2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

The 2008 congressional elections in Arizona were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Arizona in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential election. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected would serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011.

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04)

All 8 Arizona seats to the United States House of Representatives
Turnout77.69%
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election 4 4
Seats won 5 3
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 1,055,305 1,021,798
Percentage 45.5% 44.0%
Swing Increase 3.46% Decrease 7.62%

Arizona had eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of four Republicans and four Democrats. Two of the Democrats had taken Republican seats in 2006, and were at risk during the 2008 election. The delegation elected in 2008 consisted of three Republicans and five Democrats: district 1 changed party (from open Republican to Democratic), although CQ Politics had forecast districts 1, 3, 5 and 8 to be at some risk for the incumbent party.[1]

The party primary elections were held September 2, 2008.[2]

Overview

Statewide

Party Candidates Votes Seats
No.  % No. +/–  %
Democratic 8 1,055,305 45.47 5 Increase 1 62.50
Republican 8 1,021,798 44.03 3 Decrease 1 37.50
Libertarian 8 61,100 2.63 0 Steady 0.0
Independent 4 9,411 0.41 0 Steady 0.0
Green 2 8,080 0.35 0 Steady 0.0
Valid votes 2,155,694 92.88
Invalid or blank votes 165,157 7.12
Total 30 2,320,851 100.0 8 Steady 100.0
Popular vote
Democratic
45.47%
Republican
44.03%
Libertarian
2.63%
Green
0.35%
Other
0.41%
House seats
Democratic
62.50%
Republican
37.50%

By district

Results of the 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona by district:

District Democratic Republican Others Total Result
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
District 1155,79155.88%109,92439.43%13,0724.69%278,787100.0%Democratic gain
District 2125,61137.16%200,91459.44%11,4983.40%338,023100.0%Republican hold
District 3115,75942.07%148,80054.08%10,6023.85%275,161100.0%Republican hold
District 489,72172.11%26,43521.25%8,2716.65%124,427100.0%Democratic hold
District 5149,03353.16%122,16543.57%9,1673.27%280,365100.0%Democratic hold
District 6115,45734.55%208,58262.42%10,1373.03%334,176100.0%Republican hold
District 7124,30463.26%64,42532.79%7,7603.95%196,489100.0%Democratic hold
District 8179,62954.72%140,55342.82%8,0842.46%328,266100.0%Democratic hold
Total1,055,30545.47%1,021,79844.03%78,59110.50%2,155,694100.0%

District 1

2008 Arizona's 1st congressional district election

 
Nominee Ann Kirkpatrick Sydney Hay
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 155,791 109,924
Percentage 55.9% 39.4%

County results
Kirkpatrick:      50–60%      60–70%     70–80%
Hay:      40–50%     50-60%

U.S. Representative before election

Rick Renzi
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Ann Kirkpatrick
Democratic

Incumbent Rick Renzi, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with only 52% of the vote compared to 44% for his Democratic opponent Sedona civil rights attorney Ellen Simon in 2006; George W. Bush won 54% of the vote in this northern Arizona district in 2004. The district had a PVI of R+2.

Republican primary

In August 2007, Renzi announced he would not seek re-election,[3] four months after the FBI raided Renzi's family business as part of a federal investigation.

In the Republican primary, Sydney Ann Hay, mining industry lobbyist[4] who ran unsuccessfully in 2002, earned a narrower-than-expected victory against Sandra L. B. Livingstone, Tom Hansen and Barry Hall. State Representative Bill Konopnicki, former Navajo County Supervisor Lewis Tenney and State Senator Tom O'Halleran were other potential candidates.

Results

Republican primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sydney Ann Hay 17,825 39.1
Republican Sandra Livingstone 15,621 34.2
Republican Tom Hansen 7,847 17.2
Republican Barry Hall 2,743 6.0
Republican Preston Korn (Withdrew) 1,596 3.5
Total votes 45,632 100.0

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, Ann Kirkpatrick, a former State Representative and prosecutor, won by almost 15 points, against publisher and former Phoenix TV newscaster Mary Kim Titla, mental health advocate Jeffrey Brown and attorney Howard Shanker. (Simon had announced her intention to run again, but then dropped out in May 2007, citing personal reasons.)

Endorsements

Kirkpatrick earned endorsements from leaders in government, education, tribal communities, first responders, and other groups. Among those endorsing her were: Governor Janet Napolitano, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, U.S. Representative Harry Mitchell, the Arizona Education Association, the Arizona Police Association, the Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, Navajo County School Superintendent Linda Morrow, county sheriffs in Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Navajo, and Pinal Counties, Coconino County School Superintendent Cecilia Owen, Pinal County School Superintendent Orlenda Roberts, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., San Carlos Apache Tribal Chair Wendsler Nosie, White Mountain Apache Tribal Chair Ronnie Lupe, former Navajo Nation President Dr. Peterson Zah, and many other tribal leaders.[6] The Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper, and the White Mountain Independent and the Arizona Daily Sun, two of the most widely read newspapers in the district, also endorsed her candidacy.

