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On June 7th, 2025, State Committee Members (SCMs) of the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) voted overwhelmingly to establish a "People’s Primary" — a bold move to stop billionaires and corporations from buying our primary elections. In the months since, an ad-hoc committee has drafted the official People's Primary policy to "ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that candidates in Democratic primaries are not benefited by, dependent on, or elected due to outside or independent electioneering spending funded by big donors who are circumventing legal limits on direct contributions to a candidate’s campaign fund to spend tens or hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars of private wealth to elect the candidates of their choice."
We need your help. On January 24th, 2026, SCMs may vote on whether or not to adopt the People's Primary policy for the ADP as a pilot program. If you are an Arizona Democrat, please show your support for the policy by talking to Dem State Committee Members and Dem primary candidates in your district. We encourage everyone to read the policy for themselves to understand it clearly and to review the very encouraging results of this statewide poll of Arizona voters about it.
Other state parties like North Carolina, New Mexico and even the DNC itself, have joined the Arizona Democratic Party in committing to enact reforms like the People's Primary. Want your state to be next? Contact us and we will connect you with our network of organizers and resources to help you along the way.
To keep up with our efforts, follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter/X to stay up to date with our efforts.
CLICK HERE TO READ: The People's Primary Policy and FAQs
Policy Endorsements
See National LeadersWant to add your name as an endorser? Go to this form to sign in support.
Helpful vocabulary: ADP = Arizona Democratic Party, LD = Legislative District, SCM = (ADP) State Committee Member, PC = Precinct Committeeperson
Arizona Leaders
- Kai Newkirk, Co-Chair, Progressive Council
- Ben Armentrout, Youth Representative, ADP Progressive Council; PC, LD 20
- Emily Kirkland, PC, LD 8; Former Executive Director, Progress Arizona
- Eric Robbins, Chair, Pima County Democratic Party
- Raquel Teran, Former Chair, Arizona Democratic Party; Past Senate Democratic Leader
- Terry Goddard, Former Arizona Attorney General & Phoenix Mayor
- Sen. Catherine Miranda, LD 11; Senate Democratic Assistant Leader
- Martín Quezada, SCM, LD22; former State Senator
- Markus Ceniceros, Vice President, Littleton Elementary School District
- Missa Foy, Co-Chair, Progressive Council; Chair, Navajo County Democratic Party
- Nick Collins, Secretary, Progressive Council
- Jeff Tucker, Secretary, Arizona Democratic Party
- Melissa Galarza, Vice Chair, Arizona Democratic Party
- Shawnte Rothschild, Vice Chair, Arizona Democratic Party
- Nicholas Mink, Vice Chair, Arizona Democratic Party
- Eva Putzova, ADP Rules Committee Member
- Jackson Reed, ADP Rules Committee Member
- Dan O'Neal, Chair Emeritus, Progressive Council
- Dhruv Rebba, Co-Chair, ADP AAPI Caucus; Vice President, ASU Young Dems
- Bobby Nichols, Candidate for Tempe City Council
- Elizabeth Lee, Candidate, US Congress CD 5
- Blake Bracht, Candidate, US Congress CD 5
- Keith Lara, Candidate for US Congress CD 9
- Cicely Rocha-Miller, Candidate for Chandler City Council
- Maher Arekat, Founder and Director, Palestine Community Center of Arizona
- Cathy Ransom, State Committee Member
- Angela Buer, Former Chair, LD 9 Democratic Party
- Annarose Lilly, State Committee Member, LD 28 Chair
- James Jursich, State Committee Member
- Ken Kenegos, State Committee Member
- Sharon Regen, State Committee Member
- Eileen Halladay, State Committee Member
- Michael Nickerson, State Committee Member
- Joseph Seelye, State Committee Member
- Pardis Baradar, State Committee Member
- Michael Bradley, State Committee Member
- Marilyn Weissman, State Committee Member
- Shasta Guthrie, State Committee Member
- Debra Block, State Committee Member
- Elizabeth Putnam-Hidalgo, State Committee Member
- Nandini Ranjitkumar, State Committee Member
- Susie Thornton, State Committee Member
- Molly Donnelly, State Committee Member
- Shahriar Anwar, State Committee Member
- Bernard Buddy Fleitz, State Committee Member
- Kathleen Fitzmaurice-Yontz, State Committee Member
- Stephen Harshman, State Committee Member
- Travis Nass, State Committee Member
- George McGaughey, State Committee Member
- Susan Ordway, State Committee Member
- Sarah Stuart, State Committee Member
- Sherri Johnson, State Committee Member
- Shara Carrillo, State Committee Member
- Mikah Dyer, State Committee Member
- Catherine Ralls, State Committee Member
- Michael Bryan, State Committee Member
- Paul Stapleton-Smith, State Committee Member
- Ava Rice, State Committee Member
- Eve Shapiro, State Committee Member
- Mike Kunnecke, State Committee Member
- Rivko Knox, State Committee Member
- Stephen B. Mosier, State Committee Member
- Vivian Perry, State Committee Member
- Nancy Scharff, State Committee Member
- Kathleen M. Corley, State Committee Member
- Rebecca Villalpando, State Committee Member
- Stephen Magruder, State Committee Member
- Craig Falasco, State Committee Member
- Celia Barotz, State Committee Member
- Isabel ONeal, State Committee Member
- Doug Arnold, State Committee Member
- Natacha Chavez, State Committee Member
- James Hannley, State Committee Member
- Susan R Arnold, State Committee Member
- Peter Karp, State Committee Member
- Patricia Pittman, State Committee Member
- Salauddin Choudhury, State Committee Member
- Shams Abdussamad, State Committee Member
- Craig Viquesney, State Committee Member
- Lisa Van Horssen Olson, State Committee Member
- Nicole Brown, State Committee Member
- Dana Garcia, State Committee Member
- Yazdaan Taajwar, State Committee Member
- James Kimes, State Committee Member
- Jacqueline deSa, State Committee Member
- Amy Satre, State Committee Member
- Aaron Essif, State Committee Member
- Jessica Chalberg, State Committee Member
- Aaron Ezekiel, State Committee Member
- Joanne Markis, State Committee Member
- Tearanie Chinn, State Committee Member
