And the winner is......

....Frank Antenori!

State Senator Frank Antenori received the most votes in our CD8 Debate Straw Poll last night.  Senator Antenori was followed by retired Air Force Col. Martha McSally.  Local businessman and broadcaster Dave Sitton came in 3rd place, barely outpacing Jesse Kellly, who was the 2010 Republican nominee for the CD8 General Election.

I was surprised by the results and want to congratulate Senator Antenori for winning the Straw Poll.  His margin of victory was pretty substantial and we'll have to see what kinds of correlation the straw poll has to the actual vote totals on April 17.

Out of 350 people who attended last night's debate, 119 people voted in the straw poll, or a little over 1/3 of the crowd.  Frank Antenori received 48 total votes or just over 40% of the total.  He was followed by Martha McSally who had 30 votes or just over 25% of the ballots cast.  Dave Sitton received 22 votes or just under 18.5% of the votes.  And Jesse Kelly had 19 straw poll votes, which was 16% of the total votes cast.

Senator Anterori represents Legislative District 30 in the Arizona State Senate, so it was also surprising that he did so well at the event held deep in the 26th Legislative District which only shares a small border with LD30 in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson.

Interview Talking about Immigration Problems & Deaths in the Desert

Sunday night, I did another interview on the news to answer questions about how Republicans believe we should solve the problem of all of the senseless and tragic deaths in the desert that have been suffered by illegal aliens.  You can follow the interview by going to KVOA News 4's website or clicking on this link.

Tonight's debate was great!

Tonight's debate over at CDO High School went great for those of you who missed it.  We had 350 people in attendance and many others throughout the entire congressional district listening to it on KVOI 1030 AM's radio station or KVOI's online live streaming of the debate.  All four candidates did a great job of showing why Republicans have a much better vision for America than their Democratic opposition.

We conducted a straw poll at the debate to see how activists and everybody else in attendance planned on voting in the race.  And we just finished counting the ballots for our straw poll.  I was quite surprised by the results myself.  I'll be releasing the results tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM on Joe Higgin's radio show "Wake-Up Tucson" on KVOI 1030 AM "The Voice" Radio Network.  And I will be posting the results here shortly thereafter.

We want to thank all of the the candidates again for taking part in tonight's debate and we want to thank all of the many volunteers who helped with everything.

-Tyler

Congressional Debate Press Release

Pima County Young Republicans

Contact: Tyler Mott (YR Chair)

pimayrs@gmail.com

(520) 444-6280

For Immediate Release                                                                              

March 22, 2012                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                     

PIMA COUNTY YOUNG REPUBLICANS HOST IMPORTANT CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE

All Four Republican Candidates Seeking to Fill Gabrielle Giffords' Seat Attending

(Tucson, AZ) The Pima County Young Republican Club in partnership with the Legislative District 26 Republican Party is proud to announce a Congressional Candidate Debate this coming Monday, March 26 from 7:00-9:00 pm in the auditorium of Canada del Oro High School (CDO).

All four Republican candidates running to fill the open CD-8 seat previously held by Representative Gabrielle Giffords will be participating.  This includes State Senator Frank Antenori, Jesse Kelly, Colonel Martha McSally, and Dave Sitton.  The CD-8 Special Election will be an important bellwether with national implications going into the 2012 Presidential Election.

The debate will be simulcast live on radio station KVOI 1030 AM The Voice.  Joe Higgins will act as debate moderator.  Mr. Higgins is a local Republican entrepreneur, a former candidate for County Supervisor in District 1, and the host of “Wake Up Tucson,” a radio program on The Voice.

Other special debate sponsors include the Oro Valley Republican Women's Club and the Pima County Tea Party Patriots.

The Young Republicans will conduct a Congressional Candidate Straw Poll at the debate for $2 per entry with a strict limit of one entry per person.  Straw poll results will be announced the following day on the Pima County Young Republican blog at PimaYRs.blogspot.com.  The Young Republicans will also be collecting early ballots for people who want to turn them in at the debate. 

CDO High School is located at 25 W Calle Concordia, Tucson, AZ 85704.  The auditorium holds up to 650 people, and a full crowd is expected.  Doors will open at 6:00.  Early arrival is suggested to ensure a seat. 

###

Next Pima YR meeting Monday, March 19

Greetings Fellow Young Republicans,

We have a lot of exciting events coming up in the near future.  First, I wanted to announce our next meeting of the Pima County Young Republican Club.  The meeting will be held Monday, March 19th at Mr. K's BBQ at 4911 North Stone Avenue in Tucson (on the southwest corner of River Rd & Stone Ave).  Our guest speaker will be Sean Collins who is running for the Pima County Board of Supervisors in District 4.  As always, we will have a social hour starting at 6:30 pm & our meeting will begin at 7:00 pm.  For more information on Sean's campaign, you can visit http://collins4supervisor.com/

We also have a lot to discuss in preparation for our big CD8 Republican Primary debate the following Monday, March 26.  We will be sponsoring this debate with the LD 26 Republican Party & KVOI 1030 AM "The Voice" will be broadcasting the debate live on its radio station.  The debate will be held inside the auditorium at CDO High School from 7 pm - 9 pm.  So, let your friends & family know about this debate because it will be a huge event in this nationally significant race for Congress.  I have attached a debate flier for everybody to look at & pass on to your friends & family.

Thank you for all of your support once again.  Come back to often to our blog for any future updates.  I look forward to seeing you all next Monday at Mr. K's.

Tyler Mott

Chairman

Pima County Young Republican Club

Big Debate Announcement!

The Pima County Young Republican Club

In Partnership with

The LD 26 Republican Party

And simulcast Live by our radio partner

Are proud to invite you to a

Congressional Candidate Debate

With All Republican Candidates

In the CD 8 Special Election Primary

On Monday, March 26, 2012

From 7 pm – 9 pm

In the Canyon del Oro High School Auditorium

At 25 West Calle Concordia

Tucson, AZ 85704

Please arrive early to ensure a seat: Doors open at 6 pm

Other Special Debate Sponsors:

Oro Valley Republican Women's Club

&

Pima County Tea Party Patriots

We will be conducting a Congressional Candidate Straw Poll for $2 per entry

(Limit 1 entry per person in attendance)

We will also be collecting early ballots for people who want to turn them in at the debate

* To help us offset debate costs, any Republican candidates or other conservative groups can contact Tyler Mott at pimayrs@gmail.com or (520) 444-628 if you want to have a display table at the debate for as little as $50 or to get your name in our debate program for as little as $25.

Pima YRs Recently in the News

The Pima County Young Republican Club has received some extra coverage recently in the local news.

First, KVOA News 4 recently ran a story about a debate watching party that the Pima YRs held at the home of our Vice Chairman Mike Cole during the Arizona Republican Presidential Debate.  We had a great time & enjoyed watching the Republican Presidential candidates sharing their views on issues that would be most important to Arizona voters.  Club member Christi Garner was interviewed for the segment that played on the 10:00 news as wells as Club Chairman Tyler Mott.
 

And then, on the night before the primary, KGUN 9 News stopped by the home of Club Chairman Tyler Mott.  The YR E-Board was meeting to discuss plans for our upcoming CD8 Special Election Republican Debate.  KGUN 9 interviewed Tyler about his thoughts on the next day's Republican Presidential Primary in Arizona.  You can read the story & see the video clip here.