Arizona

How Arizona Republicans for Harris redesigned their signs so they’re easier to read

Published

1 year ago

October 23, 2024

How Arizona Republicans for Harris redesigned their signs so they’re easier to read

Hello, in this issue we’ll look at how one Republican group backing the vice president in Arizona adapted their signs for the closing days of the campaign and why milk cartons in Northern California have a political ad opposing a local ballot measure.

Scroll to the end to see: “I Couldn’t Vote” stickers designed to draw attention to voter suppression. 🗳️

Credit: Arizona Republicans for Harris

Of all the swing states he lost in 2020, former President Donald Trump lost Arizona by the smallest margin. Four years later, he could win it back.

Polls have shown Trump with a narrow lead in the state, where registered Republicans and independents outnumber registered Democrats. If Vice President Kamala Harris hopes to win in Arizona, then, she needs to build a broad coalition. Luckily for her, there’s Arizona Republicans for Harris.

The all-volunteer group, a political action committee formally called “Arizona Republicans Who Believe In Treating Others With Respect,” formed during the 2020 campaign in support of President Joe Biden. That first generation of yard signs showed the Arizona flag, a well-designed and popular state symbol. But they also had a major design flaw: hard-to-read type.

The group had sized the words “Arizona” and “Republicans” in small type to fit on either side of the Arizona flag’s copper star with a small “For” and king-sized “Biden” written below the star. Now, the signs are getting a home-stretch revamp with larger type.

An original “Arizona Republicans for Harris” sign with small, hard-to-read type (top left) and newly designed signs with larger type and new slogans. Credit: arizonarepublicansforharris/Instagram, Arizona Republicans for Harris

Since many of the group’s physical signs are vandalized or taken, it has heavily devoted resources this year into digital billboards. The group has 30 digital billboards up now in the Phoenix area, with 50 total that will be in rotation in the week before Election Day. The group has also made about 750 yard signs and about 100 larger street signs, and they expanded their sign slogans to include “Arizona Independent,” “Moderates,” and “Conservatives for Harris,” as well as their latest iteration, “Arizona Together For Harris.”

“It looks really good because ‘Together’ is just about the same length as ‘Arizona’ and so it’s really symmetrical,” Arizona Republicans for Harris member Kelli Millett tells me of the new sign. It also speaks to the group’s larger message. “Our group wants unity and hope and respect.”

Arizona Republicans for Harris’s redesigned signs. Credit: Arizona Republicans for Harris

Despite their early hard-to-read signs, many of which are still up on street intersections, they’ve inspired copycats with disparaging slogans, like “Incels” and “Cucks for Harris,” that mimic the “Arizona Republicans for Harris” design with the Arizona flag. Inspiring parodies is proof at least that people have been reading, but the rival signs also reveal political divisions in local neighborhoods and congregations in cities and towns like Mesa and Gilbert in the Southeast Valley.

Political yard signs in Arizona are protected by law during campaign season, and signage is a major part of political messaging in the state. Signs can sometimes turn ugly with personal attacks, especially after early voting begins, though it doesn’t have to be that way.

For Arizona Republicans for Harris, the choice to use the state flag in the sign was “a way to communicate that we’re all Arizonans no matter what political party you’re in,” Millett says, not to mention “it’s an awesome flag.”

“We’re really proud of our design. We think it’s great and it seems like a great message about Arizona,” she says.

To Arizonans, the state flag is a symbol of self-identity that lends itself well to traits like independence and bipartisanship. Arizona’s political icons are notoriously independent, like “maverick” John McCain who ran for president with the slogan “Country First,” and Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice who was appointed by Ronald Reagan and became a key swing vote on the court. That gives the state a unique political culture. A recent survey from the nonpartisan Center for the Future of Arizona found about 60% of Arizonans want candidates who compromise and work across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions and 77% believe the state’s primary system rewards the most extreme candidates and should change.

Arizonans don’t always fit into tidy boxes—and proudly so. The state, famously, doesn’t follow daylight saving time. And no matter how Pluto’s classified elsewhere, in Arizona, it’s the official state planet (it was discovered in Flagstaff in 1930). By associating the state flag with cross-party voting, Arizona Republicans for Harris tap into a proud Arizona tradition of standing up for what you believe in, even if it isn’t popular.

Today’s multi-platform political campaigns reach voters across television, streaming, digital, outdoor, audio, and mail advertising. And in one California county, political ads are also popping up in the dairy aisle. Clover Sonoma is utilizing its milk cartons to urge voters to reject Measure J, which would limit the size of dairies and “concentrated animal feeding operations” in Sonoma County.

