Munsil keys campaign to immigration issue

But the longshot candidate scored an unlikely victory that wasn’t even close. He pummeled the better known Goldwater by marshaling an impressive grass-roots campaign.

And now he’s hoping to deliver what some insiders call the political upset of the young century. The circumstances are strikingly similar, and he’s hoping the outcome will be, too.

Again, he faces a better-known candidate and is far behind in the polls. Recent surveys show Munsil trailing incumbent Gov. Janet Napolitano by more than 30 percentage points.

But unlike his primary opponent, Munsil is up against a seasoned politician with a long résumé and a well-organized campaign — qualities Goldwater lacked.

However, Munsil thinks he’s found the issue that can carry him to victory next month — illegal immigration. Whether it’s crime, the economy or education, Munsil has continually linked the state’s problems to the thousands of immigrants that illegally cross Arizona’s 370 mile southern border with Mexico.

Out on the campaign trail, it’s a familiar message he’s stuck with since embarking on his quest at the beginning of the year. Secure the border and much of the rest will take care of itself.

The long, hard campaign trail appeared to be taking a toll on Munsil on Friday.

At the Arizona Republican Party headquarters in downtown Phoenix, he appeared visibly agitated. He bristled at questions and was standoffish when challenged.

“Look, I’ve already answered these questions,” he told one reporter. “And I disagree that I haven’t offered details on my immigration plan.”

About three weeks ago, Munsil unveiled an ambitious six-point plan that he says he would focus on during his first 100 days in office. Although the plans are vague, he promised to release details on each point in the weeks leading up to the election.

So far, he’s only discussed one — a plan to give the Legislature oversight of billions of dollars of federal funding. The move is one that many — including former Republican governors — say would drastically reduce the power of the executive office.

As far as immigration, Munsil has vowed to seal off the state’s border by sending a “significant” number of Arizona National Guard troops to the region. He also plans to impose tough sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Munsil has not offered specifics regarding how much his plan would cost except to say “hundreds of millions.” Likewise, he has not said how many troops he thinks would be needed to secure the border.

“Everyone seems to be focused on how much it’s going to cost,” he said Friday.

But once the border is shut down, Munsil firmly believes it would solve many of the state’s woes. Secure the border and wait times in the state’s hospital emergency rooms — which are among the longest in the nation — would shrink.

Stem the flow of immigrants illegally crossing the border, and there would be fewer overcrowded classrooms in the state’s schools. Shut down the border and the state crime rate would plummet.

Although Munsil sees a state that needs improvement in many areas, there’s one he acknowledges is doing just fine: The economy. But even there, he finds fault with the governor.

Four years ago, when Napolitano took the helm, the state was in dire financial straits. The state was in the midst of an economic depression that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and faced a $1 billion deficit crisis. But today, the economy is strong and the deficits have turned into surpluses.

However, Munsil said the governor had little to do with the economic turnaround. In fact, he claims the turnaround happened in spite of her. He credits the GOP-led Legislature for resisting her economic policies as reasons for the turnaround.

In 2002, when Napolitano was running for office, she found herself taking heat for proposing to close $200 million in corporate loop holes. She had raised the measure as one way to help make up for the massive $1 billion deficit that had been projected for the coming year.

At the time, Republicans hammered Napolitano for putting forth what they called a massive tax increase. Proposals like that, Munsil says, would have sunk the state had it not been for the Republican Legislature.

Rep. John Allen, R-Scottsdale, who is working on the Munsil campaign, said that touches on another major theme — that the governor is running on sound economic policies forced upon her by the Legislature.

If elected, Munsil pledges not to raise taxes and vows to begin taking steps to abolish the state income tax over the next 10 years. Although the income tax makes up a large portion of state revenue needed to pay for services such as education and security, Munsil believes abolishing it would spur investment in the state.

That, he says, would more than make up for the financial shortfalls.

“Slashing tax rates does not mean less revenue,” he said. “Quite the opposite, it means more cash for the state.”

In contrast, Napolitano has said she doesn’t intend to raise taxes, but stopped short making a vow.

Still, many Republicans see Munsil as a huge underdog against a popular governor running with a good economy and with an anti-Republican sentiment this year.

“To pay homage to Monday Night Football, there’s no question that it’s fourth and long and (Munsil) needs to throw a Hail Mary pass,” said Republican operative Jason Rose.

To have a shot at winning at this point, Rose said Munsil needs the governor to make a major mistake that would instantly sink her campaign.

In addition, Rose believes that a Clean Elections candidate can’t beat a popular incumbent. As evidence, Rose points to the state’s Senate race between Jon Kyl and Jim Pederson. Pederson has spent millions of dollars and is still trailing the incumbent, Rose said. As a Clean Elections candidate, Munsil gets less than $700,000 for his campaign.

“I’m convinced that if this were an even playing field that I win this race easily,” Munsil said. “Really, we’re in no different place than we were in the primary.”

Len Munsil in his own words

When did you know you wanted to become governor?

I decided late last year to become a candidate for governor in order to address the problems being ignored by the incumbent, while providing real, principled leadership that is consistent with the core values of most Arizonans.

Most important learning experience?

Having children is the most significant learning experience of my life. I was a 23-year-old law student when our first child was born, and I distinctly remember looking at him in the hospital and realizing I was completely responsible for another human being. As your children grow, you learn patience, self-sacrifice and the importance of leading by example, not just words.

Favorite sports personality and why?

As a kid I was a huge Paul Westphal fan when he was an All-Star guard for the Suns. Later he became coach of the Suns and I got to know him. I really enjoyed his laid-back style and sense of humor, along with his confidence.

What is at stake in this election?

The future. I would like to see Arizona become the greatest state for families in America, with a secure border, a low crime rate, quality education and a great economy. Janet Napolitano has had four years to address these issues and we have the worst crime rate in the nation, a third of our schools are failing and the economy is good because we have ignored her economic plans.

The biggest difference between you and your opponent?

Core values. I believe in secure borders, limited government, lower taxes, accountability and choice in education and strong families. Janet Napolitano has largely ducked the major issues affecting our state while pouring money into government without real accountability.

Who is Len Munsil?

A regular guy who grew up in Arizona, loves the state, loves his family and his community, has a track record of excellent leadership and is willing to serve by providing effective, principled, visionary conservative leadership for our state.