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| Andy Thomas with Tom Dodson |
Electable or not, Andrew Thomas seeks redemption in an unlikely campaign
By: Jeremy
Duda August
22, 2014 , 4:52 am
What
has changed since then is the disbarment that turned a once-promising
career into a political punchline. A disciplinary panel in
2012 stripped him of his law license after determining that he abused
his power as county attorney by pursuing false criminal charges against
county supervisors, judges and other political foes. Thomas
has long maintained his innocence, describing himself as a martyr who
was punished for having the guts to fight illegal immigration
and stand up to a corrupt establishment.
Conservative
blogger and activist Shane Wikfors, who supported Thomas in his 2010
campaign, said..."I also think he’s trying to
send a message that you can’t beat up on Andy Thomas,” Wikfors
said. “I think he sees himself as some lone voice in the wilderness as
the anti-establishment candidate, as the last remaining candidate who
will stand on controversial issues.”
Daniel
Caldwell, a former Republican operative who now works for a veterans’
nonprofit organization, said Thomas wants to prove that
he’s still a force to be reckoned with in Arizona politics. And he
wants to prove he can do it without anyone else’s help.
Public
relations consultant Jason Rose, a former Thomas ally who worked on his
2010 race for attorney general, takes a different view.
Rose said he is surprised by Thomas’ campaign because he thought it
would primarily be an exercise in image rehabilitation. But that is not
the case, as far as Rose can tell.
“My
observation from the cheap seats is he entered this truly believing he
can win,” said Rose, who is supporting Doug Ducey in the
governor’s race. “By the way he campaigned, it was not an effort to
rehabilitate. It was an effort to win.”
Barnett
Lotstein, who worked for Thomas for six years at the Maricopa County
Attorney’s Office, said redemption is likely part of Thomas’
motivation. But Thomas wouldn’t be running if he didn’t think he could
win, Lotstein said.
“I have no doubt that he believes that he can win. I have no doubt about that at all. He’s a true believer,” Lotstein said.
Thomas
has focused on issues that are important to many conservatives, most
notably illegal immigration, which consistently polls as
the top concern among Republican primary voters, and his support for
SB1062, a 2014 bill that advocates touted as protection for religious
freedom but opponents characterized as anti-gay.
Thomas
was the only GOP gubernatorial candidate who did not call on Gov. Jan
Brewer to veto the legislation. In his mailer and television
ads, Thomas said his opponents caved to the “gay lobby” that he stood
up to.
“Andy has a core constituency of the right wing of the Republican Party and Tea Party people,” Lotstein said.
A.J.
LaFaro, chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Party, said Thomas
has some salient points, just like the rest of the candidates.
“I
think that Mr. Thomas’ message is just as strong as the other
candidates or he wouldn’t have gotten into the race,” LaFaro said.
Republican
political consultant Constantin Querard said there’s nothing wrong with
Thomas’ message in the primary. Other candidates
have made illegal immigration centerpieces of their campaigns as well.
Thomas’
problem, Querard said, is that he doesn’t have the money or resources
to promote it in a campaign against much better funded
opponents.
“If
he wants to talk about fighting illegal immigration, he can. But
everybody else is. And when Christine Jones does it, she does it
with a million-dollar ad buy,” Querard said.
“With
so many candidates, the voters might split the vote,” LaFaro said.
“There’s people that have said that because Mr. Thomas has
such a loyal support base that he may get enough votes to split the
difference and run up the middle....
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