Even though Lake and Taylor Robson don’t have much political experience, at the aggregate level, women are viewed as increasingly viable candidates, Fridkin said. ‘Cultural Tradition’ Arizona’s female governors have become role models who play a prominent part in people’s view of politics in Arizona, Fridkin added. “Because women have achieved these high-ranking offices, regardless of how they got them, there is this perception among the public and among political elites that women can run and win,” she said. She also pointed to the correlation between Western states and women’s success in political office, which is tied to the rugged individualism that was brought about by westward expansion. “There is something cultural about the West,” Fridkin said. “Women gained the right to vote in Western states a lot earlier than in Eastern states. There is a cultural tradition in states like Arizona for women to have more political power.” That wasn’t always the case. Female candidates have been histori- cally underfunded in Arizona. Then and now, they’ve had to battle not only their political adversaries but also sexist stereo- types. In the eyes of voters, women are perceived as being less competent leaders than their male counterparts, Fridkin said. Democratic women are seen as more Pressure from p 14 abortions.” This was a major departure from past statements in which she hedged on the issue and said her role was to “enforce the law.” In recent months, she’s flip-flopped on abortion prosecutions. Mitchell’s office did not immediately reply to a New Times request for comment for this story. The office has previously declined requests for interviews with Mitchell on the issue. Her campaign has not responded. Patricia Pagliuca, an organizer with Mass Liberation, called Mitchell’s recent about-face on abortion “intentionally misleading.” “Rachel Mitchell would have us believe that her statement was a long overdue clarification of the unclear abortion laws in Arizona,” Pagliuca said. But the state- ment was actually a “political ploy” in advance of the midterm, she continued. “Rachel Mitchell knows full well the impact of her refusal to exempt doctors and health care providers.” DeShawn Taylor — founder and owner of Desert Star Family Planning, a Phoenix clinic that provides reproductive health services, including abortion — said she fears that Mitchell will prosecute her and other medical professionals. Katya Schwenk DeShawn Taylor, founder of Desert Star Family Planning, said she feared that prosecutors will criminalize medical professionals under state abortion laws. “I went to medical school to become a physician and help people. Not to be crimi- nalized for providing people with essential health care,” Taylor said. “Not to be crimi- nalized by people intending to enforce unjust laws.” “Will Rachel Mitchell prosecute me? And send me to jail?” she asked the crowd. So far, Mitchell has offered no clear answer. 19 extreme on the liberal continuum, while Republican women are seen as more moderate “compared to an identical man,” she said. “Those stereotypes still exist.” Political Toss-Up The 2018 midterm election saw two women, then-incumbent Republican Martha McSally and eventual victor Kyrsten Sinema, compete for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona. McSally tried to paint Sinema as being too liberal, though Sinema is now widely smeared as a “fake Democrat” for not being liberal enough. McSally’s “main critique” of her oppo- nent, Fridkin said, was that “she was out of touch with Arizonans because she had this extremely far-left record. That just rein- forced those gender stereotypes.” Hobbs and Lake are virtually tied heading into the final weeks of the campaign, according to FiveThirtyEight. Other pollsters such as Politico forecast a toss-up, especially after Hobbs refused to debate Lake even once ahead of the election. “Katie Hobbs not debating Kari Lake is something that I wouldn’t have advised her to do,” Fridkin said. “People don’t really know much about her. It’s odd to me that she did that.” Among women governors in the state, there have been two Democrats and two Republicans. Who’s going to break the tie on November 8? phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES OCT 20TH–OCT 26TH, 2022
