2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

The 2006 congressional elections in Arizona were elections for Arizona's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred along with congressional elections nationwide on November 7, 2006. Arizona has eight seats, as apportioned during the 2000 United States census. Prior to the election, Republicans held six of the eight seats and Democrats held two.^[1] In the 8th district, Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe retired, leaving an open seat. Following the elections, Democrats gained two seats at the expense of the Republicans, who lost two.

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

← 2004 November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07) 2008 →
All 8 Arizona seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party Republican Democratic Libertarian Last election 6 2 0 Seats won 4 4 0 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 771,246 627,259 90,214 Percentage 51.7% 42.0% 6.0% Swing 8.6% 10.1% 1.7%
District results County results Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

Overview

Statewide

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Republican	8	771,246	51.65	4	2	50.00
	Democratic	7	627,259	42.01	4	2	50.00
	Libertarian	8	90,214	6.04	0		0.0
	Independent	1	4,408	0.30	0		0.0
	Write-in	4	24	0.00	0		0.0
Total		28	1,493,151	100.0	8		100.0

Popular vote Republican   51.65% Democratic   42.01% Libertarian   6.04% Other   0.30%

House seats Republican   50.00% Democratic   50.00%

By district

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

District	Republican		Democratic		Libertarian		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	105,646	51.75%	88,691	43.45%	9,802	4.80%	0	0.00%	204,139	100.0%	Republican hold
District 2	135,150	58.62%	89,671	38.89%	5,734	2.49%	5	0.00%	230,560	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	112,519	59.27%	72,586	38.23%	4,744	2.50%	0	0.00%	189,849	100.0%	Republican hold
District 4	18,627	23.92%	56,464	72.52%	2,770	3.56%	0	0.00%	77,861	100.0%	Democratic hold
District 5	93,815	46.44%	101,838	50.41%	6,357	3.15%	0	0.00%	202,010	100.0%	Democratic gain
District 6	152,201	74.80%	0	0.00%	51,285	25.20%	0	0.00%	203,486	100.0%	Republican hold
District 7	46,498	35.35%	80,354	61.09%	4,673	3.55%	0	0.00%	131,525	100.0%	Democratic hold
District 8	106,790	42.09%	137,655	54.25%	4,849	1.91%	4,427	1.74%	253,721	100.0%	Democratic gain
Total	771,246	51.65%	627,259	42.01%	90,214	6.04%	4,432	0.30%	1,493,151	100.0%

District 1

2006 Arizona's 1st congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Rick Renzi Ellen Simon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 105,646 88,691 Percentage 51.8% 43.5%

County results Renzi:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Simon:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Rick Renzi Republican Elected U.S. Representative Rick Renzi Republican

See also: Arizona's 1st congressional district

The normally Republican 1st district, based in the region north of Phoenix and Tucson and one of the largest districts by land area in the country, had been represented by Republican Rick Renzi since his initial election in 2002.

Republican primary

Renzi faced ethical problems in this election and was named by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as one of the most corrupt candidates running for office that year.^[2]

Candidates

Nominee

• Rick Renzi, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Renzi	37,644	100.0
Total votes			37,644	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ellen Simon, attorney and activist

Eliminated in primary

• Mike Caccioppoli, former radio correspondent^[4]
• Bob Donahue, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2004^[5]
• Susan Friedman, marketing director^[6]
• Vic McKerlie, dentist^[7]

Withdrawn

• Jack Jackson Jr., former state representative^[8]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ellen Simon	20,273	52.8
	Democratic	Susan Friedman	7,062	18.4
	Democratic	Bob Donahue	5,927	15.4
	Democratic	Mike Caccioppoli	3,635	9.5
	Democratic	Vic McKerlie	1,512	3.9
Total votes			38,409	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Schlosser, public relations manager^[9]

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	David Schlosser	606	100.0
Total votes			606	100.0

General election

Campaign

Attorney and community activist Ellen Simon emerged as the Democratic nominee, and though she initially trailed Renzi by wide margins she made up much a large amount of ground and closed the gap, causing many to consider the race competitive.^[10] Simon challenged Renzi to a series of eight debates, to which Renzi responded by attacking Simon's husband for being behind on child support payments to his ex-wife.^[11][12]

On 24 October, federal officials opened an inquiry into Renzi. It began when a local landowner filed a complaint that said that Renzi had pressured him into buying land he owned in exchange for his support on the landowner's petition with the federal government for a land swap. When that landowner refused, Renzi sold the land to a second company, who funneled the $200,000 payment ($322,000 adjusted for inflation) through a wine company his father owned.^[13] Fortunately for Renzi some of these details didn't come to light until after the election.

