Arizona REALTOR® Caucus Looks to November and Beyond

Nearly 200 REALTORS® from across the state came together to discuss potential solutions to issues facing their industry, clients and property owners during the 2018 Arizona REALTOR® Caucus on September 6.

This annual event kicks off the legislative agenda for the Arizona REALTORS® who turn many of the Caucus discussions into bills which are sponsored by state legislators during the following session.

Attendees were also treated to political insight from Charlie Cook, author of The Cook Political Report and a political analyst for NBC and the National Journal. Cook, a respected political analyst and prognosticator, shared a history of midterm elections along with his predictions for November.

“Midterm elections are almost always wrapped around the incumbent — the party of the White House. It’s really spooky the way it works,” said Cook. “We’ve had 38 midterm elections since the end of the Civil War. Whichever party had the White House, had a net loss of U.S. House seats in 35 out of 38; that’s 92 percent.

“Since we started the direct election of U.S. Senators in 1913, we’ve had 26 midterm elections. Whichever party had the White House had a net loss of U.S. Senate seats in 19 out of 26; that’s 73 percent.”

Also at the Caucus:

  • Five legislators accepted REALTOR® Champion Awards
  • NAR Political Representative Maggie FitzGerald gave an update from the Hill
  • Regional VPs reported on issues important to each of the five state regions

Cook noted that this election would probably be different, since Democrats had a lot more vulnerable seats up for re-election than Republicans. He predicted this midterm may buck the trend of the party in the White House losing seats in Congress.

Cook also highlighted the importance of being engaged at the state level, remarking that, “The inability or unwillingness of Washington to be able to deal with a lot of problems, a lot of these problems are shifting back to the state capitals where state legislators and governors are filling in a vacuum on some issues that Congress has not done. So, governorships and state legislative seats are incredibly important.”

Fortunately, the REALTORS® of Arizona Political Action Committee (RAPAC) provides strong political advocacy and representation at every level of government, from town councils and mayors, to the state legislature and the governor, and all the way up to Congress and the president.

RAPAC helps ensure that REALTOR® friendly candidates are elected to office and supported in promoting pro-property rights policies.

2018 REALTOR® Caucus photos on Facebook

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