Libertarian primary

Thane Eichenauer ran unopposed.

Independents

Independent Brent Maupin, a Sedona engineer and businessman.

Campaign

Kirkpatrick ran on a platform of tax cuts for 86 million middle-class families, making health care affordable and accessible to all, and encouraging renewable energy projects to end America's dependence on foreign energy and create jobs for rural Arizona. She supports increasing teacher salaries, expanding SCHIP, and adding a division to the army. Kirkpatrick is known as an advocate for early education, Native Americans, and law enforcement. As a member of the Arizona State Legislature, Kirkpatrick was known for her willingness to work across party lines.

Predictions

The Cook Political Report ranked this race as 'Likely Democratic,' and CQ Politics, the Rothenberg Political Report, and The New York Times all forecast the race as 'Leans Democratic'.

Results

Kirkpatrick's victory resulted in a House gain for Democrats.

Arizona's 1st congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ann Kirkpatrick 155,791 55.9
Republican Sydney Hay 109,924 39.4
Independent Brent Maupin 9,394 3.4
Libertarian Thane Eichenauer 3,678 1.3
Total votes 278,787 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

District 2

2008 Arizona's 2nd congressional district election

 
Nominee Trent Franks John Thrasher
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 200,914 125,611
Percentage 59.4% 37.2%

County results
Thrasher:      60-70%     70-80%
Franks:      50–60%     60-70%

U.S. Representative before election

Trent Franks
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Trent Franks
Republican

Incumbent Republican Trent Franks, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 58.6% of the vote in 2006.

Republican primary

Franks ran unopposed.

Democratic primary

In what was essentially a rematch of the previous election, Franks was challenged by Democrat John Thrasher(campaign website)

Libertarian primary

Powell Gammill ran unopposed.

Green primary

William Crum ran unopposed.

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Results

Arizona's 2nd congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Trent Franks (incumbent) 200,914 59.4
Democratic John Thrasher 125,611 37.2
Libertarian Powell Gammill 7,882 2.3
Green William Crum 3,616 1.1
Total votes 338,023 100.0
Republican hold

District 3

2008 Arizona's 3rd congressional district election

 
Nominee John Shadegg Bob Lord
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 148,800 115,759
Percentage 54.1% 42.1%

County results
Shadegg:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election

John Shadegg
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

John Shadegg
Republican

Incumbent Republican John Shadegg, who had represented the district since 1995, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.3% of the vote in 2006. This district was previously held by Arizona's junior United States senator, Republican Jon Kyl.

Republican primary

An outspoken conservative, Shadegg has consistently been re-elected in this Republican-leaning district (Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+6) in the northern Phoenix suburbs which gave George W. Bush 57.9 percent of the vote in 2004. However, Lord outraised Shadegg in the first quarter of 2007 and even had more cash on hand compared to Shadegg, which resulted in an unusually competitive race. However, Shadegg's campaign team noted that Shadegg's funds are smaller than expected due to Shadegg donating most of the money in 2006 to fellow Republicans in a last-ditch, albeit lackluster attempt to retain control of Congress.[8]

On February 11, 2008, incumbent Shadegg announced he would not run for an eighth term, saying that he wanted to "seek a new challenge in a different venue to advance the cause of freedom." However, on February 21, Shadegg retracted the statement and announced he would seek re-election.[9] Over 140 Republicans in Congress had signed a letter asking Shadegg to keep his seat.[10] Although it was speculated that he would run for the United States Senate if John McCain were to become president,[11] Shadegg had expressed his intention to leave public life and return to the private sector[10] before changing his mind.

Steve May a former state representative announced a run for the seat[12] but withdrew from the race when Shadegg announced he would seek another term after all.[13]

Democratic primary

Tax attorney Bob Lord (campaign website) ran for the Democrats

Libertarian primary

Michael Shoen ran for the Libertarians.

Independents

Running as Independents were Mark Yannone (campaign website), Annie Loyd and Edwin Winkler.

Annie Loyd, running on a platform of "transpartisan politics", has been described by The Arizona Republic as a moderate. Born in South Dakota and a community activist in Los Angeles, Loyd is a 15-year resident of Phoenix. She has also appeared at Columbia University.[14] Shadegg's 2006 Democratic opponent, consultant Herb Paine, announced his support for Loyd.

However none of the Independents made the ballot.