Endorsements

Rick Renzi (R)

Federal officials

• George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States^[14]

Ellen Simon (D)

State officials

• Albert Hale, state representative^[15]

Organizations

• EMILY's List^[16]

Newspapers and publications

• Esquire^[17]

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 2004 democratic presidential candidate^[18]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rick Renzi (R)	Ellen Simon (D)	David Schlosser (L)	Undecided
RT Strategies and Constituent Dynamics[19]	October 24–26, 2006	1,037 (LV)	±?%	48%	46%	4%	3%
Northern Arizona University[20]	October 20–22, 2006	403 (LV)	±5.0%	45%	32%	2%	21%
RT Strategies and Constituent Dynamics[21]	October 8–10, 2006	983 (LV)	±?%	46%	51%	2%	2%
Northern Arizona University[22]	September 15–17, 2006	403 (LV)	±5.0%	45%	32%	2%	21%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Tilt R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Tilt R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Lean R	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Tossup	November 7, 2006

Results

Renzi won re-election by an eight-point margin, despite the strong Democratic performance nationwide.

2006 Arizona’s 1st congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Renzi (incumbent)	105,646	51.8
	Democratic	Ellen Simon	88,691	43.5
	Libertarian	David Schlosser	9,802	4.8
Total votes			204,139	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

2006 Arizona's 2nd congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Trent Franks John Thrasher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 135,150 89,671 Percentage 58.6% 38.9%

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

See also: Arizona's 2nd congressional district

The heavily conservative and gerrymandered District 2, which owed its strange shape to the decision to not have Hopi and Navajo Native Americans represented by the same congressman due to historic tensions between them, had been represented by Republican Trent Franks since his initial election in 2002. Franks had been re-elected comfortably in the intervening years due to the conservative nature of the Phoenix suburbs that the district pulled from.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Trent Franks, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Franks (incumbent)	51,386	100.0
Total votes			51,386	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Thrasher, educator^[29]

Eliminated in primary

• Suchindran Chatterjee, engineer and educator^[29]
• Gene Scharer, educator and nominee for this seat in 2000^[29]

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Trasher	11,521	46.7
	Democratic	Gene Scharer	8,462	34.3
	Democratic	Suchindran Chatterjee	4,667	18.9
Total votes			24,650	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Powell Gamill, molecular biologist^[30]

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Powell Gammill	494	100.0
Total votes			494	100.0

Independents

• William Crum (write-in), blogger^[31]

General election

Campaign

Franks faced Democratic challenger John Thrasher, a music teacher who based his campaign around anti-corruption and immigration reform.^[32]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Safe R	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Safe R	November 7, 2006

Results

Franks comfortably won re-election, albeit by a smaller margin than usual.^[33]

2006 Arizona’s 2nd congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Franks (incumbent)	135,150	58.6
	Democratic	John Thrasher	89,671	38.9
	Libertarian	Powell Gammill	5,734	2.5
	Write-In	William Crum	5	0.0
Total votes			230,560	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2006 Arizona's 3rd congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee John Shadegg Herb Paine Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 112,519 72,586 Percentage 59.3% 38.2%

County results Shadegg:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election John Shadegg Republican Elected U.S. Representative John Shadegg Republican

See also: Arizona's 3rd congressional district

The staunchly conservative 3rd district, based in the northern portion of Phoenix and its northern suburbs, had been represented by incumbent Republican John Shadegg since his initial election in 1994.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Shadegg, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Shadegg (incumbent)	35,763	100.0
Total votes			35,763	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Herb Paine, consultant

Eliminated in primary

• Don Chilton, retired engineer^[34]
• Jim McCoy

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herb Paine	7,902	50.4
	Democratic	Don Chilton	7,759	49.5
	Democratic	Jim McCoy	12	0.1
Total votes			15,673	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mark Yannone, businessman^[35]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Mark Yannone	322	100.0
Total votes			322	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Herb Paine (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 2004 democratic presidential candidate^[36]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Safe R	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Safe R	November 7, 2006

Results

True to the district's conservative nature, Shadegg defeated Paine by a wide margin, though it was significantly reduced from his 2004 margin.

