CAN'T REPLACE THEM FAST ENOUGH:

The victories of extremist GOP candidates and open support of baseless conspiracy theories have added a volatile ingredient to the politics of Arizona, where a historically conservative electorate is undergoing dramatic political shifts due to changing demographics.

Over the past 10 years, residents who identify solely as white saw their numbers shrink from 73% in 2010 to 60% in 2020. At the same time, the number of residents who identified as more than one race grew from 3.4% in 2010 to nearly 14% in 2020.

In all, Arizona has close to 7.5 million residents, and over 30% of them identify as Latino. Over the past decade, the state's Latino population grew from 1.9 million to 2.2 million. By some estimates, Latinos could make up as much as 50% of the state's population by 2050.

If national statistics are any indication, Latino voters tend to support Democrats. In a March 2022 poll, about 48% of Latinos nationwide considered themselves Democrats, and only 23% identified as Republican.

In Arizona, the numbers are similar.

According to a 2022 study, Latinos are more likely to be Democrats than non-Latinos are, with 45% of Latinos affiliating with the Democratic Party, compared with 28% of non-Latinos. Less than 15% of Latinos are registered as Republicans, the report found, and 40% are registered as "other" and are not affiliated with either major party.

The growth of Latino voters in Arizona contributed to Joe Biden's win in 2020 - and also the elections of Democrats Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema to the U.S. Senate. [...]

Given the increase in Latino voters in the state, it is no surprise that tightening immigration laws is an issue among the GOP, especially among Trump supporters.

In fact, Lake wasted little time after her primary win to use incendiary language in proclaiming her first goal if elected governor in November.

"Day 1," she wrote on Twitter. "I take my hand off the Bible, give the Oath of Office and we Declare an Invasion on our Southern Border ..."

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