Dr. Richard Carmona

Party: Democrat
State: Arizona
What you need to know: Dr. Carmona is a serious contender for the seat of retiring nuclear super-hawk Senator Jon Kyl (R).

Democrat - Open Seat
Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World

Dr. Richard Carmona has an incredible life story that is so filled with honors and accomplishments that he is drawing widespread support in his race for Senate from Arizona:

• Born in poverty, he became Surgeon General of the United States.
• Two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, a combat medical badge and numerous other decorations for his military service in Vietnam.
• Deputy sheriff, detective, department surgeon and SWAT Team Leader in Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
• Director of Southern Arizona’s first regional trauma care system.
• Professor of surgery, public health and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department surgeon.
• National SWAT Officer of the Year and recipient of the National Top Cop award
• 25 years dealing with border and immigration issues that are so important in Arizona.

This background makes Dr. Carmona a serious contender for the seat of retiring nuclear super-hawk Senator Jon Kyl (R). The state has not had an open seat Senate election since the 1990’s and has been considered a Republican stronghold. Dr. Carmona has the potential to turn that around by attracting independents and moderates, the key to victory in Arizona.

Carmona was born and raised in Harlem, where his parents struggled with addiction and substance abuse. Like many of his friends, Carmona dropped out of high school and had no real sense of direction. But his life began to turn around when in 1967 he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army.

He became a Vietnam War hero, attended college and medical school, where he received the prestigious gold-headed cane as the school's top graduate. Carmona’s career took off from there.

Carmona’s Puerto Rican background has special appeal to the state’s booming Latino vote turned off by the GOP’s rhetoric on immigration at the presidential level and especially in Arizona, where an illegal immigration crackdown has sharply divided the population. The state has seen steady growth in its Hispanic population, from 25% in 2000 to almost 30% in 2010.

In March, a Fox News poll gave President Obama a whopping five-to-one lead over Mitt Romney among Latinos, a group that gave President Bush about 40 percent of its vote in 2004 and John McCain a respectable 31 percent in 2008.

President Obama and other national Democrats strongly encouraged Carmona to run. Democrats have been working hard in recent years to make inroads in the southwestern states at the presidential and Congressional levels. Republican overreach in the state and its war on immigration make the state winnable for both Dr. Carmona and the President.

Republicans must go through what could be a bitter primary process. U.S. Representative Jeff Flake (R) was the first candidate to declare, but he is facing a primary challenge from wealthy developer Wil Cardon (R). Cardon has indicated he is willing to spend freely to win his party’s nomination, and began running television ads in mid-March.

Carmona will be the Democratic nominee. Early polls show him little known in the state, with fewer than 20% of the people able to judge him. But Carmona’s compelling personal story combined with many endorsements and a stronger fundraising total for the last quarter have underlined his potential to win in November.

Dr. Carmona is a strong supporter of sensible national security policies. He advocates ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and a new round of nuclear weapons reduction talks with Russia. He opposes building a new generation of nuclear weapons and advocates bringing U.S. troops home as promptly as possible while leaving behind a stable government.

Dr. Richard Carmona is truly a remarkable person with an amazing history. His election to the Senate would be a breakthrough for Democrats in Arizona and a quality addition to the U.S. Senate.

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