2006 Arizona’s 3rd congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Shadegg (incumbent)	112,519	59.3
	Democratic	Herb Paine	72,586	38.2
	Libertarian	Mark Yannone	4,744	2.5
Total votes			189,849	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

2006 Arizona's 4th congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Ed Pastor Don Karg Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 56,464 18,627 Percentage 72.5% 23.9%

County results Pastor:      70-80%

U.S. Representative before election Ed Pastor Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Ed Pastor Democratic

See also: Arizona's 4th congressional district

The heavily liberal 4th district, based in the southern portion of Phoenix and its southern suburbs, had a high Hispanic-American population. Incumbent Democrat Ed Pastor had represented this portion of the state since a special election in 1991 to replace Mo Udall.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ed Pastor, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Pastor (incumbent)	14,833	100.0
Total votes			14,833	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Don Karg, aerospace executive

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Karg	7,175	100.0
Total votes			7,175	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ronald Harders, write-in candidate^[28]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Ronald Harders	12	100.0
Total votes			12	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Safe D	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Safe D	November 7, 2006

Results

2006 Arizona’s 4th congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Pastor (incumbent)	56,464	72.5
	Republican	Don Karg	18,627	23.9
	Libertarian	Ronald Harders	2,770	3.6
Total votes			77,861	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 5

2006 Arizona's 5th congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Harry Mitchell J. D. Hayworth Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 101,838 93,815 Percentage 50.4% 46.4%

County results Mitchell:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election J. D. Hayworth Republican Elected U.S. Representative Harry Mitchell Democratic

See also: Arizona's 5th congressional district

The conservative-leaning 5th district included a small portion of Phoenix and many of its northeastern suburbs, such as Scottsdale and Tempe. Republican J. D. Hayworth had represented the area since his initial election in 1994 and many considered him to be vulnerable to a Democratic challenger.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• J. D. Hayworth, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	J. D. Hayworth (incumbent)	38,275	100.0
Total votes			38,275	100.0

Democratic primary

Harry Mitchell, a former Mayor of Tempe, State Senator, and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arizona, emerged as the Democrats' leading challenger to Hayworth.

Candidates

Nominee

• Harry Mitchell, chair of the Democratic Party of Arizona former state senator and former Mayor of Tempe

Endorsements

Harry Mitchell (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 2004 democratic presidential candidate^[37]

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry Mitchell	20,852	100.0
Total votes			20,852	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Warren Severin, businessman^[38]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Warren Severin	387	100.0
Total votes				100.0

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, September 1, 2006
• Complete video of debate, October 17, 2006

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	J. D. Hayworth (R)	Harry Mitchell (D)	Warren Severin (L)	Undecided
SurveyUSA[39]	October 29–31, 2006	643 (LV)	±3.9%	46%	48%	4%	2%
Bennett, Petts & Normington (D)[40]	October 18–19, 2006	400 (LV)	±?%	47%	46%	–	7%
SurveyUSA[41]	October 13–15, 2006	509 (LV)	±4.4%	48%	45%	5%	2%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)[42]	September 18–19, 2006	400 (LV)	±?%	52%	38%	–	10%
SurveyUSA[43]	September 15–17, 2006	590 (LV)	±4.1%	52%	40%	4%	4%
Grove Insight (D)[44]	September 12–14, 2006	400 (LV)	±?%	37%	40%	–	23%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)[42]	June 6–10, 2006	400 (LV)	±?%	49%	34%	–	17%
SurveyUSA[45]	May 5–8, 2006	600 (RV)	±4.1%	50%	45%	–	5%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Tilt D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Tilt D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Tossup	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Tossup	November 7, 2006

Results

The race was close for much of the fall, and Mitchell ultimately edged out Hayworth on election day by a four-point margin and was elected to his first term in Congress.

