Centering the Priorities of Arizona Voters in the Midterm Election

Arizona Voters’ Agenda: What Arizona’s Likely Voters Want Candidates to Address as They Compete for Votes

Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that brings Arizonans together to create a stronger and brighter future for our state, recently developed the Arizona Voters’ Agenda, a data-driven look at what a majority of likely Arizona voters care about and want candidates to address in the 2022 midterm election.

With all statewide offices and the entire legislature on the ballot, Arizona’s 2022 midterm elections will set the course for the future of Arizona. As a trusted source of data and information on the state and advocate for Arizonans’ voices, the organization embarked on this initiative to help ensure Arizonans get the opportunity to decide whom to vote for based on knowing where candidates stand on the issues they collectively deem most important to the state’s future.

The Arizona Voters’ Agenda builds on Center for the Future of Arizona’s long-standing survey research efforts to identify what matters most to Arizonans across a broad range of critical issues, provide data to guide policy and action, and mobilize communities and leaders to build The Arizona We Want, a shared vision of success around what matters most to Arizonans, our broadly shared aspirations and hopes for the future.

What sparked the idea for the new Arizona Voters’ Agenda? CFA’s most recent Gallup Arizona Survey, conducted in 2020, illuminates the long-term goals of Arizonans and their shared priorities for the next decade, and found that Arizonans agree on more than they disagree, including on seven Shared Public Values and over 40 actions to create The Arizona We Want.

The Gallup Arizona survey also highlighted the gap between what Arizonans say matters most to them and the actions and political rhetoric of elected leaders and candidates for office. In this election year, CFA wanted to put the voices of likely Arizona voters in the forefront and ask: “What do Arizona’s likely voters consider the most important issues facing our state, and what do they want candidates to address as they compete for their votes in this election?” — which became the basis of the Arizona Voters’ Agenda initiative.

The Arizona Voters’ Agenda was developed from new survey research of Republican, Democratic and independent/unaffiliated voters of all ages, and focuses on where there is agreement. The findings show there is much common ground among voters across the political spectrum:

• Nearly two-thirds of all likely voters prioritize addressing the key issues facing our state, with 38 percent naming “Position on the issues” as the top criteria for picking a candidate and another 27 percent naming “Has clear plans or solutions” as their top criteria — ahead of “Ideology” (12 percent) and “Party registration” (10 percent).
• Despite polarized political dialogue, there is significant agreement and common ground among voters on many issues, including education, economy & inflation, water & environment, election reform, and immigration.
• The data reveals topics that are most important to voters and those currently dominating political dialogue that are not prioritized by majorities of voters. Get the full Agenda.

CFA is working to bring awareness to the Agenda initiative and help leaders and the broader public see where voters agree on more than they disagree about the important issues facing Arizona — and where solutions can be found. The Agenda provides an opportunity to reframe election discussion around topics that a majority of Arizonans believe in. These are common beliefs that can unite the electorate — and ultimately help move the state forward on its shared priorities.

Learn more about the survey methodology and how the Agenda was developed, and get all findings and downloadable resources at arizonafuture.org/azvotersagenda

Learn more about CFA’s mission to bring Arizonans together to create The Arizona We Want.