Email/Facebook: dawnmteo (at) gmail [dot] com
Twitter: @dawnteo

Dawn has been blogging for Huffington Post since 2008 when she covered Arizona elections throughout the primaries and the general election. She also covered the 2008 Democratic National Committee Campaign in Denver. As the HuffPost Eyes&Ears Arizona Politics Reporter, Dawn now provides reliable outside-the-beltway political coverage with a focus on Arizona politics.

A former lifelong Republican, Dawn spent fifteen years in corporate management before pursuing work in public advocacy in 2002. Before officially joining the Democratic Party in 2007, Dawn worked as the Public Relations Director of the United Steelworkers Association (USWA) Rescue American Jobs campaign, leading a 2004 tour across battleground states to increase awareness of economic justice issues. Dawn currently consults with nonprofits, helping them achieve strategic communications objectives and implement web advocacy.

Dawn was raised in the hills of Tennessee and has since lived all over the country. She and her husband currently reside in Arizona. They are small business owners and run a small manufacturing facility where every product is made in the USA. Dawn holds degrees in Psychology and Political Science. She has been involved in academic research in the areas of Social Psychology and Political Science and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Statistics and Religious Studies.

Blog Entries by Dawn Teo

Arizona Lawmaker Rants on House Floor About Bisexual School Principals in Charge of Restrooms

5 Comments | Posted November 24, 2009 | 05:31 PM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ -- With one of the worst budget crises in the nation, Arizona lawmakers have had a particularly stressful job this year. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer even called the capitol a "hell hole." On Monday, the stress was too much for one Arizona lawmaker who launched into a strange...

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Tea Partier In Dead Heat With McCain Starts Fundraising For Potential Senate Race

80 Comments | Posted November 24, 2009 | 11:50 AM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ -- Former Congressman J.D. Hayworth might just be Arizona's next senator. The local radio personality has publicly toyed with the idea of running against Senator John McCain in the Republican primary, but on Monday he took the first serious step toward a possible run by asking...

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Tea Parties Organizing, Training For 2010 Under The Radar

285 Comments | Posted November 22, 2009 | 10:34 PM (EST)


By Dawn Teo and Alex Brant-Zawadzki

The current consensus among pundits and politicos is that the Tea Party movement will fail in 2010 unless a national leader or organizational structure emerges. These predictions are based on fierce infighting and turf wars that have broken...

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John McCain Could Lose Senate Primary To Tea Party Supporter

702 Comments | Posted November 20, 2009 | 12:01 PM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ -- Rasmussen announced a new poll on Friday showing Senator John McCain may be in trouble at home where a polarized electorate has him facing constant criticism from both the left and the right.

The poll shows McCain tied with former Congressman and current talk radio host...

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Besieged by Critics

1 Comments | Posted November 20, 2009 | 11:33 AM (EST)


Unions and other left-leaning organizations typically oppose the big-business policies hawked in the halls of Congress by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. However, the U.S. Chamber is now being harshly criticized on the record by some unlikely sources: small businesses, medical professionals, and several of their own local chambers of...

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"Teabagger" Oxford Dictionary Word-of-the-Year Finalist

10 Comments | Posted November 18, 2009 | 01:36 PM (EST)


Lexicographers at the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected teabagger as one of the runner-ups to unfriend for 2009 Word of the Year.

The definition of teabagging, according to Oxford, is "a person who protests President Obama's tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known...

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Tea Partiers Punked, Prankster Calls For Ousting Of "European Immigrants" (VIDEO)

214 Comments | Posted November 17, 2009 | 12:02 PM (EST)


Saturday, anti-immigration Tea Parties were held in cities across the country to protest the upcoming comprehensive immigration reform bill. In Minnesota, Tea Partiers were punked by one speaker who got the crowd cheering about evicting European immigrants who "stole" this country.

Robert Erickson (reportedly an alias) used language...

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Tea Party Protest Turns Violent (VIDEO)

1040 Comments | Posted November 16, 2009 | 08:59 PM (EST)


Tea Partiers tussled with counter protesters during at least two of the nationwide anti-immigration Tea Party rallies on Saturday.

In Ft. Lauderdale, several Tea Partiers brawled in the street with counter protesters from the Florida Chapter of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER).

The video, which was...

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Making Tea for 2010: Tea Partiers Fight For The Right to Robocall

120 Comments | Posted November 15, 2009 | 07:18 PM (EST)


By Alex Brant-Zawadzki and Dawn Teo

If you thought the Tea Partiers screaming on your television set over the summer were obnoxious, wait until they're screaming into your phone in 2010 via robocalls -- that is, if the Federal Election Commission sides with Tea Partiers' bigwig beltway lawyers. Conservative operatives...

