Arizona used to be a near-foregone conclusion for Donald Trump. Now it’s an “emerging problem,” according to one longtime political observer. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is rising in battleground state polls and drew thousands to a political rally in Glendale last week, establishing herself as a more formidable Trump opponent than President Joe Biden was.

Now, Republicans wonder whether Trump has been present in Arizona enough and say he is losing ground to Democrats.

“They’re on their back foot,” said Chuck Coughlin, a longtime GOP strategist who left the party during the Trump era. “Arizona clearly is an emerging problem for him.”

Trump could address some of those criticisms in person as soon as next week. The former president is weighing a trip to Arizona’s southern border in Cochise County, where the U.S.-Mexico border runs for 84 miles. The region is home to two ports of entry: Douglas and Naco. 

Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa and Sierra Vista police Chief Chris Hiser will be present for Trump’s visit, a city spokesperson said on Wednesday. It is not clear what day Trump might visit the county, and the former president’s campaign declined to answer questions about his travel plans. 

Arizona is a top campaign destination for presidential candidates because it is among a handful of states that could decide the outcome of the 2024 election. Trump lost here by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020, the smallest margin of any state on the electoral map. It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had won in Arizona since 1996 and only the second time since 1948. 

Democrats had all but given up on Arizona’s presidential prospects at the beginning of the summer, but the well-choreographed swap at the top of the ticket has injected new enthusiasm in the party.

Harris held smaller Arizona events during her tenure as vice president but drew a crowd of 15,000 to Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale last week for her first Arizona appearance as the Democratic nominee. Trump addressed some 4,000 people at a rally at Dream City Church in Phoenix in June. 

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report just changed its Arizona presidential election forecast from “lean Republican” to “toss-up,” and a survey from Coughlin’s polling firm HighGround found Harris narrowly leading Trump in Arizona 44% to 42% among likely voters. (The HighGround survey was conducted July 30-Aug. 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points).

“I didn’t think Democrats thought they could win out here,” Coughlin said. “Now they’re like, oh … we might be able to win this thing.” 

The Trump campaign has put more resources into Arizona lately, dispatching vice-presidential nominee JD Vance for a rally and border tour in Cochise County, the same region Trump is considering visiting.

Trump and his allies are also pouring millions into TV ad buys to attack Harris on immigration and the economy. MAGA Inc. just announced a $100 million TV ad buy across the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, POLITICO reported.

“It’s hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border,” Vance said during his trip to the border wall, making sure to attack Harris on one of her most vulnerable issues. 

Trump has veered off track with his messaging, though, according to one of his Arizona backers. Trump “never stops speaking” and should stick to a campaign message that can broaden his coalition, said Arizona Republican Alberto Gutier, who served as a Trump elector in 2016.

“Trump can still win it, but he’s gonna have to solidify what’s left of the party,” Gutier said, pointing to struggles Arizona Republicans have faced in recent years. The GOP lost three Senate races, the Governor’s Office, the Secretary of State’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office during the Trump era. 

For its part, the Trump campaign said his momentum is growing and attacked Harris on the economy and the border.

“Everything — from rent, groceries to gas — is far more expensive under Kamala Harris. Under her failed leadership, Arizona families have experienced record high prices and an unruly border crisis; our communities have been less safe, and deadly drugs are killing our youth. President Trump offers Arizona voters hope through his agenda to make Arizona safe and affordable again,” Trump campaign spokesperson Halee Dobbins said in a written statement.

“The momentum is only growing for Trump ahead of November as voters grow sick and tired of Harris’ lies and unlivable policies; Arizona won’t buy her gaslighting this fall.”But Gutier said he’s worried that Harris appeals to a noteworthy voting group that could help sway the election result. 

“Here in Arizona, young people, a lot of people who have not been involved in politics, see her as a savior,” Gutier said. “Good luck, America.”

Still, Trump just got a boost from a top Arizona Republican whom he butted heads with in the past. Former GOP Gov. Doug Ducey endorsed Trump on Tuesday, putting his “differences aside” to back the former president who once said Ducey was betraying Arizona by certifying the 2020 election results. 

“Differences aside, there is too much on the line and only a Republican in the White House and a majority in the House and US Senate can ensure it,” Ducey said, throwing his support behind Trump and GOP Senate nominee Kari Lake. 

No charges: Why Arizona Attorney General Mayes didn’t want to indict Trump in fake elector case

He also received praise from the Arizona Republican Party chair for taking questions from billionaire Trump booster Elon Musk during a lengthy livestream on Musk’s social media site. Harris has taken few questions from reporters since she became her party’s nominee.

