2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

The 2010 congressional elections in Arizona were held on November 2, 2010, to determine who would represent the state of Arizona in the United States House of Representatives. Arizona had eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected were to serve in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013.

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

← 2008 November 2, 2010 (2010-11-02) 2012 →
All 8 Arizona seats to the United States House of Representatives
Turnout	55.65%
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 3 5 Seats won 5 3 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 900,510 711,837 Percentage 53.03% 41.92% Swing 9.00% 3.55%
District results County results Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

The state's 2009-2010 delegation consisted of five Democrats and three Republicans. With the exception of Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who had won the open seat in District 1 during the previous election, all members of the delegation were incumbents who had served for at least a full term in Congress. Also, with the exception of retiring Republican John Shadegg of District 3, all incumbent members of the state's delegation ran for re-election.

As of August 17, 2010, Districts 1, 5 and 8, all held by Democrats, were considered to be competitive by both CQ Politics and The Cook Political Report.^[1][2] The primary elections for Congressional races were held on August 24, 2010.^[3][4]

Overview

The table below shows the total number and percentage of votes, as well as the number of seats gained and lost by each political party in the election for the United States House of Representatives in Arizona. In addition, the voter turnout and the number of votes not valid will be listed below.^[5]

Statewide

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Republican	8	900,510	53.03	5	2	62.50
	Democratic	8	711,837	41.92	3	2	37.50
	Libertarian	8	72,216	4.25	0		0.0
	Green	3	9,066	0.53	0		0.0
	Independent	1	4,506	0.27	0		0.0
Total		28	1,698,135	100.0	8		100.0

Popular vote Republican   53.03% Democratic   41.92% Libertarian   4.25% Green   0.53% Other   0.27%

House seats Republican   62.50% Democratic   37.50%

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona by district:^[6]

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	112,816	49.72%	99,233	43.73%	14,869	6.55%	226,918	100.0%	Republican gain
District 2	173,173	64.88%	82,891	31.06%	10,830	4.06%	266,894	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	108,689	52.24%	85,610	41.14%	13,772	6.62%	208,071	100.0%	Republican hold
District 4	25,300	27.53%	61,524	66.94%	5,083	5.53%	91,907	100.0%	Democratic hold
District 5	110,374	52.00%	91,749	43.23%	10,127	4.77%	212,250	100.0%	Republican gain
District 6	165,649	66.42%	72,615	29.12%	11,119	4.46%	249,383	100.0%	Republican hold
District 7	70,385	44.23%	79,935	50.23%	8,824	5.54%	159,144	100.0%	Democratic hold
District 8	134,124	47.30%	138,280	48.76%	11,174	3.94%	283,578	100.0%	Democratic hold
Total	900,510	53.03%	711,837	41.92%	85,798	5.05%	1,698,145	100.0%

District 1

2010 Arizona's 1st congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee Paul Gosar Ann Kirkpatrick Nicole Patti Party Republican Democratic Libertarian Popular vote 112,816 99,233 14,869 Percentage 49.7% 43.7% 6.6%

County results Kirkpatrick:      50–60%      60–70% Gosar:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Ann Kirkpatrick Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Paul Gosar Republican

See also: Arizona's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. She was elected with 55.9% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of R+6.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ann Kirkpatrick, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ann Kirkpatrick (incumbent)	46,902	100.0
Total votes			46,902	100.0

Republican primary

The Republican primary featured 8 candidates seeking to take on Kirkpatrick in the general election. Mining industry lobbyist Sydney Hay, who had been the Republican nominee to run against Kirkpatrick in 2008, finished second in the primary behind dentist Paul Gosar. Other unsuccessful Republican candidates included attorney Bradley Beauchamp and former state legislator Russell Bowers.

Candidates

Nominee

• Paul Gosar, dentist

Eliminated in primary

• Bradley Beauchamp, attorney
• Russell Bowers, former state senator
• Sydney Hay, mining industry lobbyist, nominee for this seat in 2008 and candidate in 2002
• Joe Jaraczewski, former real estate development company owner^[8]
• Jon Jensen, former Greeley County School Superintendent^[9]
• Steve Mehta, cardiologist
• Thomas J. Zaleski, President at Thoma Capital Management LLC

Withdrawn

• Paul Burton^[10]

Endorsements

Paul Gosar

Statewide officials

• Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2008

Local officials

• Joe Arpaio, Sheriff of Maricopa County
• Paul Babeu, Sheriff of Pinal County

Steve Mehta

Newspapers

• The Arizona Republic

Results

Gosar, a political neophyte, buoyed by endorsements from highly visible Republican politicians, including Sarah Palin, won the primary with just under 31% of the vote.^[11]

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Gosar	21,941	30.7
	Republican	Sydney Hay	16,328	22.9
	Republican	Bradley Beauchamp	11,356	15.9
	Republican	Russell Bowers	10,552	14.8
	Republican	Steve Mehta	5,846	8.2
	Republican	Thomas J. Zaleski	2,105	3.0
	Republican	Jon Jensen	1,736	2.4
	Republican	Joe Jaraczewski	1,530	2.1
Total votes			71,394	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Nicole Patti (PVS)

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Nicole Patti (write-in)	23	100.0
Total votes			23	100.0