“No on J,” reads the ad, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. “Keep Local Dairy. Keep Dairy Local.”

Milk cartons have, in the past, been used for public service announcements for missing children, but dairy packaging is an otherwise unexpected place to find anything other than nutritional information.

“We never thought we’d be making political ads, but when an activist group submitted a ballot measure that would outlaw organic, multigenerational, American Humane Certified family farms based on the number of cows they have, we knew we had to communicate our opposition on our cartons,” Michael Benedetti, a spokesperson for Clover Sonoma, told the Chronicle.

Proponents of Measure J say it would protect animals, water, and small farms, but those opposed to it include the Sonoma County Farm Bureau board president, both the county Democratic and Republican parties, and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat editorial board, which said it puts local farms at risk. The county auditor found that if passed, the ballot measure could potentially reduce sales tax revenues and increase property tax revenues.

Luckily for Measure J opponents, they also have the goodwill earned by a 108-year-old regional milk brand on their side. Clover Sonoma is known in Northern California for its mascot Clo the Cow, who appears on billboards, and the dairy’s request to its customers is for an issue that impacts them directly.

By appealing to potential voters in the dairy section with an ad that stays in the fridge until its “best by” date, Clover Sonoma has achieved the kind of targeted advertising that most political professionals can only dream of.

This brilliant new “voting” sticker is designed for the millions of people who can’t vote. The creative agency Public Domain worked with VoteAmerica to create the “I Couldn’t Vote” sticker to raise awareness about voter suppression, which impacts 30 million people according to VoteAmerica. [Fast Company]

How Republicans pushed social media companies to stop fighting election misinformation. Since 2021, the social media industry has undergone a dramatic transformation and pivoted from many of the commitments, policies and tools it once embraced to help safeguard the peaceful transfer of democratic power. [CNN]

Democratic allies promoting third-party candidates. In difficult House races in Alaska and Montana, Democratic-linked outside groups are trying to boost third-party candidates who could siphon votes from Republicans. [Politico]

Harris to make “closing argument” speech at the site of Trump’s Jan. 6 remarks. The vice president plans a large rally a week before Election Day at the location in Washington where former President Donald Trump spoke ahead of the riot. [NBC News]

Trump’s closing message of the campaign is us vs. they/them

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Theodore Roosevelt bear belt buckle (1904). Roosevelt was associated with bears after he refused to shoot one on a 1902 hunting trip the year after he assumed the presidency following the assassination of William McKinley. Bears showed up on items like this belt buckle and on a match safe.

Portions of this newsletter were first published in Fast Company.

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Arizona

Avoiding AC fire risks while staying cool in Arizona

Published

2 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Avoiding AC fire risks while staying cool in Arizona

Amid the ongoing spring heat, Arizona is in store for even hotter summer months. FOX 10’s Irene Snyder learns how Arizonans can stay safe and cool, while avoiding fire risks.

Posted April 6, 2026 5:49pm MST

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Arizona

Arizona men’s basketball closes out their historic season

Published

14 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Arizona men’s basketball closes out their historic season

The University of Arizona men’s basketball team closes out their historic season after losing to the University of Michigan in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats had a tremendous season, breaking program records and earning several different recognitions and awards.

Over the course of the season, the Wildcats dominated with a 36-3 run, breaking the program record for most wins in program history. Previously, this record was 35 wins during the 1987-98 season.

Many of Arizona’s players were recognized for their outstanding work during the season. Notably, senior Jaden Bradley was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Freshman Koa Peat and Bradley were selected to the West All-Region team. Peat also earned the Most Outstanding Player across the western regionals. Another notable recognition was Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries earning All-American honors.

Head coach Tommy Lloyd also received lots of well deserved praise for the way he led this team. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year. After much discourse during the coaching carousel and the possible coaching job at the University of North Carolina, Lloyd recently agreed to a five-year contract extension with Arizona.

Regular Season Dominance

Right off the bat, the Wildcats showed promise in their team. The Red-Blue showcase was a great introduction to the team and demonstration of their talent for this upcoming season. As many predicted, they dominated in the preseason matchups against Saint Mary’s College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, blowing both teams out of the water.

Arizona continued to exert this dominance in their non-conference start to the season in November against tougher opponents. Their first competition was against the reigning NCAA Champions, No. 3 University of Florida, in Las Vegas. The Wildcats took the win 93-87, which was just the start of what was to come. Koa Peat made his college debut with a bang and proved he was a force to reckon with. Peat recorded 30 points on his debut, which also turned out to be his career high. When Arizona took the win against Florida, this was eye opening for a lot of people about the promise and talent that this team had to offer.

