At first glance it would appear there is a Republican and a Democrat running for Congress in Arizona's Third District. However, every time the Democrat in the race, Jon Hulburd, opens his mouth he sounds more like a Democrat trying to get elected in a predominantly Republican district Republican.
Hulburd's economic plan is straight out of the GOP playbook. It includes things like extending the Bush tax cuts through 2012, permanently lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, and making permanent the current tax rate for capital gains and dividends.
In Hulburd's latest radio ad, his wife, an admitted Republican, spits some tough, Republican-style talk about immigration on her husband's behalf. She even takes a swipe at Barack Obama.
Check out the ad after the jump.
Carrie Hulburd's jab wasn't as (ahem) bold as calling Obama "the worst president in history" -- like her husband's GOP opponent, Ben Quayle, did. But it certainly echoes some of the battle cries of the uber-Conservative, pro-SB-1070 crowd.
A few weeks ago, we asked Hulburd straight up if he was a Republican. He insisted he's not.
"I'm definitely a Democrat," Hulburd told New Times. "I've been a Democrat my whole life."
Hulburd, who was raised by a Republican father and a Democratic mother, says he's always aligned himself with the Democratic Party but says he -- like many voters in his district -- is an independent thinker.
"I don't want people to think I'm misleading anyone and running outside of my party," he says. "The Democratic Party's got a very big tent."
We asked him for a few specific Democratic principles he supported. He didn't give us any specific answers but says he welcomes the idea of independent thinkers willing to "chuck the label."
To find supporters willing to "chuck the label," Hulburd says his wife -- an heir to the consumer products giant SC Johnson -- is leading the Republicans for Hulburd campaign.
So far, Carrie Hulburd's swayed at least 100 Republicans to ditch the label and join Republicans for Hulburd. The names of those Republicans were distributed in a press release the campaign sent out this morning.
Check out the list of Hulburd's GOP supporters here.