Campaign

The race was covered in the East Valley Tribune and showed a 27% independent voter population and noted increased registration of independents, in a district of 600,000 people cutting across urban Phoenix into rural parts of northern Maricopa county. The Federal Elections Commission reports that as of December 31, 2007, Shadegg had raised over $1,000,000, Lord over $600,000, and Loyd $26,000. May and Winkler had not reported any fundraising.[15][16]

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Leans Republican'.

Results

Arizona's 3rd congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Shadegg (incumbent) 148,800 54.1
Democratic Bob Lord 115,759 42.1
Libertarian Michael Shoen 10,602 3.9
Total votes 275,161 100.0
Republican hold

District 4

2008 Arizona's 4th congressional district election

 
Nominee Ed Pastor Don Karg
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 89,721 26,435
Percentage 72.1% 21.3%

County results
Pastor:      70-80%

U.S. Representative before election

Ed Pastor
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Ed Pastor
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Ed Pastor, who had represented the district since 1991, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 72.5% of the vote in 2006.

Democratic primary

Pastor ran unopposed.

Republican primary

Don Karg ran unopposed.

Libertarian primary

Joe Cobb ran unopposed.

Green primary

Rebecca DeWitt ran unopposed.

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Arizona's 4th congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Pastor (incumbent) 89,721 72.1
Republican Don Karg 26,435 21.3
Green Rebecca DeWitt 4,464 3.6
Libertarian Joe Cobb 3,807 3.1
Total votes 124,427 100.00
Democratic hold

District 5

2008 Arizona's 5th congressional district election

 
Nominee Harry Mitchell David Schweikert
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 149,033 122,165
Percentage 53.2% 43.6%

County results
Mitchell:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election

Harry Mitchell
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Harry Mitchell
Democratic

This district has been represented by Democrat Harry Mitchell since 2007.

Mitchell unseated conservative Republican J.D. Hayworth by 50% to 47% in this Republican-leaning district (Cook PVI: R+4) in the northeastern Phoenix suburbs that gave George W. Bush 54% of the vote in 2004. The largely Republican nature of this district made a tough 2008 race certain, though Mitchell, who has a government complex in Tempe named after him, had won a lot of tough elections in the past.

Republican primary

Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert won the Republican primary against Susan Bitter Smith, former State Representative Laura Knaperek,[17] State Representative Mark Anderson, Jim Ogsbury and Lee Gentry.

Libertarian primary

Warren Severin also ran.

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Leans Democratic'.

Results

Arizona's 5th congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry Mitchell (incumbent) 149,033 53.2
Republican David Schweikert 122,165 43.6
Libertarian Warren Severin 9,158 3.3
Independent Ralph Hughes (write-in) 9 0.0
Total votes 280,365 100.0
Democratic hold

District 6

2008 Arizona's 6th congressional district election

 
Nominee Jeff Flake Rebecca Schneider
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 208,582 115,457
Percentage 62.4% 34.6%

County results
Flake:      50–60%     60–70%

U.S. Representative before election

Jeff Flake
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Jeff Flake
Republican

Incumbent Republican Jeff Flake, who had represented the district since 2001, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 74.8% of the vote in 2006. There was no Democratic candidate in this heavily Republican district in 2004 or 2006. George W. Bush won with 64% here in 2004.

Republican primary

Jeff Flake (campaign website), who was perhaps best known for his opposition to pork barrel projects and advocacy for earmark reform ran unopposed.

Democratic primary

Richard Grayson, an Apache Junction resident who ran as a write-in candidate in Florida's 4th congressional district in 2004, filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for this seat as a Democrat, as did trucking-firm account manager Chris Gramazio. Rebecca Schneider (campaign website), a library supervisor from Mesa, also filed and ended up defeating Gramazio in the Democratic primary.

Libertarian primary

Rick Biondi ran as a Libertarian.

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Results

Arizona's 6th congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Flake (incumbent) 208,582 62.4
Democratic Rebecca Schneider 115,457 34.6
Libertarian Rick Biondi 10,137 3.0
Total votes 334,176 100.0
Republican hold

District 7

2008 Arizona's 7th congressional district election

 
Nominee Raúl Grijalva Joseph Sweeney
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 124,304 64,425
Percentage 63.3% 32.8%

County results
Grijalva:      40-50%      50–60%     70-80%
Sweeney:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election

Raúl Grijalva
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Raúl Grijalva
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Raúl Grijalva, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 61.1% of the vote in 2006.

Democratic primary

Raúl Grijalva ran unopposed.

Republican primary

Milton Chewning (campaign website), who previously ran for this seat in 2006, lost to Joseph Sweeney in the primary.

Libertarian primary

Raymond Patrick Petrulsky ran unopposed.

