MESA, United States — At a traffic-choked intersection in stifling desert heat, a group of Arizona Republicans are campaigning for their preferred presidential candidate — Democrat Kamala Harris.

The political temperature in this battleground state is rising as the United States hurtles towards a bitterly contested election on November 5 in which some life-long Republicans say they cannot support Donald Trump.

“I’m just doing my patriotic duty, defending my country against someone who actively sought to take down the Constitution,” pilates instructor Amy Wudel tells AFP.

READ: Harris vows migration crackdown, reform as she finally visits border

Drivers in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, honk their horns as they pass the intersection, in what appears to be a show of support for the nearly two-dozen people standing there with “Arizona Republicans for Harris” signs.

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But there are also shouted insults and the occasional middle finger.

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Trump lost to Joe Biden in this western state in 2020 by a wafer-thin 10,500 votes.

But many in the local Republican Party still refuse to believe it, claiming — without any evidence — that the ballot was rigged.

READ: Stephen Curry: Kamala Harris election victory will unite US

For some stalwarts, it is baffling that their party still professes blind obedience to a man who encouraged his supporters to overrun the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“That makes him completely unfit for office,” said Wudel.

As a Mormon, the 47-year-old has always struggled with the billionaire’s lifestyle — he’s been married three times, allegedly had a fling with a porn star and then lied about the payments he made to cover it up.

For Wudel, all that stands in rather stark contrast to Harris.

“She’s a prosecutor who respects the rule of law, while he is a convicted felon,” she said.

Orphans of John McCain

Like Wudel, other demonstrators say they no longer recognize the party they joined, which has been swamped by Trump’s “Make America Great Again” brand.

Many define themselves as “fiscally conservative and socially moderate,” invoking the memory of John McCain, the 2008 White House nominee who died of cancer six years ago.

Trump’s narrow loss in the state in 2020 — the first time a Republican has not carried Arizona since 1996 — was, at least partly, because these orphaned Republicans refused to fall in line with their party’s nominee.

Some feel so strongly that they are prepared to take a national stand against Trump.

Mesa Mayor John Giles spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, when Harris formally accepted her party’s nomination.

McCain, for whom Giles worked as a lawyer when he was younger, “was well known for saying ‘Country over party’,” he told AFP.

That credo would not allow election denialism, the scuppering of a bipartisan immigration bill, or opposition to military support for Ukraine, he said — all articles of faith for MAGA Republicans.

“I need to remind particularly Republicans in Arizona to follow the example of Senator McCain and to not have displaced loyalty to a party that has lost its way,” he said.

It’s a message that had resonated with several old-school Republicans.

Among those who have thrown their weight behind Harris are Dick Cheney, George W. Bush’s former vice president, his daughter Liz, one of the few Republicans to have participated in the congressional commission investigating January 6, and McCain’s son Jimmy.

‘Politically homeless’

In and around Phoenix, dozens of giant “Republicans for Harris” billboards line the highways.

The effort to keep Trump out of the White House was less obvious in 2020, when a handful of posters professed support for Biden.

This year, organizers say they have already raised $120,000 from small donors in Arizona, twice as much as they did in the last cycle.

In the neat front yard of his suburban home, Daniel Schweiker is one of those who has erected a pro-Harris sign.

At 75, this retiree is nostalgic for the old Republicans — the Bush family or even disgraced former president Richard Nixon — and thinks of himself as “politically homeless.”

Polls are tight in Arizona — fivethirtyeight.com says Trump has the edge by 1.5 percentage points in an average of recent surveys.

But Schweiker wants to believe that the former president will end up being penalized because of the way his campaign has catered to the extremes of the party.

He cites Kari Lake, who is underwater in her run for the US Senate after aggressively disputing her clear defeat in the race for the governor’s mansion two years ago.

Schweiker thinks Arizonans don’t reward such uncompromising positions.

“The MAGA Republicans can win a primary election because they’re the only ones who vote in the primaries,” he said.

“But to win a general election, you have to move to the middle, and those people don’t know how to do it.”

The former Border Conference rivals are back on the field and facing each other as the Arizona Wildcats host the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday at 8 p.m. mountain time in Tucson.

Things have gotten interesting for the two teams the past couple of weeks.

Arizona (3-1, 1-0 in Big 12) is coming off a huge win over Utah to open conference action. The win was the Wildcats’ first road victory of the season. It was also Arizona’s first win in Salt Lake City in a decade.

Texas Tech (4-1, 2-0) has won its last three games and that includes a pair of Big 12 victories, the most recent over Cincinnati. The Red Raiders have been scoring a lot of points — but they’ve been giving up a lot of points, too.

Here are three offensive players to watch for each team.

TE Keyan Burnett

The Wildcats need more weapons in the passing game, which is why the emergence of Burnett last week is so important. His touchdown reception, on a perfect pass in the back of the end zone, was his first scoring catch of the season.

He enters Saturday’s game with eight catches for 125 yards. But there’s a chasm between Tetairoa McMillan (29 receptions) and the rest of the pass-catchers, so any receptions Burnett can provide will be valuable.

QB Noah Fifita

Fifita isn’t known for getting things done with his legs. He only had two rushes for 10 yards against Utah. But his ability to slide around in the pocket or roll out to make a clean pass — such as his scoring strike to Burnett — was paramount in that victory.

Through four games he’s thrown for 1,060 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s also completing 63.1% of his passes. That’s a split to watch. Last year he completed more than 70% of his passes.

OT Rhino Tapa’atoutai

The redshirt freshman is doing a terrific job protecting the blind side of his quarterback. But, it was his work in the run game, along with the work his fellow linemen did, that mattered just as much against the Utes.

The Wildcats rushed for 169 yards against the Utes, with two players rushing for more than 70 yards. The run game will matter against the Red Raiders on Saturday, as the offense has scored more than 35 points in four of their five games.

QB Behren Morton

The Red Raiders have had a revolving door at quarterback the past few years, but Morton has put it to a stop. His performance this season has led to 1,426 passing yards, with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also completing 63.5% of his passes. He’s also receiving exceptional protection, as he’s only been sacked five times. Arizona’s pass rush will have to be aggressive to put Morton on the defensive.

RB Tahj Brooks

Brooks was an All-Big 12 running back a year ago and he opted not to head to the NFL and come back for one more season with the Red Raiders. So far, he’s producing like an All-Big 12 back once again. He’s rushed for 551 yards and four touchdowns with an average of 5.3 yards per carry. He has speed and he’s difficult to bring down, which makes him a key piece of the Red Raiders’ offense.

WR Josh Kelly

He’s a sixth-year collegiate and no receiver has benefited more from Morton’s immense numbers than Kelly. He has 39 receptions, with 487 yards and three touchdowns. The next closest Red Raiders receiver has 19 catches. When Morton needs a reception, Kelly is the player he’ll look for. For context, Kelly is nearly two-thirds from his output of a season ago, when he caught 61 passes for 983 yards and eight touchdowns.

A 2023 state audit on Arizona Motor Vehicle Division oversight raises more questions about loopholes that could impact voter roll integrity. State auditors found MVD officials failed to ensure authorized third-party companies consistently issued driver licenses and identification cards to qualified individuals. Looking at transactions for 2022, auditors found 10% of their sample did not include required documentation, and “might result in an individual being granted privileges they may not be entitled to.” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he just learned of the audit Monday, and he was “disappointed” he was not alerted earlier about the implications.