“The conversation between President Trump and Elon Musk on X Spaces again demonstrated President Trump’s commitment to transparency and direct engagement with the American people,” Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda said in a written statement. “In stark contrast, Kamala Harris has been noticeably absent from the media for over three weeks.” 

When it comes to campaigning offline, Trump has a lighter footprint than the Harris operation in Arizona. The Trump campaign has eight offices here, compared with Harris’ 12, though it says it has plans to open more ahead of the election. Trump offices are in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Casa Grande, Sun City, Chandler, Mesa, Tucson and Kingman. The campaign also holds “Super Saturday” training sessions for volunteers around the state. 

“The Harris-Walz campaign has seen a surge of momentum as voters are responding to Vice President Harris’ fight to bring down costs, secure the border, and make sure Arizona families don’t just get by but get ahead,” Harris spokesperson Jacques Petit said in a written statement.

“Meanwhile Donald Trump and JD Vance have almost no presence in the state and are running on a toxic Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion in Arizona and slash Medicare and Social Security, which is why Republicans, Democrats and Independents are coming together to defeat them and deliver the White House for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”

LAKE HAVASU, AZ (AZFamily)—According to American Wild Horse Conservation, Arizona is home to the largest number of wild burros.

More than 150 years ago, burros were brought to western Arizona to help with mining operations.

Now, they can be found just outside of cities like Lake Havasu and Oatman.

However, Jason VanBuskirk, Bureau of Land Management Public Affairs Specialist, said they’ve become overpopulated so the BLM is working to transport them for their own safety and the public.

“We want to make sure that we are dealing with the animals as though they are wild animals. We should enjoy them in their habitat,” VanBuskirk said.

Wild burros attract a lot of attention, but VanBuskirk said when the population is overblown, it can also impact the ecosystem.

Plus, they can be a hazard on the road. Last month, one of the animals was involved in a deadly accident on State Route 95.

“When they eat a certain number of species of plants then we know that they’re harming other species that are indigenous,” VanBuskirk said. “Also, we recently had some motor collisions and some interactions with folks that haven’t been good for either.”

The BLM is removing about 100 burros from the area north of Lake Havasu over the next 10 years. VanBuskirk said they’ve already captured 90 and relocated about 75.

“Ours are bait and water traps,” VanBuskirk said. “So we set up areas where we begin to feed and water them and then when they get comfortable then we build a corral around that area. They continue to come in but there’s no out for them.”

Once captured, they’ll be moved at night and taken more than 200 miles away to Florence the Wild Horse and Burro Training and Off-range Corral, where people can then adopt them.

“They are trained and adopted out,” VanBuskirk said. “I have come to discover that we’re in the high 99% adoption rate like almost 100 like so close we could almost call it 100%.”

VanBuskirk said they want to protect the animals, but that starts with the public keeping a distance.

“They’re they’re awesome to look at,” VanBuskirk said. “But feeding them, petting them, otherwise socializing and getting them used to humans is not healthy for them or us.”

You can learn more about the BLM’s project here.

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PHOENIX (AP) — An informational pamphlet for Arizona voters who will decide in the fall whether to guarantee a constitutional right to an abortion can refer to a fetus as an “unborn human being,” the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday.

Arizona voters will get to decide in November whether to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution.

READ MORE: Arizona and Missouri are the latest states to add abortion amendments to the ballot. What would the measures do?

The proposed amendment would allow abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions to save the mother’s life or to protect her physical or mental health. It would restrict the state from adopting or enforcing any law that would prohibit access to the procedure.

The justices of the Arizona Supreme Court, in Wednesday’s decision, sided with Republican lawmakers over proponents of the ballot measure on abortion rights.

The ruling drew swift criticism from abortion rights advocates who had argued that the phrase “unborn human being” is neither impartial nor objective. They also said they were concerned that Arizonans would be subjected to biased and politically charged words.

“We are deeply disappointed in this ruling, but will not be deterred from doing everything in our power to communicate to voters the truth of the Arizona Abortion Access Act and why it’s critical to vote YES to restore and protect access to abortion care this fall,” the group, Arizona for Abortion Access, said in a statement.

The pamphlet gives voters information on candidates and ballot measures to help inform their choices. It was unclear, however, whether any specific language contained in the pamphlet would appear on the ballot.

The Arizona secretary of state’s office said Monday that it had certified 577,971 signatures — far above the required number that the coalition supporting the ballot measure had to submit in order to put the question before voters.

Democrats have made abortion rights a central message since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 — and it is a key part of their efforts in this year’s elections.