They had a close call against UCLA about two weeks later, taking the victory by a mere 4 points, 69-65. Arizona jumped significantly in the rankings since playing Utah Tech, where they were ranked No. 13, to taking the No. 5 spot. They only continued to climb in the AP rankings, inching up one position at a time. They were ranked No. 4 when they took the victory against No. 3 University of Connecticut, who won the national championship back in 2024. This win was just five days after they beat UCLA.

The Wildcats jumped right past the No. 3 spot after the UConn victory to the No. 2 spot as they took on the University of Denver, Norfolk State University and No. 20 Auburn University at home. After these three games, the Wildcats hit double digits and were holding a 10-0 record.

Christmas came early for the Wildcats as they grabbed the No. 1 spot in the AP polls in early December before playing No. 12 University of Alabama. Arizona held the No. 1 spot for nine consecutive weeks, which broke the program record that was previously held at eight weeks. They closed out their 2025 by adding four more victories to their roster, along with that No. 1 position.

After a notable regular season run, the Wildcats established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They became the first team in AP Poll history to beat five ranked teams in their first nine games.

Undefeated Conference Run

The Wildcats began their new year and conference season on the road as they took their first Big 12 victory, 97-78, against the University of Utah. The following Wednesday, the Wildcats returned home for their first conference game in the McKale Center to face another team of Wildcats, Kansas State University. They blew them out of the water, taking a 101-76 victory. Throughout the course of the season, Arizona had 17 wins where they took the victory by 20+ points.

They continued asserting their dominance on both their home court and on the road. The first rivalry game of the season against ASU was a close one, but Arizona came out unscathed taking an 89-82 win. The Wildcats picked up three more wins against the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University before heading back to Utah to take on No. 13 BYU.

This was a close victory with the Wildcats beating the Cougars 86-83. The Arizona freshmen met their match with BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, who was a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, but still is uncertain if he will enter the portal this season. Dybantsa recorded 24 points for the Cougars while Burries lead the Wildcats with 29. The Wildcats pulled through with a late rally to take the victory and remain undefeated in their season.

The Wildcats closed out January with another win against the school up north but this time in enemy territory. Following their game against ASU, Arizona took a victory against Oklahoma State University at home. This marked the Wildcats’ 23rd win, which was an Arizona program record, as well as achieving the best start in Big 12 history. Arizona and the University of Miami Ohio were the remaining undefeated teams at this point in the season.

Looking forward to their next game, they were taking on No. 9 University of Kansas on their home court. The Jayhawks handed Arizona their first loss of the season in a hard fight. Kansas was able to maintain their perfect home record on Big Monday, going 39-0 under head coach Bill Self. Going into this game, Arizona knew it would be a tough one as Kansas had home court advantage, but they also possess dominant freshman and veteran players. They were led by Flory Bidunga and Melvin Council Jr., who each collected 23 points.

After this loss on Monday, Arizona looked forward to their next home game against No. 16 Texas Tech University on Valentine’s Day. Not only was it a special day because it was Valentine’s Day, but it was also ESPN’s College Gameday, where 14,688 fans sold out the McKale Center to watch this nationally televised spotlight on the Wildcats.

This was the fifth time that Arizona has been the host, with the last time being in 2022. It was also the first time that a game was played in the new McKale Center at ALKEME Arena after the announcement of a 15-year naming rights partnership between Arizona Athletics and ALKEME Insurance. During this game, Arizona also honored former Wildcat guard Caleb Love who was welcomed into the Ring of Honor with a ceremony at halftime.

The Texas Tech game was a nailbiter, with the lead changing 11 times and having 11 ties. The game eventually went into overtime after Ivan Kharchenkov shot late free throws, but unfortunately the Red Raiders were too strong and took the win 78-75. JT Toppin collected 31 points and 13 rebounds while Christian Anderson recorded 19 points and six 3-pointers for Texas Tech. Arizona fought until the end and put up a good fight with both Burries and Tobe Awaka scoring in double figures.

Because of these two back-to-back losses, Arizona took a fall in the AP rankings from No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks to No. 4 as they prepared to take on No. 23 BYU for the second time this season.

Arizona managed to get back in the winning column to close out the rest of their season taking on some familiar faces like BYU and No. 14 Kansas for the second time this season, as well as new ones. They took victories against No. 2 University of Houston, Baylor University, No. 6 Iowa State University and University of Colorado, Boulder to round out the season. They managed to get redemption against Kansas and avenge their first loss of the season with a 20+ point victory margin 84-61 at home.

