Activists push voter registration drives for Republicans in rural La Paz County

Tex Polesky and bksolomon were out in rural La Paz County registering voters, betting that a county with only 11 precincts and 12,535 active voters can still be moved by a small Republican push in places like Parker, Quartzsite and the surrounding unincorporated stretches.

The numbers explain why activists are paying attention. In the Arizona Secretary of State’s October 2025 registration report, La Paz County listed 5,916 Republicans, 2,055 Democrats, 77 Libertarians, 161 No Labels voters, 10 Green Party voters and 4,316 voters registered as other. Republican registration in the county rose from 5,860 in April 2025 to 5,916 in October, a modest gain that matters in one of Arizona’s least populous and most rural counties.

That registration edge has not always translated into high participation. In La Paz County’s July 30, 2024 primary, Republicans cast 2,391 ballots out of 3,126 total ballots cast, and county officials later reported 11,933 active registered voters and 37.3% turnout. For organizers trying to build a larger Republican margin, the challenge is not just persuasion. It is registration, follow-through and getting people to the polls in a county where small changes can move the totals.

Andy Biggs, who is running for Arizona governor in the July 21, 2026 Republican primary, is one of the candidates expected to benefit if the outreach works. His campaign has said he has the endorsement of President Trump and the late Charlie Kirk, signals aimed at the party’s conservative base as registration and turnout efforts continue across rural Arizona.

La Paz County’s political map adds to the stakes. The county’s elections office says it administers primary and general elections and also handles elections for Parker, Quartzsite, school districts and other special districts through intergovernmental agreements. That means voter-registration work in the county reaches beyond one race or one ballot line and into the local offices that shape daily life in these communities.

The county’s profile also gives the effort broader context. The University of Arizona has said La Paz was among the Arizona counties that lost population between 2010 and 2020, leaving election organizers to work in a smaller and more dispersed electorate. Even so, Arizona’s voter-registration statistics for April 2026 show Republicans statewide outnumber Democrats, 1,542,604 to 1,221,223, and La Paz remains a county where GOP energy can be measured precinct by precinct.

La Paz County is also part of Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Paul Gosar. For activists, that makes every added registration line part of a larger test: whether rural turnout can still be built one voter at a time, in a county where the margin of effort is often as important as the margin of victory.