Many Democrats spent big, lost big

Many candidates who spent big and lost big this election cycle were bound by one thread — they’re Democrats.

Indeed, Democrats in several races outraised and outspent their opponents by tens of thousands of dollars while others benefited as much by independent spending aimed at helping their campaigns.

Some who ran for legislative office said they felt they could have doubled their war chests or worked twice as hard and still would have been unable to survive the Republican tide that swept Arizona.

“I think that was the perfect storm,” Democratic Sen. Rebecca Rios said of Republican energy this election cycle. “I think it was what we anticipated: Overrepresentation of Republicans at the polls — Republicans who were energized and excited to get out and vote. And underrepresentation of Democrats — Democrats who were basically apathetic and not turning out to vote (as well as) the prediction that independents who turned out were going to shift right.”

Rios’ defeat was arguably the biggest surprise on Election Night given her name recognition as part of a family dynasty that has represented Pinal County for about three decades.

She also received by far the most cash of any legislative candidate from independent expenditure groups, which spent nearly $90,000 on the Apache Junction Democrat’s re-election bid.

To be sure, a good number of candidates who raised the most money won their races. It just wasn’t true for many Democrats.

Cheryl Cage collected twice as much as her opponent, Sen. Al Melvin, a Republican from Tucson, but lost by 7 points.

Democrat Justin Johnson pulled in nearly $120,000 in his bid to unseat Sen. Linda Gray, a Republican from Glendale, yet he lost by 12 points.

“You could have put any candidate in this position and then triple the amount of money, it wouldn’t have made a difference,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he knocked on every door, offered a fiscally conservative message, and took an anti-illegal immigration stance.

In the end, it was, simply put, a tough Democratic year. There was a lot of voter anxiety at the slow pace of economic recovery and of frustration at the way Democrats have managed the country.

Add to that Arizona’s unique circumstances, chief among them the battles with the federal government over immigration and health care, as well as the impact of SB1070, the immigration law that is partly credited for helping Republicans secure victories.

“I don’t think there is anything else we could have done besides maybe switching our party affiliation to independent or Republican,” Johnson said.

Jennifer Johnson, spokesperson for the Arizona Democratic Party, echoed the sentiment.

“Money always helps but in a difficult year like this, in some cases it’s not going to be enough,” she said.

And during some election cycles, a candidate is just on the wrong side of a trend, according to pollster Michael O’Neil.

“It was a Republican year,” he said.

For example, Democrats conceded all statewide offices, gave up the majority in Arizona’s congressional delegation and handed Republicans supermajority control of the Legislature.

O’Neil said a classic example is the contest between Democratic U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell and Republican David Schweikert in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District. The two had squared off in 2008, when Mitchell was re-elected.

“It’s the same two people. It’s the same district and they both had a decent amount of money,” he said of Schweikert’s convincing victory.

10 most expensive campaigns:

• Rep. Kirk Adams, Republican, $190,246 (won)
• Kate Brophy McGee, Republican, $144,816 (won)
• Rep. Bill Konopnicki, Republican, $131,364 (lost, primary)
• Cheryl Cage, Democrat, $121,669 (lost)
• Justin Johnson, Democrat, $118,490 (lost)
• Rep. Michele Reagan, Republican, $118,441 (won)
• Ben Arredondo, Democrat, $113,581 (won)
• Rep. Nancy Young Wright, Democrat, $108,213 (lost)
• Rep. Eric Meyer, Democrat, $101,967 (won)
• Rep. Adam Driggs, Republican, $101,365 (won)

10 candidates who received the most independent expenditure cash:
• Sen. Rebecca Rios, Democrat, $88,450 (lost)
• Rep. Adam Driggs, Republican, $57,002 (won)
• Sen. Al Melvin, Republican, $35,982 (won)
• Terri Lynn Proud, Republican, $30,888 (won)
• Rep. Rae Waters, Democrat, $30,577 (lost)
• Wendy Rogers, Republican, $30,425 (lost)
• Sen. David Braswell, Republican, $28,748 (lost, primary)
• Sen. Amanda Aguirre, Democrat, $28,282 (lost)
• Sen. Linda Gray, Republican, $27,033  (won)
• Kimberly Yee, Republican, $24,420 (won)