They secured the Big 12 regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed heading into the Big 12 Tournament.

Big 12 Champions

After the Wildcats closed out their conference season against Boulder with another victory, they looked towards the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Arizona was the No. 1 seed and automatically advanced to the quarterfinals, where they took on No. 8 seed UCF. It was a clean sweep victory 81-59 to advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, they faced No. 5 seed Iowa State for the second time this season. Bradley cemented his name as the Big 12 Player of the Year after shooting a 3-pointer buzzer-beater to win the game and send Arizona to the finals. The Wildcats won 82-80 in a crazy finale.

Arizona faced No. 2 seed Houston in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament before stamping their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after a close win 79-74. This was the first time that Arizona has won the Big 12 Championship title since joining the conference back in 2024.

March Madness

Because of their pure dominance throughout the season and the Big 12 Tournament, Arizona was the No. 1 seed in the western region for the NCAA Tournament. All of Tucson buzzed with excitement over the start of the tournament, and most people made their brackets with Arizona taking the victory at the end of it all.

They headed down to San Diego for the first round of the tournament, where they played against No. 16 seed Long Island University. They took their first victory of the tournament with over a 30-point margin.

Later that weekend, Arizona advanced to play No. 9 seed Utah State University to finish out their weekend in San Diego. This was another victory to add to Arizona’s roster with the Wildcats’ winning 78-66.

Arizona returned home to Tucson, where they were greeted by loving fans showing their support upon their arrival to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. They had a quick turnaround, though, as they were headed up to San Jose for the second round of the tournament. That Thursday, they took on No. 4 seed University of Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

In this matchup, Arizona showed strong offense with both Burries and Peat scoring 21 points, Kharchenkov scoring 15 and Bradley, Awaka and Motiejus Krivas tallying 14 points each. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight after a 109-88 victory over Arkansas. This was their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2015.

The Elite Eight matchup was against No. 2 seed Purdue University. Arizona got off to a slow start, letting Purdue take the lead for the majority of the first half and going into halftime. The Wildcats made a strong comeback in the second half to come out with the 79-64 victory taking them to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.

Arizona was heading to Indianapolis for the Final Four where they were set to play the No. 1 midwestern seed University of Michigan. Arizona fans migrated to the midwest to support their Wildcats as they ended the 25 year drought since they had played in the Final Four. Unfortunately, this game did not go as the Wildcats had hoped. They were unable to find their rhythm against Michigan’s tough defensive strategy with their strong offense and high shooting percentage.

Arizona fell to Michigan 91-73 in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. Though they did not win it all after a very tough game, this does not diminish everything this team has done this season and everything they have done for the Arizona basketball program. This team will stand as one of the greats and did the Arizona and Tucson community proud on the national stage.

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Arizona

Arizona men’s basketball team gets warm welcome home from Tucson community

Published

1 day ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Arizona men’s basketball team gets warm welcome home from Tucson community

Arizona men's basketball returns from the Final Four — Fan cheer and hold up signs as they wait at McKale Center on April 5, 2026 for the Arizona men’s basketball team to return from Indianapolis after their Final Four loss to Michigan the night before.

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Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but they balled out this season,” Perez said. “In the tournament, they balled out. No one expected us to go this far with as many freshmen as we had. But they just totally balled out this season. And we love our Wildcats.”

The two didn’t know each other, but engaged in conversation while they waited next to each other.

On the other side of the barricade was Tucsonan Beth Cole, who graduated from the university in 1997, the same year the Wildcats took home the national championship. She was out at McKale Center to show her love for the Final Four team.

“It’s a big thing for the city of Tucson, for the university,” she said. “It’s not a celebration like a national championship, but we should still be really happy and really proud and rally behind the team and coaching.

“They’ll be back,” she added.

The return of the Wildcats was a family affair for many Tucsonans, who showed up and showed out with kids in tow.

The Brown family, consisting of Devon and Chelsie, who are Arizona alums, and their two young sons, showed up around 11:30 a.m. to wait for the Wildcats. They held “welcome back” and “thank you” signs along the barricade for their favorite team and players.

Their sons also participate in Arizona’s youth basketball camps.

“We’re diehard Arizona fans,” Devon Brown said. “We were students years ago … and our kids, they scream ‘Bear Down,’ and they’re already choosing to come to the U of A when it’s their turn. Our circle of friends, our family, we’re all U of A alums.

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