Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelly Ward takes the stage at AZGOP’s Election Night Watch Party at the Scottsdale Resort in McCormick Ranch on November 8, 2022. The cost of a one-day bus tour on the final day of the campaign paid for what some Republicans said was a close loss.Screenshot via Arizona Republican/Facebook
In the early hours of November 9th, hundreds of red, white and blue balloons were suspended in a massive ballroom inside the swanky Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch.
But instead of falling into a joyful crowd of Republicans rooting for the candidate in the midst of a “red tsunami” sweeping out the Republican candidate and winning across Arizona, The night ended with balloons snuggling up to the ceiling.
These balloons cost $3,348, according to an analysis of campaign finance records by the Arizona Mirror, a mere drop in the more than $325,000 bucket spent by the Arizona Republican party on election night’s lavish parties. .
Arizona Republican Party Chair Kerry Ward and her team have spent more than $530,000 on a three-day bus tour during the crucial final weekend of the campaign, along with about $205,000 spent by one of the Republican consultants. and spent on a “vanity project” intended to boost. her ego instead of winning the race.
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The election ended in disaster for the Republicans in Arizona. For the first time in nearly 50 years, Democrats won the top three statewide constituencies and a Senate election.
Two of those races were close, but Republicans fell short. Kari Lake lost the gubernatorial race by about 17,000 votes, and Attorney General candidate Eib Hamadeh lost to just 280 of his nearly 2.5 million votes, the narrowest margin in state history.
Robert Graham, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party in the 2014 and 2016 elections, said: “Ward didn’t use his resources to win, he used them for the party.”
AZGOP’s current leadership has consistently placed a higher value on flash than on substance. I wonder what effect that money had on so many close matches.
– JP Twist, former political director of the Republican Governors Association
The Arizona Republican Party did not respond to multiple requests to interview Ward or defend his spending choices.
But Sheila Muehling, who has been elected as the party’s treasurer for the past two years, has spent a lot of money late in the campaign on things not meant to help keep Republican candidates close. He said he was outraged by the decision. race.
“For me, it was all sorts of negligence,” she told Arizona Miller.
When AZGOP elected a new leader on Saturday, Muhring, one of three candidates to replace Ward as party leader, said he aimed to reorganize the party. Candidates win elections. ”
Even Trump questioned Ward’s spending priorities
In the months leading up to the election, Republicans have not been shy about expressing concerns about Ward’s spending priorities. Reportedly had a heated conversation with Ward Politico said in late October that her explanation for AZGOP’s spending of more than $1 million in the final week of the campaign was “a bullish excuse.”
“Ward’s refusal to spend the bottom of her organization’s coffers has embarrassed the top Republicans, and those outside of state party leadership have no idea why she is hoarding money. It remains unclear,” Politico wrote.
Most of these funds were apparently allocated for a three-day bus tour and extravagant election night parties.
JP Twist, who served as the political director of the Republican Governors Association in the 2022 election, said it was disappointing, but not surprising, that the party earned more than $500,000 from parties and day-long bus tours.
“AZGOP’s current leadership has consistently placed a higher value on flash than substance,” said Twist. “You’d wonder what that money had to do with so many close matches.”
As such, RGA has chosen not to cooperate with AZGOP. AZGOP supported Lake’s campaign in the fall. Instead, the group, led by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, coordinated support for Lake with the Yuma County Republican Party.
when the ward brag on twitter In December, she “turned off the feeder” of “slimy, principleless consultants” because she was so focused on spending money on candidates, not political operatives, Twist listened. rice field.
“This is a blatantly ridiculous lie. We sent money to Yuma because we couldn’t believe you would spend it wisely. That’s why,” he answered.
Chad Heywood, a Republican political consultant and former executive director of AZGOP, said an event aimed at revitalizing the base is important, but it’s better to do it later in the campaign than an expensive event. Having said that there is a better way to do this. Multi-day bus tour.
“These bus tours drive believers out and excite them. It’s a piece of the puzzle, but it was a very expensive piece,” he said. “In this case, some of the candidates who lost out by hundreds or thousands of votes must have preferred to spend their money in direct contact with voters.”
Heywood would know: He was a general consultant for Hamade, who lost by a razor. There were many ways to spend his $200,000 spent on bus tours to boost voter turnout, especially among the less inclined Republicans and conservative independents.
“Paid campaigns, paid phone calls, paid text messages, digital, and television are all better ways to persuade independent voters than a ($200,000) bus tour with Republican voters who are most likely to vote. It would have been a better way to get the attention it needed,” he said. He said.
‘Escape Donors’ for Celebrity Treatments
The biggest expense of a bus tour is not the tour bus, DC event production company It spearheaded a three-day affair. Event Strategies, which describes itself as a “full-service event management and production company,” Paid $137,285 Run a bus tour.
AZGOP spent $29,350 to rent a bus from Goss RV. Goss RV bills itself as “the leading provider of luxury RV rentals in the United States,” plus he spent $11,000 to wrap his rented buses in the face of Lake, Hamade, Mark, Finchem, Blake, and his Masters. . Venues where tours were canceled for smaller election rallies like his Schnepf Farms in Phoenix and the First Assembly of God Church were also paid.
and party spent $2,000 Based in Scottsdale hair stylist When makeup artistusing the acronym “Get Votes” to describe the payment as “Bus Tour Production GOTV”.
I would appreciate it if you could tell me what the point was. It made no sense at all.
– Sheila Mulling, Arizona Republican Treasurer
But the bus tour was cheaper than the election night bash. AZGOP paid McCormick Ranch’s Scottsdale Resort about $180,000 to host a “Cowboys and Conservatives” themed soiree and provide rooms for party workers.
Another $76,000 Participated in the audio and visual production of the event. This was done by the Phoenix company. Extensive collaboration with conservative nonprofit Turning Point USAIn addition, more than $23,000 was spent on offsite parking at Salt River Fields, approximately three miles away, and a shuttle bus that runs every half hour to transport attendees between the resort and the parking lot. it was done.
Former AZGOP leader Graham said a leader’s only job is to win elections. He said spending large sums of money on things like bus tours and fancy parties instead of proven vote-getting strategies is political misconduct.
“This is a runaway not just from the Parties, but from the donors,” he said.
Heywood said spending so much money on fancy election night parties was particularly infuriating.
“Unless you’re Kelly Ward. When she went to vote twice, the results were conclusive by 8 p.m.,” he said. 2016 When 2018.
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