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VIDEO: Scuffle Ensues when Neo-Nazis Unfurl Hitler Flag at Tea Party Rally

1603 Comments | Posted November 15, 2009 | 12:00 AM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ -- A scuffle ensued Saturday when members of the National Socialist Movement (Neo-Nazis) found themselves shut out of an anti-immigration Tea Party protest at the Phoenix capitol.

American Citizens United, who organized the Phoenix Tea Party rally, told the Neo-Nazi group that racist messages were not welcome...

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Tempest in a Teabag: Tea Party Founder Announces He's (Re)Joining GOP

115 Comments | Posted November 11, 2009 | 06:48 PM (EST)


By Alex Brant-Zawadzki and Dawn Teo

After years of a love-hate relationship with the Republican Party, the man most often regarded as the founder of the Tea Parties, Eric Odom, announced Tuesday that he is re-joining the Republican Party. This after he posted an open letter to the Republican Party...

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Political Espionage in Virginia: A Facebook Funny or Critical Breach?

74 Comments | Posted October 26, 2009 | 04:18 AM (EST)


Virginia legislator Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock) not only stole campaign material from his opponent on Friday, he also had the hubris to brag about the achievement on his Facebook fan page.

 

"My opponent is dropping a negative mail piece in the mail in the morning...No need to worry about how...

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Constituents Demand Sen. Kyl Acknowledge Loved Ones' Suffering, Deaths

291 Comments | Posted October 23, 2009 | 10:28 AM (EST)


Over the last few weeks, Republican Senator Jon Kyl has taken heat for several gaffes and blunders, most notably when he stated, "I don't need maternity care," inciting Arizona women to protest at his local Senate office. Now his belief that people don't "die from lack of insurance"...

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Court Orders AZ Sheriff to Stop Forcing Prison Inmates to Pre-Pay for Abortions

Posted October 20, 2009 | 03:51 PM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for tent-based jails and local immigration raids, is making headlines again--this time for making inmates pre-pay for the cost of abortions, including security and transportation.

Judge Robert Oberbilling ruled Tuesday that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) must stop making...

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Congress "Getting Completely Crushed" With Over 100,000 Calls For Obama's Healthcare Reform

732 Comments | Posted October 20, 2009 | 02:24 PM (EST)


It's not even noon on the West Coast and already Capitol Hill staffers say they're getting nonstop calls from constituents in support of President Barack Obama's health insurance reform. At about 2:15 EST, Organizing for America (OFA) surpassed it's goal of 100,000 phone calls to Congress, each one imploring...

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AZ Sheriff Calls "Illegals" Diseased And Dirty

13 Comments | Posted October 20, 2009 | 01:08 AM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is making big news again for his office's controversial immigration enforcement efforts.

He made an appearance Monday on CNN alongside an official from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The official questioned Arpaio's office's criteria for detaining a suspected illegal immigrant, saying Arpaio's...

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Obama's Field Team Finally Hitting the Field

2 Comments | Posted October 19, 2009 | 03:17 PM (EST)


Almost a year after Barack Obama was elected President, Organizing for America (OFA) will launch its first major day of action, which it hopes will ultimately generate over 100,000 calls to Congress in a public push for Obama's health care reform plan. Obama will even kickoff the nationwide events by...

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Sen. Kyl Not Sure People Die From Lack of Health Insurance

432 Comments | Posted October 19, 2009 | 11:57 AM (EST)


On Meet the Press Sunday, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) was asked by host David Gregory if it is "a necessity to tackle the fact that there are more and more Americans who die because they don't have access to health insurance?"

Kyl responded with incredulity:

I'm not sure that it's...
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Not Snark: GOP Hispanic Organizer Renounces GOP to Recruit for GOP

39 Comments | Posted October 14, 2009 | 03:07 AM (EST)


PHOENIX, AZ -- DeeDee Blase founded "Somos Republicans" to recruit to Arizona Hispanics to the Repubican Party, but not the official state party or the official local party. Somos Republicans (which translates to "we are Repubicans") deliberately distances itself from all official Republican Party entities, citing the dissatisfaction of Hispanics...

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The GOP: Sore Losers - Need a Time-Out

29 Comments | Posted October 9, 2009 | 12:25 PM (EST)


This morning, the President of the United States of America was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Regardless of political affiliation or differences, this is an honor for which every American citizen should take pride.

But instead of taking a moment to share the pride and joy of being an American,...

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