The Arizona Democratic Party bowed out of Arizona presidential primary earlier this week.
Jennifer Johnson, the spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party, told The Range that the party will instead have a caucus in the congressional districts later this year.
“That will save the taxpayers some money,” Johnson said.
But we couldn’t help but wonder if the Democratic Party’s decision had anything to do with Project White House 2012, the Weekly’s reality-journalism competition that is helping average citizens get their names on Feb. 28 presidential primary ballot. (You'll find details on how you can run for president here.)
After all, it would be a tremendous blow to President Barack Obama if a dark horse candidate on the Arizona primary ballot were to defeat him.
Johnson denied yesterday that the Democrats cancelled the primary because they were afraid that a Project White House 2012 candidate might have defeated Barack Obama.
“I’m guessing that was not the driving decision,” said Johnson, who claimed to be unaware of Project White House 2012.
Johnson also brushed aside suggestions that the Arizona Democratic Party was seeking to block the ability of Americans to fulfill their childhood dreams of seeking the White House.
“We’re not quashing anyone’s dreams,” Johnson said. “If they really want to run, I’m sure there’s a technical process they can go through if they want to participate in the caucus process.”
Whatever the reasoning, the decision to not have a Democratic primary has big implications for Project White House 2012. Now, any candidate who wants to be on the February primary ballot—and join our reality journalism competition to win the Tucson Weekly endorsement—will have to run as a Republican.
BTW, the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office has finalized the nomination form, so if you’re ready to launch your campaign, you can download it right here: Nomination_Paper_PPE.pdf
