A Democratic Debate Watch Party featuring Mayor Kate Gallego drew scores of people to the Paz Cantina taqueria on a rainy Wednesday night.
The Maricopa County Democratic Party hosted event gave Democrats from all walks of life
the chance to discuss the merits of each candidate during the fifth Democratic debate and give donations to the Maricopa County Democratic Party.
The importance of having such events in downtown Phoenix was emphasized by Gallego before the debates began for the night.
“There’s huge enthusiasm in this community,” Gallego said. “People know that the path to the presidency goes through Maricopa County and that our vote really matters. I would guess we’ll see bigger and bigger crowds the closer we get to primary day.”
Gallego urged Democrats to make their voices heard and vote in the next presidential election amid cheers from the crowd.
“I think there’s huge value in getting together with other people, watching the debate, talking about it, and sharing why you love your candidate if you picked,” Gallego said.
Chairman Steven Slugocki of the Maricopa County Democratic Party said he wants to support the party as much as possible through events such as this.
“We want to be as successful as possible,” Slugocki said. “For everybody to come and have a good time, meet other activists, and get to know each other because we’ve got a lot of work to do next year and we got to be ready to go.”
In addition to being primarily hosted by the Maricopa County Democratic Party, the event was also co-hosted by LD24, Maricopa County Young Democrats, ASU Young Dems, the Latino Outreach Committee and the Black Engagement Committee.
President Mariana Peña of the ASU Young Dems said having accessible events like the debate party is valuable for students who live near the ASU downtown Phoenix campus and it’s having an impact on students.
Events like this give opportunities for students who can’t always go to the ASU Tempe campus for ASU Young Dems meetings the chance to participate and discuss politics with their peers said Peña.
“People who are members have said that over the course of watching the debates, they have changed who they’re supporting,” Peña said. “For myself, I have seen my opinions on the candidates definitely change from their performance in the debates.”
A prominent member of the the Black Engagement Committee within the Maricopa County
Democratic Party, Judy Greene, said events such as this can only have a positive effect.
“I moved here eleven years ago,” Greene said. “I felt like I was on an island. I was living in north Phoenix. It was all red, red, red.”
The Democratic party has made strides since she first moved to Arizona, particularly in
downtown Phoenix, said Greene.
“For Democrats, downtown really is the place to be,” she said.
Making sure voices within the black community are a part of the conversation in regards to the presidential election is important, especially black women, as upwards of 90% of them end up voting Democrat, according to Greene.
At the end of the day, Slugocki made it clear what the goals for Democrats in Arizona would be.
“We got to get him out!,” Slugocki said in reference to President Donald Trump. “Out! Everybody is united to get him out.”
The next Democratic debate will be held in Los Angeles on December 19.
Contact the reporter at mmozee@asu.edu.