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Arizona's 7th congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Raúl Grijalva (incumbent) 124,304 63.3
Republican Joseph Sweeney 64,425 32.8
Libertarian Raymond Petrulsky 7,755 4.0
Independent Harley Meyer (write-in) 5 0.0
Total votes 196,489 100.0
Democratic hold

District 8

2008 Arizona's 8th congressional district election

 
Nominee Gabby Giffords Tim Bee
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 179,629 140,553
Percentage 54.7% 42.8%

County results
Giffords:      40–50%     50–60%
Bee:     50-60%

U.S. Representative before election

Gabby Giffords
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Gabby Giffords
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Gabby Giffords, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. She was elected with 54.3% of the vote in 2006.

Bush narrowly won here with 52% to 47% for John Kerry in 2004.

Democratic primary

Giffords ran unopposed.

Republican primary

State Senate President Tim Bee ran unopposed.

Libertarian primary

Libertarian Paul Davis ran unopposed.

Independents

Derek Tidball (campaign website) also ran.

Campaign

Giffords attracted a lot of attention in late May and June due to the shuttle flight of her husband Mark E. Kelly, who served as commander of the space shuttle's STS-124 mission.[18]

Bee's campaign generated state and national press coverage when his campaign co-chair, former Congressman Jim Kolbe, resigned and withdrew his support in early July.[19][20][21] Kolbe had held the seat for 22 years until Giffords took office in 2007.

On July 13, the Arizona Republic summarized the race: "Giffords has proved adept at fundraising and is considered a rising star in Democratic circles. But Bee is one of the state's highest-profile political figures and has enlisted the support of some heavy-hitters, including President Bush, the headliner of a Tucson fundraiser planned for later this month." Giffords has the "advantages of incumbency. Plus, Bee is just off a tough legislative term in which he drew heavy criticism for his role in a state budget deal and the referral of an anti-gay-marriage proposal to the November ballot. Bee remains a popular political figure, and registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 14,000 in the district."[1] On July 16, the Arizona Republic reported that freshman Congresswoman Giffords "has proved to be the most successful fundraiser among the state's House delegation and now has more than $2 million in her campaign coffers."[22]

Polling

Bee (R) vs Giffords (D-i) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com

Predictions

CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Leans Democratic'.

Results

Arizona's 8th congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gabby Giffords (incumbent) 179,629 54.7
Republican Tim Bee 140,553 42.8
Libertarian Paul Davis 8,081 2.5
Independent Paul Price (write-in) 3 0.0
Total votes 328,266 100.0
Democratic hold

References

Specific
  1. Arizona's most competitive congressional races The Arizona Republic, July 13, 2008.
  2. 2008 Election Information Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine Arizona Secretary of State.
  3. Arizona's Rep. Rick Renzi to retire Associated Press August 23, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  4. Hay seeks GOP nomination for Renzi seat Associated Press August 30, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  5. "STATE OF ARIZONA OFFICIAL CANVASS" (PDF). azsos.gov. Arizona Secretary of State. September 15, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  6. Ann Kirkpatrick for Arizona Archived October 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "STATE OF ARIZONA OFFICIAL CANVASS: 2008 General Election - November 4, 2008" (PDF). Secretary of State of Arizona. December 1, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  8. Kraushaar, Josh (February 21, 2008). "Shadegg Un-retires, Will Run For Re-election". The Politico. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  9. Hensley, J.J (February 14, 2008). "Shadegg is asked to stay". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
  10. Pershing, Ben (February 19, 2008). "Will McCain Quit the Senate?". The Washington Post.
  11. Newton, Casey (February 13, 2008). "Ex-lawmaker Steve May to seek Shadegg seat". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  12. Associated Press (March 20, 2008). "May drops out of GOP primary race against Shadegg". azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  13. Astor, Maggie (February 4, 2006). "Independent Calls for End to Bipartisan Politics". Columbia Spectator.
  14. "Federal Elections Commission Disclosure Page for Annie Loyd". Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  15. "OpenSecrets.org". Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  16. Archived October 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Mary Ann Akers, Rep. Giffords's Spacey Party Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post, July 16, 2008.
  18. Evan Brown, Kolbe, Bush put AZ-8 back in national spotlight Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine PolitickerAZ.com, July 7, 2008.
  19. Bill Hess, Kolbe out of Bee’s hive; Bush set for fundraiser The Sierra Vista Herald, July 4, 2008.
  20. Alexander Burns, Bee Gets Stung By Leading Campaign Backer CBS News, July 7, 2008.
  21. Matthew Benson, Incumbents lead money race The Arizona Republic, July 16, 2008.
General
Preceded by
2006 elections
United States House elections in Arizona
2008
Succeeded by
2010 elections
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