But as Arizona voters head for the primary on Aug. 30, they will have nine openly atheist or humanist candidates before them — more than in any other state. Most have run — and lost — before. But this year, a couple have a fighting chance, at least at the local level or state level, and await the voters’ first judgment.
And while their platforms are widely divergent — one candidate promotes legalizing marijuana and another pair are animal rights activists — they have one thing in common. All have hired a small, Tempe-based startup communications firm that highlights, rather than hides, their secular values.
“We are trying to be the serial entrepreneurs of the humanist movement,” said Evan Clark, 27, one-half of Spectrum Experience, the humanist-based firm that manages these candidates.
