Quick facts about LUCHA
About LUCHA: Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) organizes working-class people of color to take action on the issues most important to them and advance the causes of social and economic justice for all. LUCHA believes that those who are closest to a problem are best equipped to solve it. Working in collaboration with its sister organization, Arizona Center for Empowerment, LUCHA incorporates leadership development with grassroots, issue-based campaigns, advocacy, and civic engagement to create an Arizona in which every resident has an equal voice in determining policy and shaping the decision-making bodies that will govern communal life.
Read the New York Times piece about their history here.
In 2022, LUCHA knocked on more than 449,000 doors, made over 126,000 calls to Arizona voters, and engaged over 150 volunteers across the state. LUCHA’s efforts in the 2022 election cycle brought the highest number of Latinx voters to the polls in the history of the Grand Canyon State.
Investments in Arizona paid off with the election of Democrats Katie Hobbs, Adrian Fontes, and Kris Mayes as Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, respectively, staving off the very real possibility of radical MAGA election-deniers holding these key statewide offices. LUCHA also supported U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, who won his bid for re-election in 2022 with a higher margin of victory than his 2020 special election win. In total, 19 of LUCHA’s endorsed candidates and propositions were successful in 2022, and the organization is well-positioned for future gains.
2023-24 Action Plan:
Looking toward 2024, LUCHA is strategizing to continue winning at the state and federal level, targeting state legislative seats and several congressional districts as well as supporting Ruben Gallego for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Kyrsten Sinema.
LUCHA is collaborating closely with the new Governor’s administration to ensure extreme bills from the razor-thin GOP legislative majority are vetoed before becoming law. LUCHA will continue to fight legislation and ballot measures, such as those attempting to undermine democracy and voting rights, with a robust civic engagement organizing effort, supported by geographic expansion into more rural areas in Cochise, Coconino, Pima, Santa Cruz and Mohave Counties.
Building on prior years’ successes, LUCHA is also supporting paid family medical leave for state workers and housing affordability. LUCHA is a partner in the People First Economy Campaign and will expand the fight for paid family medical leave, affordable housing, and affordable childcare for everyone with the ultimate goal of building a more just economic system with a racially unbiased system of taxation.
LUCHA will continue to advocate in rural communities by accessing federal dollars and showcasing successful models of good governance. In addition, LUCHA will launch new organizing efforts around immigration and environmental justice and endorse a candidate in the 2023 Tucson mayoral race.
Flip the Vote’s Support Means:
The funding provided by Flip the Vote’s donors will play a key role in LUCHA’s expansion into additional counties and rural areas that have large indigenous and Latinx populations. Flip the Vote’s contributions will enable LUCHA to support the formation of grassroots businesses in rural areas that will use LUCHA’s established organizing programming, keeping dollars in the local community instead of contracting with national vendors for field organizing programs.
LUCHA’s investment in voter engagement and turnout efforts will be critical in 2024 to secure Arizona’s 11 electoral college votes and keep the U.S. Senate in Democratic control. In addition, a strong Democratic showing in Arizona has the potential to flip control of the state legislature.