(Watch) Battleground Arizona

The presidential candidates are focusing most of their attention in these final hours on a handful of states expected to decide the race. Of seven key battleground states, Joe Biden won six in 2020, some in surprising come-from-behind overnight victories. One of the tightest races now is in Arizona, a center point for the illegal immigration crisis. Scott Thuman reports.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

It’s the most predictable campaign stop in Arizona. Every time there’s an election, some of the candidates will find their way to the southern border, and often more than once.

It is a measure of just how important this issue is nationally, but especially here in Arizona, now a vital election battleground.

President Trump built much of his first-term legacy on tough border policies and his border barrier. He and running mate JD Vance have made the border a key issue this time, too, promising to get tougher on illegal crossers and start a mass deportation program.

President Trump: We will impose tough new sentences on illegal alien criminals; these include a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone guilty of human smuggling.

Vice President Kamala Harris made her first visit to the border in more than three years at the end of last month, meeting officials and border agents in Douglas, Arizona.

Vice President Harris: I will surge support to law enforcement agencies on the frontlines. More personnel, more training, and more technology, including 100 new inspection systems that can detect fentanyl hidden in vehicles.

When we visited the same town in the summer, the mayor, Donald Huish, told us border agents struggled when the Biden-Harris administration cut funds for electronic border surveillance.

Donald Huish: Believe it or not, our sheriff’s department, through grant funds that were given to them by the state, actually has the cameras on the border for our area all the way down into our community.

Scott: You had to do that locally?

Huish: The sheriff had to do that locally.

Scott: Because the Biden administration stopped funding that portion of border security.

While immigration is one of the top three issues for Arizona voters, the economy and abortion are also important to many, so winning here means appealing to a broad group of voters.

Something that state GOP chair Gina Swoboda understands well.

Scott: The political landscape. How would you describe it?

Gina Swoboda: I think that we are not as purple as people think. I do think Arizonans, in general, have more of a libertarian bent than many other states. So the way our voter registration breaks down is like one-third Democrat, one-third Independent, one-third Republican. To win, in Arizona, you need every Republican, and you need some independents and crossover Democrats as well.

One of the candidates counting on those independents who make up one-third of the electorate here is Republican Kari Lake, running for the U.S. Senate after a close but unsuccessful run for governor two years ago.

Kari Lake: Not a day goes by when I’m on the campaign trail where an independent or even a disaffected Democrat doesn’t come up to me and say: “I’m a Democrat, but I can’t handle this economy. It’s killing me.”

Scott: Someone wrote about you recently that you’re a more diplomatic candidate than you were maybe a couple of years ago. Is that by design?

Lake: I actually think I’ve always been very kind and diplomatic and even when I have a beef with somebody, if the media is being unfair, I think I remain pretty calm.

For months, polls have placed Lake behind her senate rival, Democrat Ruben Gallego. But now, like the presidential race, it is too close to call. Gallego didn’t agree to an interview.

The Democrats we did meet were enthusiastic about Kamala Harris, sensing a better chance of winning. That includes Democratic candidate Joel Navarro, running for the board of supervisors in Arizona’s largest county – Maricopa.

Scott: If you had to describe the political landscape, what would you describe?

Joel Navarro: Maricopa County is the hotspot. You do have a state that’s potentially 50:50, and it might be leaning a little right, but on a given day, I think we’re seeing a lot of people right now that are wanting common sense. They’re wanting some candidates out there that are going to do the right things, get back to that old school of talking across the aisle, but getting issues done.

So whether it’s for local office or the nation’s top job, winning means appealing to voters outside each party’s natural base.

For Full Measure, I’m Scott Thuman in Phoenix.

Sharyl: Polls have consistently, it seems undercounted Trump’s support. Do you think that’s happening again this time?

Scott: It absolutely could be. For example, when Vice President Harris took over at the top of the Democratic ticket for Joe Biden, she saw polling bumps nearly everywhere, including Arizona. But more recent surveys and polls show that former President Trump is slightly, again, in the lead there.

Sharyl: Another cliffhanger.

Watch video here.