Arizona moms mobilize for Jo Mendoza in final get-out-the-vote push

MomsRising Together is driving a broad turnout effort in Arizona ahead of Tuesday’s election, with postcards, voting parties, texts, calls and digital ads aimed at boosting support for congressional candidate Jo Mendoza. The campaign is focused on care costs, as child care, health care and other household expenses keep rising for Arizona families.

Why it matters: - Arizona families are facing sharp cost pressures on child care, health care, groceries and utilities. - MomsRising Together is trying to turn those affordability concerns into turnout for Jo Mendoza and other candidates the group calls care champions. - The effort targets moms who may not vote in every election, a bloc that could matter in a close race.

What happened: - MomsRising Together launched a statewide get-out-the-vote campaign in Arizona ahead of Tuesday’s election. - The group says members across the country have sent 1 million handwritten postcards, including more than 12,000 to moms in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. - Tucson-area moms have also held in-person voting parties and events since early August at restaurants, cafeterias and community spaces. - At one Tucson event, 35 guests met over lunch to share personal stories about child care, health care and public education costs. - One teacher spoke about spending most of her income on student loans and classroom supplies and urged voters to back candidates and ballot measures that would bring change.

The details: - The postcards are meant to remind moms who do not always vote that an election is coming and that their vote can help lower costs. - The cards say: “Our grandmothers voted. We won Medicare and Social Security. Our vote can make health care and child care affordable for all!” - Event organizers also texted vote reminders to other moms. - MomsRising Together recorded English- and Spanish-language videos of local moms explaining who they are voting for and why. - The group promoted those ads to more than 12,000 moms in the Tucson area. - In one ad, a Tucson mom with two children who have medical needs said Republicans in Congress cut $1 trillion from health care and that costs are now skyrocketing. - Three Arizona mom influencers partnered with MomsRising Together on paid digital content aimed at encouraging followers to make a voting plan and cast ballots early. - MomsRising Together says it has 3.7 million total members nationwide and thousands in Arizona. - Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, the group’s executive director and CEO, said moms are struggling with affordability and that the organization is seeing unprecedented engagement.

Between the lines: - The campaign is built around a simple message: affordability is an election issue, not just a household problem. - By centering moms, the group is betting that family cost concerns can drive turnout more effectively than partisan messaging alone. - The use of postcards, local events, texts, video ads and influencers suggests a layered effort to reach voters who may be harder to mobilize through traditional campaign outreach.

What's next: - MomsRising Together will keep pushing turnout through Election Day with reminders, local organizing and digital outreach. - The group is directing voters to more information on its get-out-the-vote campaign. - The organization is hoping the turnout push helps Mendoza and other candidates who support lower care costs.

The bottom line: - Arizona moms are being asked to vote as a way to fight rising costs at home and shape the future of care policy in Congress.