2006 Arizona’s 5th congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry Mitchell	101,838	50.4
	Republican	J. D. Hayworth (incumbent)	93,815	46.4
	Libertarian	Warren Severin	6,357	3.2
Total votes			202,010	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 6

2006 Arizona's 6th congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Jeff Flake Jason M. Blair Party Republican Libertarian Popular vote 152,201 51,285 Percentage 74.8% 25.2%

County results Flake:      70–80%

U.S. Representative before election Jeff Flake Republican Elected U.S. Representative Jeff Flake Republican

See also: Arizona's 6th congressional district

The heavily conservative 6th district, based in the eastern suburbs of Phoenix, had been represented by Republican Congressman Jeff Flake since his initial election in 2000.

Republican primary

Flake had built up a repertoire in Congress as being a staunch fiscal conservative and an anti-earmark advocate.

Candidates

Nominee

• Jeff Flake, incumbent U.S. Representative^[28]

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Flake (incumbent)	43,199	100.0
Total votes			43,199	100.0

Democratic primary

No Democrat filed.

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jason M. Blair^[28]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Jason M. Blair	19	100.0
Total votes			19	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Safe R	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Safe R	November 7, 2006

Results

Flake faced no Democratic opponent and was overwhelmingly re-elected to his fourth term in Congress over Libertarian candidate Jason Blair.

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Flake (incumbent)	152,201	74.8
	Libertarian	Jason M. Blair	51,285	25.2
Total votes			203,486	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7

2006 Arizona's 7th congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Raúl Grijalva Ron Drake Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 80,354 46,498 Percentage 61.1% 35.4%

County results Grijalva:      70–80% Drake:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Raúl Grijalva Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva Democratic

See also: Arizona's 7th congressional district

The heavily Democratic 7th district, based in southwestern Arizona and covering much of the state's border with Mexico, had a majority Hispanic-American population and had been represented by Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva since 2003.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Raúl Grijalva, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Raúl Grijalva	26,604	100.0
Total votes			26,604	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ron Drake, former Mayor of Avondale

Eliminated in primary

• Joseph Sweeney, perennial candidate^[46]

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Drake	11,521	57.7
	Republican	Joseph Sweeney	8,462	42.3
Total votes			19,983	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joe Cobb, political advisor and economic instructor^[47]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Joe Cobb	13	100.0
Total votes			13	100.0

General election

Grijalva faced the former Mayor of Avondale, Republican Ron Drake, and Libertarian write-in candidate Joe Cobb.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Safe D	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Safe D	November 7, 2006

Candidates

Results

Grijalva defeated both Drake and Cobb by a comfortable margin.

2006 Arizona’s 7th congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Raúl Grijalva (incumbent)	80,354	61.1
	Republican	Ron Drake	46,498	35.4
	Libertarian	Joe Cobb	4,673	3.6
Total votes			131,525	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 8

2006 Arizona's 8th congressional district election

← 2004 2008 →

Nominee Gabby Giffords Randy Graf Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 137,655 106,790 Percentage 54.3% 42.1%

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

U.S. Representative before election Jim Kolbe Republican Elected U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords Democratic

Main articles: 2006 Arizona's 8th congressional district election and Arizona's 8th congressional district

Long-serving Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe, a respected moderate and an openly gay man, declined to seek a seventh term in Congress and thus created an open seat. The marginally conservative 8th district, based in southeastern Arizona, had narrowly supported George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and the election was considered to be competitive.

Republican primary

Former State Representative Randy Graf, who was heavily conservative and had challenged Kolbe in the Republican primary in 2004, defeated the more moderate Steve Huffman, a state representative, in the primary, in spite of ad buys in favor of Huffman by national Republicans.^[48][49]

Candidates

Nominee

• Randy Graf, former state representative and candidate for this seat in 2004

Eliminated in primary

• Frank Antenori, U.S. Army veteran^[50]
• Mike Hellon, former chair of the Arizona Republican Party^[51]
• Steve Huffman, state representative
• Michael T. Jenkins, automobile repair shop owner^[52]

Declined

• Jim Kolbe, incumbent U.S. Representative^[53]

Endorsements

Steve Huffman

U.S. Representatives

• Jim Kolbe, incumbent U.S. Representative^[54]

Organizations

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce^[55]

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Randy Graf	27,063	41.6
	Republican	Steve Huffman	24,119	37.1
	Republican	Mike Hellon	9,095	14.0
	Republican	Frank Antenori	2,724	4.2
	Republican	Michael T. Jenkins	2,075	3.2
Total votes			65,076	100.0

Democratic primary

Former State Senator Gabby Giffords, a moderate Democrat, triumphed against several Democrats, the most notable of which was television anchor Patty Weiss,^[48] in the primary, and thus she and Graf faced off against each other in the general election.

