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“As the former mayor of Phoenix and now member of Congress, Greg Stanton knows how important it is to focus on what really matters: fixing the roads and helping people get where they need to go, clean drinking water, affordable health care. The same can’t be said for MAGA Republican Kelly Cooper, who has already proven he’ll be a rubber stamp for his party bosses and push a radical agenda like trying to ban abortion without exceptions. Arizonans will re-elect Greg Stanton this November.” – DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney
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To: Interested Parties
From: Monica Robinson, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 5, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Kelly Cooper
Greg Stanton flies home to Arizona every weekend to work in his district, because he understands there’s too much work to be done to sit around in Washington D.C. That’s the kind of tireless work ethic Greg brings with him every day to Congress, and it’s the commitment to public service he’s shown as mayor of Phoenix, member of the Phoenix City Council, and Arizona’s Deputy Attorney General. He’s the person with the experience and record of delivering for Arizona’s working families, veterans, small businesses, and seniors in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District – and Arizonans will enthusiastically re-elect him this November.
As a kid, Greg watched his dad take the bus to work every day, and he got his first job flipping burgers. He understands what working families need to pay the bills and make ends meet. Whether it was as Phoenix’s mayor, his time on the Phoenix City Council, or now as a member of Congress representing the Greater Phoenix area, Greg Stanton built a record of results and earned a reputation for working across the aisle to get things done. He successfully extended Phoenix’s light rail system and bus services, created thousands of good-paying jobs, increased funding for public safety and police officers, and he works every day to crack down on the opioid crisis devastating Arizona communities. Greg understands that families are paying too much for health care, which is why he’s led the charge to lower prescription drug costs and has pledged to never take a dime from Big Pharma. And in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Greg will continue to be a champion for Arizona women and protect safe, legal abortion.
All of that progress is on the line this November, because Kelly Cooper would work relentlessly to push an extreme MAGA agenda in DC.
Kelly Cooper’s primary win sent the Republican establishment reeling after he defeated DC favorite Tanya Wheeless, a banking lobbyist who had the backing of national Republicans. They have real reason to be concerned: Their nominee is a no-name candidate with anemic fundraising and a nearly non-existent campaign operation, who won his primary with less than 30% of the vote after running on a MAGA Trump agenda. Outside groups poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into TV ads in an eleventh hour attempt to save Wheeless, but it wasn’t enough.
Kelly Cooper’s extreme agenda will be immediately disqualifying for Arizona voters. In addition to refusing to acknowledge that Joe Biden was the legitimately elected president in 2020 and calling for the immediate release of the insurrectionists that stormed the Capitol on January 6th, Cooper has come out on the wrong side of every issue – like supporting an abortion ban with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, and advocating for permanent tax breaks for America’s richest corporations.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:
HEADLINE: Court abortion leak could rock Arizona races up and down the ballot [Arizona Republic, 5/3/22]
“If you’re looking at MAGA as if it’s a negative thing, maybe your priorities are wrong.” [Republican candidate Kelly Cooper, 7/28/22]
HEADLINE: Opinion: Prescription drug costs are skyrocketing. It’s time for Congress to act [Arizona Republic, 11/2/21]
“Kelly Cooper didn’t participate in the debate on Arizona PBS.” [Arizona Republic, 5/10/22]
HEADLINE: Stanton legislation aims to curb China influence on US markets [Arizona Republic, 2/1/22]
HEADLINE: Arizona water authority to get $18.5M under infrastructure law [Arizona Republic, 1/21/22]
KELLY COOPER IS A MAGA EXTREMIST
COOPER WANTS TO BAN ABORTION WITH NO EXCEPTIONS
In the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Kelly Cooper would spell disaster for Arizona women. Cooper has made opposing reproductive rights a core issue of his candidacy: He applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and wants to make abortion illegal with no exceptions for rape or incest. Support for safe, legal abortion has never been higher and Kelly Cooper is dangerously out of step.
COOPER WOULD TOSS OUT YOUR VOTE
To Kelly Cooper, democracy, law, and order are merely suggestions to be thrown away if they get in between him and his political ambitions. Cooper refused to acknowledge that Joe Biden was the legitimately elected president in 2020, and promoted the unfounded conspiracy that there was election fraud, saying: “Questions about signature verification and ballot security. And in the end, millions of Arizonans couldn’t help but wonder if their vote really counted.” Cooper also called for the immediate release of insurrectionists who were jailed for their role in the violent riot at the Capitol on January 6th, saying, “So the prisoners of January 6 need to be released on day 1. I’ll make every effort to make sure that happens.”
Arizonans, beware: Kelly Cooper is saying the quiet part out loud. If he has the chance to toss out your vote the next time he doesn’t agree with the outcome of an election, he will.
COOPER WANTS TO MAKE THE RICH RICHER – PERMANENTLY
Rather than making sure all families in Arizona have the opportunity to build wealth and a path to the American Dream, Kelly Cooper’s top priority is helping the rich get richer. The Republican Party’s 2017 tax break for massive corporations and billionaires has been projected to increase the national debt by $1.9 trillion over the next decade – and could give S&P 500 companies a huge $1.64 trillion “windfall” with taxpayers footing the bill. Kelly Cooper vowed to make that tax break permanent.
TOO EXTREME AND TOXIC FOR ARIZONA
It’s not just what Kelly Cooper believes, but the company he keeps. Cooper has swiftly aligned himself with the most radical, far-right personalities in the Republican Party, including Donald Trump, MAGA Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and pledging to join the Freedom Caucus. This kind of extremism might have gotten Kelly Cooper through his Republican primary — but it won’t play with general election voters in AZ-04.
IN THE WAKE OF MASS SHOOTINGS, COOPER OPPOSES REDUCING GUN VIOLENCE
As Arizonans are still reeling from a series of devastating mass shootings this year, Kelly Cooper opposes basic, popular, bipartisan measures to reduce gun violence. After the devastating elementary school shooting in Uvalde that killed 19 students and 2 teachers, Cooper still couldn’t muster the backbone to stand with the broad majority of Americans and OPPOSED expanded background checks to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
PATH TO VICTORY
The path to victory in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District is clear. The new AZ-04 spans the northeast portion of Maricopa County, including the cities of Tempe, Mesa, and Chandler around the Greater Phoenix area. This new configuration is a diverse, urban district that has been trending more Democratic. President Joe Biden and Sen. Mark Kelly both won this district in 2020. Under the new lines, Biden would have received 55.3% of the major-party vote, and Kelly would have received 56.0% in 2020. In 2018, Senator Kyrsten Sinema would have received 55.8%.
Voters in AZ-04 have consistently supported Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, and Rep. Greg Stanton is the perfect representative for this seat. Arizonans will proudly re-elect him in November.
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