Arizona Republican-turned-independent hopes to oust conservative stalwart

An East Valley legal professional who formally left the GOP final 12 months after many years of estrangement is hoping he is discovered the important thing to unseating Republican Congressman Andy Biggs: difficult him as an unbiased.

Driving the information: Clint Smith describes himself as a lifelong conservative who had been drifting away from the GOP for the reason that Nineties.

• Smith, a Mesa resident who owns a regulation follow in Scottsdale, stated the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol final 12 months was the ultimate straw that led him to register as an unbiased.

Context: Biggs and Smith are operating within the East Valley-based fifth Congressional District, the place Republicans outnumber Democrats almost 2-to-1.

• Nonetheless, Smith is hoping to win the votes of sufficient independents and Democrats, together with some disgruntled Republicans, to defeat Biggs.

Sure, however: Smith must contend for these votes with an precise Democratic candidate — Javier Garcia Ramos, who serves as senior counsel for the Gila River Indian Neighborhood.

Particulars: Smith has some historically conservative positions, akin to assist for regulation enforcement, free-market economics and opposition to authorities laws.

The intrigue: He additionally has quite a lot of positions which are extra intently recognized with Democrats.

• He tells Axios that he desires each a safe border and reforms that may grant a path to authorized residency for immigrants who’ve lived within the U.S. for many of their lives.
• Smith additionally helps some gun-control proposals akin to purple flag legal guidelines, elevating the minimal age to buy some firearms and obligatory background checks.
• On abortion, he says “authorities ought to keep the heck out of a girl’s relationship along with her physician.”

Between the traces: Smith says he was recruited into the race by former state Sen. Jerry Lewis, who ousted then-Senate President Russell Pearce in a historic recall election in 2011.

What he is saying: Smith stated Biggs bears duty for “the entire movement that acquired us” to the Jan. 6 assault: “The entire plan to steal the election, the revolt, the concept of pretend electors, refusing to acknowledge Capitol Police.”

• “However past that, now we have a man who principally says ‘no’ to simply about all the things, and together with issues just like the system for needy households, [and] now desires to defund the FBI and the DOJ.”

The opposite facet: Biggs tells Axios that his views are extra in step with the district and with the nation as an entire than Smith’s and that Smith would acquiesce to President Biden’s agenda if he had been elected.

• He describes Smith as weak on the Second Modification and on border safety.

• “The underside line is he left the Republican Occasion a protracted, very long time in the past,” Biggs says of Smith.

Price noting: Biggs denied allegations that he was concerned with the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 assault.

• “The fact is no person condones what occurred on Jan. 6, and that was not good. I stated that day that was not good for the conservative motion,” he tells Axios.
• He says he voted towards certification of Arizona’s Biden electors as a result of a choose’s ruling, which was later reversed, that allowed 1000’s of individuals to register to vote right here after the statutory deadline.

1 different factor: Whereas Smith and supporters view Garcia Ramos as a spoiler, the Democratic nominee defended his marketing campaign, noting that that is his second run for the seat and stating that he launched his 2022 marketing campaign earlier than Smith did.

• Garcia Ramos’ battle chest consists of $4,200 he put into the race. He says he refuses to just accept marketing campaign contributions as a result of, “I need to uplift people who do not have a voice of their authorities. I need to give the workplace again to the individuals.”
• He says he would by no means abandon his Democratic ideas by dropping out of the race to assist Smith.