Guests - Stephen Mundt, Laurie Moore, Greg Wrightstone

Special Election Day in Arizona CD7: Stakes and Significance

Today marks a pivotal moment for Arizona's Congressional District 7, with the special election to fill a congressional vacancy attracting attention nationwide. This race has significant implications for the balance of power in Congress, with Republican candidates Jorge Rivas, Jimmy Rodriguez, and Daniel Boutieres facing off against a field of Democrats including the daughter of the district's former congressman.

CD7 encompasses seven different counties and over 100 miles of Arizona's southern border, including all three ports of entry into the state. The district faces unique challenges, with high unemployment and ranking among the poorest districts in the country despite Arizona's overall prosperity.

"This is a shortened term," explains Kathleen Winn. "Whoever gets elected will start to serve at the end of September and will get just over a year in office. My campaign is: give us a try. It's not a full term."

The Democrat who wins this primary will face the Republican victor in the general election on September 23rd. The significance of this race extends beyond Arizona, as it could impact the slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

"This seat could help the Republicans increase their majority," notes Winn. "We are heading into a midterm next year."

The polls opened at 6 a.m. with 58 election day voting centers available in Pima County alone. With its expansive geography covering parts of Cochise, Santa Cruz, Pima, Yuma, Penel, and Maricopa counties, the district represents diverse communities with varying needs.

Independents could play a decisive role in today's primary, as they can request either a Republican or Democrat ballot. "A lot of independents don't vote till the general election," Winn observes. "But I think the most interesting election this year in this CD7 race is the primaries."

Border Security and Immigration: A Central Campaign Issue

Border security remains a dominant issue in the CD7 race, with the district containing all three of Arizona's ports of entry. The conversation with Steve Mundt, a retired Army general from Virginia, highlighted how the district's border challenges impact economic opportunity and community safety.

"This is the district that has all three ports of entry into the state of Arizona. This is the district that just got its border secured after the last four years," explains Winn.

The discussion explored how illegal immigration has affected ranchers and communities along the border, with problems ranging from property damage to public safety concerns. "Farmers and ranchers were losing cattle. They were destroying land. They were putting trash and all sorts of things into the little water systems and streams that you had," Mundt noted.

The Dignity Act: Immigration Reform Proposal

Florida Republican Representative Maria Alvera Salazar's reintroduction of her Dignity Act became a focal point of discussion with Lori Moore, an advocate against illegal immigration. The proposed legislation aims to update the U.S. legal immigration framework and address the illegal immigration crisis.

Moore expressed concerns about the bill, suggesting it should be renamed "Got In Under the Radar, but Want to Remain" to reflect what she sees as its true purpose. She outlined what her alternative version would include:

"It would be a pathway to citizenship, but they still have to go through all the hoops of citizenship. So, I would say no amnesty. Go through the hoops to get to citizenship, but no welfare, no voting. They are not allowed to vote. That's my biggie. They should not be counted on the census whatsoever. No birthright citizenship."

Moore emphasized enforcement mechanisms: "The DMV must stop giving them identification because it looks like once they get a license, they can vote. E-Verify needs to be checked. I would also put marshals or Border Patrol in clinics and emergency rooms."

The conversation addressed the complexities of addressing individuals who were brought to the United States as children. "You have a question to people who came here because their parents brought them here. They have grown up in our school systems," Mundt noted. "A lot of people refer to them as DACA. How do we deal with them?"

Moore responded, "The children don't belong to us. They belong to their parents. I think they would have to fall under the 'got in under the radar and want to remain here' category."

Climate Science: Challenging the "Climate Crisis" Narrative

Gregory Wrightstone, a geologist and executive director of the CO2 Coalition, joined the program to discuss what he characterizes as misinformation surrounding climate change. Wrightstone, author of "A Very Convenient Warming: How Modest Warming and More CO2 Are Benefiting Humanity," challenged prevailing climate crisis narratives.

"There is no climate crisis. That was quite evident," Wrightstone stated. "By almost every metric we look at, we find that ecosystems are thriving and prospering from the near polar regions to the equator. Every ecological niche is benefiting from modest warming and more carbon dioxide."

Wrightstone pointed to agricultural benefits: "The human condition's improving, not getting worse. And the greatest example of that we find with crop production, agricultural productivity, just being turbocharged."

He explained that current warming began long before industrialization: "We are in a warming trend. But it started more than 300 years ago, long before the first Model T rolled off the assembly line."

Addressing recent flooding in Texas that some attributed to climate change, Wrightstone provided geological context: "This area, there's a swath called the Balcony's Fault, a skarpment that goes from San Antonio up through Texas. It's the transition between the low-lying Gulf Coast areas up into the Texas Hill Country."

He explained that the region's thin soil and channeled valleys create conditions prone to flash flooding: "It's called the Flash Flood Alley. These are prone to flash floods like this." Citing NOAA data, he added, "Flash floods over the last 40 years have been declining, not increasing. Completely opposite of their claims."

Science Education: Restoring the Scientific Method

Wrightstone expressed concern about science education, noting that only Florida and North Carolina include teaching the scientific method as part of their science curricula. This led to the creation of the CO2 Learning Center to provide alternative educational materials.

"We were concerned that our children and grandchildren were not being taught correct science, that they were being indoctrinated into this climate cult. They were being taught group think and consensus science rather than the scientific method and critical thinking skills," Wrightstone explained.

The CO2 Coalition's education initiative includes children's books like "Chloe the Clownfish Sleeps Well," which aims to counter what Wrightstone sees as alarmist messaging about climate change.

"We provide our materials free. This is our mission," Wrightstone noted. "We're financially supported by more than 15,000 individual donors, and they're doing it because of what we're doing."

Wrightstone recounted being expelled from the National Science Teaching Association convention after publishing a paper challenging the organization's policy on climate change. "We published a report challenging the National Science Teaching Association's policy on climate change and published it the first day of the convention. They kicked us out."

He emphasized the importance of questioning in science, quoting physicist Richard Feynman: "I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned."

Call to Action: Vote Today

The program concluded with a call for voter participation in the CD7 special election primary, emphasizing the race's significance for border security, immigration policy, and the balance of power in Congress.

"It is important that we understand that this special election today is our opportunity. If you live in CD7 to make sure you turn out and vote," Winn urged. "Pima County is the lion's share of those votes."

She emphasized that the seat doesn't belong to any political dynasty: "This is a seat for the people, the people of Arizona to get representation in US Congress. This doesn't belong to any family. This belongs to the people of Arizona."

Polls close at 7 p.m., with results expected to be announced either later tonight or potentially in the coming days, given Arizona's history with vote counting.