June 23, 2010

All Politics is Local

When does a local issue begin to matter in a national election? The experts say as soon as the media spotlights the issue.

There is an old saying when it comes to elections and elected officials, “All Politics is Local.” But do local issues really matter in larger races, like a race for Congress? Kate Kenski, Ph.D., who teaches political communications at the University of Arizona, says local issues do play into a statewide or national election when those issues are constantly in the media. An example of that is Arizona’s new immigration law.

In the race for US Senate, Senator John McCain and his mail Republican challenger J.D. Hayworth have both positioned themselves as tough on the border since the signing of Senate Bill 1070. The two men have released a myriad of statements, ads, and plans on border security. But just a few months ago, the issue wasn’t the border it was the economy. Political activists say all the attention on SB 1070 does have a silver lining, the federal government is once again talking about border security and immigration reform, which gives some hope that something, could actually be accomplished.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona