Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona Republic Published 6:49 p.m. MT Sept.
Arizona Democrats are rallying ahead of 2020, hoping to turn the red-leaning state blue to elect a Democratic president for the first time since Bill Clinton’s win here in 1996 and seize a second U.S. Senate seat.
Related: Democrats reject opening up presidential primary to independents
Their efforts in Arizona, considered a battleground state, come as the party is investing heavily in efforts to register and engage new voters, people of color and suburban moderates who are alienated by President Donald Trump and his a1dministration.
But percolating beneath the enthusiasm on display at the state party’s summer meeting at a local middle school in Prescott on Saturday was anxiety that Democrats could blow their chances if the party embraces the more liberal ideals of its progressive wing rather than taking a centrist path. More than 350 Democrats attended the summer summit.
“We should start thinking about how we can win versus how we can have intraparty angst, if you will,” said Eric Shelley, 47, an operations manager for a healthcare company from Phoenix.
