Podcast: Arizona's Abortion Battle

Plus my latest article on former gubernatorial aide Linda Sun

Abortion rights are a hot topic in Arizona. In addition to the presidential contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Arizonans will vote on a proposal to amend the state constitution to broadly guarantee abortion rights. The ballot question is being pushed by the Arizona for Abortion Access (AAA) campaign, which submitted more than 823,000 signatures—twice what was needed.

After two trips to the Grand Canyon state in the last few months to talk to voters, my takeaway is that abortion question is as powerful a reason to vote as the presidential candidates. Listen to the full podcast episode here, the first in the Wall Street Journal’s new “Chasing the Vote” series. Also, check out this photo essay by me and Ariel Zambelich, with images by Caitlin O’Hara.

Ultimately, Arizona shows why the Democrats’ strongest argument — that they're the bulwark against abortion restrictions — is a potent motivator for their base, but also how the argument has its limits among swing voters. Some people I talked to who were independents said it would be a nudge for them to vote for Harris, but others said they'd split their tickets.

At the same time, social conservatives are also jazzed up. My biggest takeaway from Arizona about how abortion will factor into the presidential election is that it provides as powerful a reason to vote as the candidates do. Here's how Christine Accurso, an anti-abortion activist from the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, puts it.

“It will get voters out on both sides,” she said. “People constantly talk about bringing Democrats out, but this is really woken up the pro-life Christians at home quietly praying on their couch, getting them out to vote.”

My colleague Molly Ball also has a new podcast, “Red, White and Who?” with an episode last week that also explored this question. Molly’s take is that it’s a significant question mark, with states in uncharted territory since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. But in states that have held abortion referendums since then, turnout has been lopsidedly in favor of abortion rights, Molly said.

This was the first of six “Chasing the Vote” podcast episodes. The best way to get them is to subscribe to The Wall Street Journal’s “What’s News” podcast. Click here if you get your podcast on an Apple device, and click here to subscribe via Spotify.

TRIP NOTES:

++ Arizona’s state legislature no longer meets in its historical capitol building, which has been turned into a museum. There is a cool exhibit with artifacts from the battleship U.S.S. Arizona, which sank at Pearl Harbor.

++ Caitlin took us to Tacos Huicho, which was located around the corner from a tire garage, and I had some of the best al pastor I’ve ever tasted. Get there if you’re in town.

++ It’s really, really, REALLY hot and dry in Arizona in the summer.

FORMER HOCHUL AIDE ARRESTED: Last week prosecutors charged Linda Sun, who worked in the administrations of New York governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, with being an unregistered agent for China.

Sun’s indictment has rocked state political circles, and both Cuomo and Hochul have distanced themselves from her. Her attorneys have said they are disappointed by the charges, which they said are “inflammatory and appear to be the product of an overly aggressive prosecution.”

I worked with WSJ colleagues James T. Areddy, James Fanelli and Kristina Peterson to stitch together this full narrative of Sun’s rise from an aspiring beauty Queen to the top echelons of state government.

Sun’s defenders said they viewed her efforts as reflecting the sentiments of many Chinese-Americans and said some could be viewed more innocuously; her duties included acting as a liaison with consulates. But the allegations laid bare the extent to which Chinese officials have worked to cultivate relationships at multiple levels of the U.S. government in order to influence public messages, not just hunt for state secrets.

“This is a betrayal of New Yorkers and of the American people,” Hochul said.

THE QUESTION: What two rivers converge in Phoenix?

Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi.

THE LAST ANSWER: Thanks for all the great podcast suggestions! I love listening to Freakonomics and The Journal, among others.