Candidates

Nominee

• Gabby Giffords, former state senator

Eliminated in primary

• William Daniel Johnson, white nationalist activist^[56]
• Jeffrey Lynn Latas, U.S. Air Force veteran^[57]
• Alex Rodriguez, member of the Tucson Unified School District board^[58]
• Francine Shacter, former Democratic precinct chairwoman^[59]
• Patty Weiss, television anchor^[60]

Endorsements

Gabby Giffords

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 2004 democratic presidential candidate^[61]

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gabby Giffords	33,375	54.3
	Democratic	Patty Weiss	19,148	31.2
	Democratic	Jeffrey Lynn Latas	3,687	6.0
	Democratic	Alex Rodriguez	2,855	4.6
	Democratic	William Daniel Johnson	1,768	2.9
	Democratic	Francine Shacter	576	0.9
Total votes			61,409	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Nolan, co-founder of the Libertarian Party

Results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	David F. Nolan	516	100.0
Total votes			516	100.0

Independents

• Russ Dove (write-in), militiaman; campaign manager for William Daniel Johnson^[62][56]
• Leo F. Kimminau (write-in)^[28]
• Paul Price (write-in)^[28]
• Jay Quick (Independent), geologist and businessman^[63]

General election

Campaign

Giffords was the tentative favorite for most of the election, as many moderates were turned off by Graf's conservative views and Kolbe did not endorse him as the Republican candidate.^[64]

Debates

2006 Arizona's 8th congressional district general election debates
No.	Date & time	Host	Moderator	Link	Participants
Key:  P  Participant    A  Absent    N  Non-invitee
					Jay Quick	David F. Nolan	Gabby Giffords	Randy Graf
1[65]	October 17, 2006	Access Tucson Arizona Daily Star	Joe Birchall	Video[66]	P	P	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Randy Graf (R)	Gabby Giffords (D)	Others	Undecided
Reuters/Zogby[67]	October 24–29, 2006	500 (LV)	±4.5%	41%	53%	2%	4%
Wick Communications[68]	October 25–28, 2006	400 (LV)	±?%	35%	50%	4%	11%
Zimmerman & Associates and Marketing Intelligence (Arizona Daily Star/KVOA)[69]	October 20–23, 2006	600 (LV)	±4.0%	38%	48%	4%	10%
Reuters/Zogby[70]	September 25 – October 2, 2006	500 (LV)	±4.5%	37%	45%	2%	16%
Bennett, Petts & Normington (D)[71]	September 19–21, 2006	400 (LV)	±?%	29%	54%	–	17%
Zimmerman & Associates and Marketing Intelligence (Arizona Daily Star/KVOA)[72]	September 16–19, 2006	600 (LV)	±4.0%	36%	48%	3%	13%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (D-Giffords)[73]	September 9–13, 2006	500 (LV)	±4.0%	35%	54%	5%	6%
Zimmerman & Associates and Marketing Intelligence (Arizona Daily Star)[74]	September 1–4, 2006	800 (LV)	±4.9%	36%	46%	–	19%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[23]	Lean D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg[24]	Likely D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Likely D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[26]	Lean D (flip)	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics[27]	Likely D (flip)	November 7, 2006

Results

On election day, Giffords emerged victorious over Graf by a comfortable twelve-point margin and won her first term in Congress.

2006 Arizona’s 8th congressional district election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gabby Giffords	137,655	54.3
	Republican	Randy Graf	106,790	42.1
	Libertarian	David F. Nolan	4,849	1.9
	Independent	Jay Dudley Quick	4,408	1.7
	Write-ins	Russ Dove	7	0.0
	Write-ins	Leo F. Kimminau	7	0.0
	Write-ins	Paul Price	5	0.0
Total votes			253,720	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican