Donkey Kong

After looking like political asses in the '90s, Arizona Democrats have the money, moderation and 800-pound gorilla to kick some pachyderm tail

A A A Comments By Robert Nelson Thursday, Feb 23 2006

...continued from page 7

As it stands, in the Legislature, Republicans are only one House seat and two Senate seats from a super-majority, which would give them veto power over Napolitano and much greater control of the state's revenue streams. If this happens, even with a big win in her election, Napolitano often would be neutered by the right-wingers.

Another solution is to introduce a new proposition with a more comprehensive and workable plan for creating voter parity in the state.

Joe Forkan

By playing to the center, Arizona Democrats can kick the opposition to the curb.

Peter Scanlon

Jim Pederson hopes to unseat powerful but vulnerable ultra-conservative Senator Jon Kyl.

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

"That's not out of the question," Dill says.

Until the time when the state's election structure better represents the state's electorate, though, the Democrats will have to continue along the Pederson, Napolitano and DeConcini model. Essentially, they will have to keep working harder than their opponents to prove to specific underrepresented groups that they are the moderate voice of progress in the state.

"We're a long way from it being easy for Democrats in this state," Dill says. "Right now, we're still battling from behind. But what we know for sure is that if we're smart and we're focused and focused on the center, we can win."