Harry Mitchell

• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Mitchell was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition who emphasize bipartisanship and cooperation with members of other parties. His voting record has been described as blue dog[2] and centrist.[3] He has voted for legislation largely supported by Democrats in Congress, such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Although he expressed reservations about many of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,[4] he ultimately voted for it. Stating it was a "matter of principle," he declined coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program in favor of Medicare.[4] He voted for the 2009 stimulus plan[5] and has also stated he supports extending the Bush tax cuts.[6]

In the spring of 2006, a poll commissioned by the Arizona Democratic Party and the DCCC, was leaked; the poll showed Republican J.D. Hayworth would be in a tight race against any of a handful of Democratic opponents; the district was rated "Toss-Up" by the Cook Political Report. Mitchell was pressured by several Arizona politicians and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, then head of the DCCC, to enter the race against Hayworth.

Mitchell stepped down as state party chairman on April 7. He entered the race on April 10 and raised a total of $213,209 for his campaign in less than two weeks.

By of the end of June 2006, Mitchell had nearly $700,000 on hand. An October 16 SurveyUSA poll showed Hayworth leading Mitchell by only 48% to 45%. On October 27, 2006, the Arizona Republic departed from its past endorsements of Hayworth and instead endorsed Mitchell. The polls demonstrated a slow, but deliberate, growth in the strength of Mitchell's popularity over the next few weeks.

On the evening of November 7, election day, most national and state news media outlets declared Mitchell the winner. However, Hayworth refused to concede, citing the significant number of outstanding absentee and early-voting ballots. As the results were updated each day, Hayworth never demonstrated the significant gains he anticipated. Hayworth conceded on November 14, though Mitchell did not acknowledge his victory until November 22. Mitchell ended up winning by more than 8,000 votes.

When he took office on January 3, 2007, Mitchell became the first Anglo Democrat to represent a significant portion of Phoenix since Sam Coppersmith and Karan English left office in 1995.

Mitchell was reelected in 2008 with 53% of the popular vote over his Republican challenger, former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert.

Mitchell lost his bid for reelection to Republican nominee David Schweikert.

This district has traditionally leaned Republican (R+5 according to analyst Charlie Cook). Thus, according to many analysts, Mitchell faced a difficult reelection campaign. Considering that his district was won by Bush in '04, but not Obama in '08, CQ Politics rated his district as tossup. Sarah Palin had also set a goal of replacing Mitchell with a "common sense conservative."[7]

Mitchell was considered a possible candidate for the U.S. House in 2012 in his former district, which had been renumbered as the 9th district and made slightly more competitive. However, he decided against running.[8]