The bulk of this collection documents the post Goldwater period (Barry Goldwater's 1986 retirement from the U.S. Senate), after which Goldwater exerted less direct influence upon the activities of the state Party. Among the collection's strengths are documentation of reapportionment and redistricting, grass roots political activities, fundraising, the selection of local, state, and national delegates, and local and national political campaign material. This collection is arranged in three series and alphabetically within each series.
Identification:
FM MSS 90
Language:
Material in English
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Greater Arizona Collection P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Historical Note
The election year 1952 was a landmark for the Arizona Republican Party. Barry M. Goldwater was elected to the U.S. Senate, John Rhodes was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Howard Pyle was elected Governor. Prior to these elections, the last Arizona Republican to have served in Congress was Senator Ralph Cameron, whose term ended in 1927. The election results were remarkable considering that registered voters in the Democratic Party outnumbered those in the Republican Party by a margin of 4 to 1. This watershed election not only signaled the resurgence of the Party's fortunes in Arizona but was also a harbinger of change in voting patterns elsewhere in the U.S. Subsequent Republican Governors elected between the 1950s and 1990s were Paul Fannin, Jack Williams, Evan Mecham, J. (John) Fife Symington III, and Jane Dee Hull.
Paul Fannin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1964 and served two terms. Sam Steiger was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1967. Between the 1970s and the 2000s the Arizona Republican Party also sent John B. Conlan, Bob Stump, Eldon Rudd, John McCain, Jim Kolbe, John Kyle, J. D. Hayworth, John Shadegg, Matt Salmon and, Jay Rhodes to national offices while gradually gaining equity in registration with the Arizona Democratic Party. The Party also succeeded in electing many Republicans to the Arizona State Legislature and to local offices, making it the dominant political party in the State.
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of this collection documents the post Goldwater period (Barry Goldwater's 1986 retirement from the U.S. Senate), after which Goldwater exerted less direct influence upon the activities of the state Party. Among the collection's strengths are documentation of reapportionment and redistricting, grass roots political activities, fundraising, the selection of local, state, and national delegates, and local and national political campaign material. This collection is arranged in three series and alphabetically within each series.
The folders in Series I: Arizona Republican Party, 1962-2009 reflect the original headings created by Arizona Republican Party staff. There are many gaps in the records as party files are reportedly purged every two years when the Party leadership changes. With the exception of Mike Minnaugh's Chairmanship in the late 1990s, there are few Party Chairman files with correspondence and memos documenting policy making and campaign strategies. Only a few issues of the Party's newspapers, the Arizona Republican Voice and the Arizona Republican, are found in this collection.
Series II: Photographs, 1952–2001 contains an extensive collection of original photographs showing Arizona Republican Party officials, delegates, candidates, office holders, meetings, dinners, receptions, and various political events from the 1970s to 2000. Also included are photographic files of national political figures including Dwight D. Eisenhower and family, Richard M. Nixon and family, Mary Dent Crisp, Spiro Agnew, Henry Cabot Lodge, Gerald M. Ford, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Dan Quayle dating from 1952 to the 1990s.
Series III: National Republican Party, 1952-2000 was compiled by Sylvia Barnes, a longtime Arizona Republican Party volunteer and activist, who attended Republican National Conventions for almost fifty years and was an inveterate collector of campaign literature and memorabilia. She donated these extensive materials to the Arizona Republican Party. The 1952 and 1956 Presidential Campaigns are particularly well-documented. Barnes was a staff member of the 1952 Eisenhower Presidential Campaign while residing in New York City. These staff files show campaign schedules and appearances.
A box of binders containing Arizona Republican Party Executive Committee minutes (1983-1998) and other files was discovered and added to the collection on April 23, 2012 (Box 18).
Arrangement
This collection consists of eighteen boxes divided into three series:
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.
Access Terms
Personal Name(s)
Bayless, Betty.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969.
Goldwater, Barry M. (Barry Morris), 1909-1998.
Hull, Jane Dee, 1935-.
McCain, John, 1936-.
Minnaugh, Mike (Michael J.), 1949-.
Rosenzweig, Harry, 1907-.
Salmon, Matt (Matthew James), 1958-.
Corporate Name(s)
Arizona Hispanic Republican Council.
League of United Latin American Citizens.
National Republican Party (U.S.).
Republican National Committee (U.S.).
Republican Party (Ariz.) -- Archives.
Republican Party (Ariz.) -- By-laws.
Republican Party (Ariz.) -- History -- 20th century.
Republican Party (Ariz.). African American Committee.
Republican Party (Ariz.). Executive Committee.
Republican Party (Ariz.). Special Committee On Civil Rights.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- Officials and employees -- Arizona.
Young Republican National Federation (U.S.).
Geographic Name(s)
Arizona -- History -- 1912-1950.
Arizona -- History -- 1951-.
Arizona -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
Subject(s)
Apportionment (Election law) -- Arizona
Ballot.
Campaign literature -- United States.
Elections -- United States.
Fund raising -- United States.
Lobbyists.
Party affiliation -- United States.
Political participation -- United States.
Political parties -- Arizona -- Archival resources.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1952.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1956.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1960.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1964.
Religious right -- United States.
Representative government and representation -- United States.
The bulk of this collection was donated to the Arizona Historical Foundation by the Arizona Republican Party Headquarters in 2006. Serial donations from various Party members were also received in the 1970s and 1980s.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Arizona Republican Party Records, FM MSS 90, Arizona State University Library.
Provenance
The Arizona Historical Foundation transferred these materials to the Arizona Collection in 2012.