- Janet Kerby, State Committee Member
- Kay Davis, State Committee Member
- Chris Gehlker, State Committee Member
- Geoffry Fitzwater-Castle, State Committee Member
- Chris Fleischman, State Committee Member
- Katherine Ginzel, State Committee Member
- Toby Friedman, State Committee Member
- Charlie Silver, State Committee Member
- Dianne Post, Attorney
- Syed Mahmud Nasir Raza, Democratic Voter & Member, LD 4
- Nancy Meister, State Committee Member
National Leaders
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, US Senator, Vermont (Statement of support)
- Rep. Ro Khanna, US Congressman, CA-17 (Statement of support)
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal, US Congresswoman, WA-7
- Larry Cohen, Past President Communication Workers of America; Board Chair, Our Revolution; DNC Member
- Lawrence Lessig, Chair, Equal Citizens; Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School
Why This Matters
The Research is Clear
- Big Money pushes politics rightward. Removing bans on outside spending boosts Republican success and makes state legislatures more conservative. (Abdul-Razzak et al., 2017)
- Voters hate Big Money. 77% of Americans support limits on campaign spending. When people believe money controls politics, they feel unheard and disengage. (Pew Research Center, 2018; Haenschen et al., 2024; Schnakenberg et al., 2023)
- Big Money breaks our party and our government. Outside spending fragments coalitions and undermines effective governance in legislatures. (Norton & Pildes, 2020; Manento, 2019)
Big Money is Bigger than Ever
- Nearly 60% of ads in 2022 Democratic House primaries were funded by outside groups, not candidates.
- In 2012, just 159 donors gave $1 million or more, accounting for nearly 60% of all Super PAC funding nationwide.
Arizona Hasn't Been Spared from Outside Spending
- $5.3 million in the 2024 AZ 03 Primary: Yassamin Ansari edged out Raquel Terán by 39 votes, helped by over a million dollars in spending from pro-cryptocurrency Super-PACs.
- $257,000 in the 2012 AZ 09 Primary: Kyrsten Sinema began her rise to power (and later, fall from grace) with help from big-money allies.
- $354,000 across the 2020 LD 2 & LD 3 Primaries: Through July, 79% of this outside spending had gone to just two candidates.
- $841,000 in the 2018 AZ 02 Primary: Around $800,000 going to Ann Kirkpatrick, including $160,000 from James Murdoch-funded Progress Tomorrow Inc.
- Outside spending climbs in Tucson Democratic primaries; City Clerk probes unregistered PAC (2023).
- 2024 Arizona Democratic Congressional Primaries Total Spending.
The Resolution
Resolution passed by the Arizona State Democratic Party on June 7th, 2025
Title: Resolution to Establish a “People’s Primary” Policy Banning Billionaires and Corporations from Buying or Unduly Influencing Democratic Primaries
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party is the party of the working class and Americans who believe in a one person, one vote democracy where our elections are determined by We the People as equal citizens –– not billionaires and big corporations; and
WHEREAS, working class voters should have no doubt that the candidates chosen in our primaries are not beholden to the same billionaires and corporations that are exploiting and hurting them; and
WHEREAS, the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP), as a voluntary association, has the authority and responsibility to regulate its internal affairs, including nominating processes and primary elections, to ensure fairness, integrity, and alignment with our values; and
WHEREAS, to strengthen our party’s brand, win back trust from many voters, and empower our party to win elections and govern to deliver for the working class, the Arizona Democratic Party must act to confront the crisis of big money corrupting our democracy within the arena under our direct authority: our primary elections;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Arizona Democratic Party will establish a "People's Primary" policy to bar, to the greatest extent possible, the use of massive private wealth to buy or unduly influence our primary elections. This policy will ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that candidates in Democratic primaries are not benefited by, dependent on, or elected due to outside or independent electioneering spending funded by big donors who are circumventing legal limits on direct contributions to a candidate’s campaign fund to spend tens or hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars of private wealth to elect the candidates of their choice.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chair of the ADP Rules Committee shall form an ad-hoc committee to develop this policy that includes the organizers of this resolution and one mutually-agreed member of the ADP Executive Committee. The committee will be charged with developing this policy to achieve the purpose established here-in and with formulating official proposed ADP People's Primary policy and procedures, including any bylaws changes, if necessary, to implement and enforce it. This policy and associated procedures, and any additional supporting resolution or bylaws changes, will be prepared and submitted for a vote at the September 2025 State Committee Meeting.
About Us
The Stop Big Money AZ campaign is a project of a grassroots coalition of Arizona Democrats committed to building a party that puts the working class first, not billionaires and big corporations. The coalition is helmed by the Arizona Democratic Party Progressive Council, which is the largest Caucus or Council in the Arizona Democratic Party with over 150 members. We are united by the mission to bring the progressive values of our communities to the state legislature and beyond, to create the Arizona and United States of America we all deserve. Interested in joining us? Check us out on Facebook and sign up to join our council!
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See a problem with the website? Contact the site author, Ben Armentrout, at benarmentrout29@gmail.com. Please be nice - I'm better at building lasers than websites :)
Media or other inquiries can be directed to azdemprogressivecouncil@gmail.com.