By Opinion Columnist Robert Robb
Proposition 140 has several suboptimal provisions, to put it charitably. In fidelity to readers, these will be identified and fully discussed.
However, Prop. 140 would do one very big, and very important, thing: Replace Arizona’s system of partisan primaries with open primaries in which all candidates and voters are treated the same.
Over time, I’ve become thoroughly convinced that the partisan primary system is an irredeemable obstacle to good governance that reflects democratic preferences and productive political discourse, particularly here in Arizona.
Arizona is not really a purple state. Arizona is a state that has recently had purple results, but exclusively because Republicans who would win statewide elections can’t win a Republican primary.
In 2014, Republicans won all statewide elections and held all offices elected statewide, federal and state. Today, people who were elected as Democrats (Krysten Sinema subsequently became an independent) hold both U.S. Senate seats. And in 2022, Democrats won the three most important state offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
The political demography of Arizona hasn’t changed markedly in the interim. If anything, it has become more favorable to GOP prospects. In 2014, independents outnumbered Republicans in registration. In 2022, Republicans had a slight edge over independents in registration, and maintained a healthy advantage over Democrats.
What has changed is the Trumpification of the Arizona Republican Party. The political center of gravity in Arizona continues to be pragmatic conservatism. If the GOP was still fielding candidates such as John McCain, Jon Kyl, and Doug Ducey, Republicans would still be dominating state politics. A Democratic victory would still be considered an unusual occurrence. If Nikki Haley were the GOP nominee for president, Arizona wouldn’t be a swing state in the 2024 presidential race. The inability of MAGA candidates to win elections that should be a GOP cakewalk is seeping down-ballot.
The reality is that a pragmatic conservative, representing the political center of gravity in Arizona, has no realistic way to make it to the general election ballot in today’s partisan primary system. With an open primary system, there would be a path for such candidates.
