a proud gun holder and people will demonstrate the way they want to as long as they’re not hurting anybody.”
A drive-through polling centre in downtown Phoenix
For other drive-through voters like Peter Orozco, the choice was a simple one, about stability.
He feels the current administration will maintain the foreign policy status quo.
“We can’t politically make any big changes, especially on an international scale, you know, because if we get somebody else president other than what the existing presidency is, it could be World War Three,” he said.
Mortgage broker Dane Jensen (R)
In Arizona, there are other voters who feel the state is worse off since the Democrats came to power.
They include Dane Jensen, a 26-year-old mortgage broker.
For the last few days, Mr Jensen has been standing outside another polling station in Scottsdale with a “Swifties for Trump” banner.
He made the banner as a joke to try to ruffle the feathers of people voting for the Democratic party, which the singer has endorsed.
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈
About Swift, he said: “That’s like someone like that who has a private jet and is flying around the country who is, in my opinion, creating more fossil fuels and bad energy for the environment than any one person.
“And for you to sit there on your high horse and billions of dollars, and tell people what you think should happen when you’re already set for life, I don’t really agree with that.”
Read more:
Should we fear Trumponomics?
University students handed cookies for voting early
What happens if there’s a tie in the US election?
Beyond celebrity endorsements is an economic and social reality in Arizona, which Mr Jensen and all the voters in the state will recognise.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“I’m born and raised here. So I know that area as well as anyone. But, you know, crime, the border economy, those are really important issues, they’re everyday issues,” he said.
It’s those everyday issues in a handful of vital places like Arizona that will decide an election hinging on the tightest of margins.
On the night, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Read more from Sky News:
Kate’s ’emotional’ words for tearful tennis star
Music festival cancelled as headliner pulls out
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Who is being targeted in Trump’s immigration raids?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
Read more:
Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU
President threatens to revoke US comedian’s citizenship
Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike