‘The people’s wave’: Arizona activists talk pathways to change after Election Day

Responding to projected results from Tuesday's midterm election, civic engagement and advocacy coalition Activate 48 celebrated the previous night’s wins, outlined expectations for candidates-elect come January 2027 and encouraged ongoing community engagement.

The coalition — consisting of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), Chispa Arizona and Our Voice Our Vote (OVOV) — was joined by Worker Power at its press conference in front of the Arizona State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. 

While Arizona ballots are still being counted to determine the official result, major news outlets have called many key races, projecting Democratic candidates Gov. Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes will remain in office. 

Prop. 316 has been projected to pass, which would cap the allowable tax increase on grocery purchases at two percent without prior approval from voters, but controversial measures like Prop. 317 and Prop. 318 — which address border security and target trans students, respectively — are projected to pass, according to the Associated Press.

At the state level, Democrats are projected to flip enough seats to gain a majority in the House and Senate, and with Hobbs's re-election, this would establish a Democratic trifecta (control of both legislative houses and the Executive Branch) in Arizona for the first time since 1966.

According to Alejandra Gomez, the Executive Director of LUCHA and one of the speakers at the press conference, these results reflect the power of the Latinx vote.

“I think we all started shouting. I burst into tears as the night progressed,” Gomez said in an interview with CALÓ News. “We are seeing the communities that have been the direct targets of this administration punch back in a big way and they did it right through the ballot box.”

Vianey Olivarria, executive director of Chispa Arizona, told CALÓ News that while the projections are worth celebrating, significant work remains to repair the harm Arizona communities have experienced.

“As we were seeing the news from our state, the news nationally, seeing Texas flip, seeing so many amazing wins, it was very overwhelming, but also very encouraging and affirming of what we know is true, that people want change,” Olivarria said.

On Oct. 24, Activate 48 hosted the Arizona People’s Convention in downtown Phoenix, which brought together lawmakers and community members to champion civic engagement on and beyond Election Day. 

Activate 48 Coalition Director and Former State Rep. Reginald Bolding, who opened the press conference, said the election results were not because of a ‘blue wave’.

“Arizona did not flip by accident. It was organized,” Bolding said. “This is the people's wave, and now you’ll hear from the leaders who built it.”

During her speech, Sena Mohammed, Executive Director of Our Voice Our Vote, added that the ‘blue wave’ terminology fails to capture the full timeline of the trifecta victory.

“We didn't vote because the system earned it. We voted because we refuse to let it have the last word on our lives,” Mohammed said. “Now people are calling this a blue wave. Respectfully, that's not the whole story. What hit Arizona last night has been building for ten years. It's a Black wave. It's a brown wave. It's a working-class wave.”

Organizers also championed the People’s Agenda, first announced at the Arizona People’s Convention, which will serve as a framework for Activate 48’s legislative goals. 

“We will help shape the agenda, fight for its passage and hold elected leaders accountable for delivering,” Gomez said. “The measure of victory will be what changes in people's lives.”

“We'll be at the capital every week — every week of the session, tracking every vote and reporting back to every door we knocked that this is what happened,” Mohammed said.

“Consistency and accountability will continue to be key words for us,” Olivarria said. “We will continue to show up and organize against issues that hurt our low-income communities, [recall] policies that threaten our environment and educate ourselves and others on what we can do to defend our public lands.”

After the press conference, coalition organizers discussed strategies for turning newly excited voters into long-term community advocates.

“We have been dreaming of this day, strategizing about this day and that means that we're prepared for this day,” Gomez said. “We want to make sure that we provide affordable housing for our communities. We want to make sure that we provide structural democracy reforms for our communities…We are going to hold ourselves responsible to deliver for that and we're going to hold legislators accountable as well.”

“We must show up every single week and demand that change,” Olivarria said. “I think once people come, they realize that [legislators] are also people. There's nothing intimidating about it. Everybody's experience is valid…No one needs to be a policy maker to know what they want and what they deserve.”

In a press release following the event, Activate 48 said that they “look forward to governing closely alongside all of our elected partners to deliver real results”. 

River Graziano is a freelance journalist for CALÓ News. They grew up in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix and later attended ASU in Tempe, where they spent two years as an editor at The State Press. Their reporting with CALÓ News covers advocacy efforts impacting Latine communities across the Valley.