General election

Prior to Kirkpatrick's election in 2008, the 1st district had been held by Republicans since this version of the seat was created following the 2000 census.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ann Kirkpatrick (D)	Paul Gosar (R)	Nicole Patti (L)	Undecided
Lake Research Partners (D)[12]	October 12–14, 2010	500 (LV)	±4.4%	41%	38%	6%	15%
The Hill/ANGA[13]	September 25–30, 2010	403 (LV)	±4.9%	39%	46%	3%	12%
Moore Information (R)[14]	August 30–31, 2010	412 (LV)	±4.8%	43%	43%	–	14%
American Action Forum[15]	August 25–29, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	41%	47%	–	12%
Lake Research Partners (D)[16]	August 24–26, 2010	500 (LV)	±4.4%	43%	39%	–	17%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[17]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
Rothenberg[18]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
RCP[20]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
CQ Politics[21]	Lean R (flip)	October 28, 2010
New York Times[22]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight[22]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010

Results

Kirkpatrick lost on November 2, 2010, to Paul Gosar and the seat reverted to the Republicans.

Arizona's 1st congressional district, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Gosar	112,816	49.7
	Democratic	Ann Kirkpatrick (incumbent)	99,233	43.7
	Libertarian	Nicole Patti	14,869	6.6
Majority			13,583	6.0
Total votes			226,918	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 2

2010 Arizona's 2nd congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee Trent Franks John Thrasher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 173,173 82,891 Percentage 64.9% 31.0%

U.S. Representative before election Trent Franks Republican Elected U.S. Representative Trent Franks Republican

See also: Arizona's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Trent Franks, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.4% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of R+13.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Trent Franks, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Charles Black, US Army veteran and contractor

Results

Franks won an easy victory with over 80% of the vote in his favour.^[23]

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Franks (incumbent)	81,252	80.9
	Republican	Charles Black	19,220	19.1
Total votes			100,472	100.0

Democratic primary

Retired teacher John Thrasher ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Thrasher has twice attempted to unseat Franks, losing to the incumbent by 19% in 2006 and by 22% in 2008.(campaign site, PVS)

Candidates

Nominee

• John Thrasher, retired teacher and nominee for this seat in 2006 and 2008

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Thrasher	32,503	100.0
Total votes			32,503	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Powell Gammill, retired biologist and nominee for this seat in 2004, 2006 and 2008 (campaign site, PVS).

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Powell Gammill	318	100.0
Total votes			318	100.0

General election

Results

Arizona's 2nd congressional district election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trent Franks (incumbent)	173,173	64.9
	Democratic	John Thrasher	82,891	31.0
	Libertarian	Powell Gammill	10,820	4.1
Majority			90,282	33.9
Total votes			266,884	100.0
	Republican hold

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 3

2010 Arizona's 3rd congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee Ben Quayle Jon Hulburd Michael Shoen Party Republican Democratic Libertarian Popular vote 108,689 85,610 10,478 Percentage 52.2% 41.1% 5.0%

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

See also: Arizona's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican John Shadegg, who had represented the district since 1995, retired. He was re-elected with 54.1% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of R+9.

Republican primary

On January 14, 2010, 8-term incumbent Shadegg announced his retirement at the end of his current term, making the third district an open seat.^[24] In the wake of Shadegg's retirement, several Republicans declared their candidacy.^[25]

Candidates

Nominee

• Ben Quayle, attorney and son of former Vice President of the United States Dan Quayle^[26][27]

Eliminated in primary

• Bob Branch, professor
• Sam Crump, state representative^[28]
• Pamela Gorman, former state senator^[29]
• LeAnn Hull, businesswoman
• Steve Moak, businessman and philanthropist
• Paulina Morris, attorney^[30]
• Vernon Parker, Mayor of Paradise Valley
• Jim Waring, former state senator^[31]
• Ed Winkler, former Mayor of Paradise Valley^[32]

Declined

• Dean Martin, State Treasurer^[29]
• Sean Noble, Shadegg's Chief of Staff^[29]
• Andrew Walter, former Arizona State University quarterback and NFL free agent^[29]
• James Weiers, state representative and former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives^[29]

Campaign

Gorman gained national attention during the campaign for an ad showing her firing a Thompson submachine gun,^[33] and for her cosponsorship of the highly controversial SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration bill.^[34]

Quayle, the initial frontrunner in the race, faced criticism for his prior involvement with the controversial rumour and gossip website "DirtyScottsdale.com". According to the site's founder, Quayle was one of the "original contributors" to the site, which covered Scottsdale nightlife with features including sexy photos of women, and was the predecessor to the gossip website TheDirty.com.^[35] Quayle initially denied the rumors,^[36] before admitting several weeks later that he did, in fact, write material for the site under the pen name Brock Landers.^{[35][37][38][39]} Newcomer Steve Moak's strong fundraising^[40] and television advertising blitz against Quayle saw him to be viewed as the new frontrunner, however he faced allegations that he illegally profited from a charity he had set up, hurt his campaign.^[41][42]

Results

Quayle emerged victorious with 22.1% of the vote, while businessman and political neophyte Steve Moak came in second with 18%.^[23]

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Quayle	17,400	22.1
	Republican	Steve Moak	14,211	18.0
	Republican	Jim Waring	13,850	17.6
	Republican	Vernon Parker	13,411	17.0
	Republican	Pamela Gorman	6,473	8.2
	Republican	Paulina Morris	6,138	7.8
	Republican	Sam Crump	3,886	4.9
	Republican	Ed Winkler	1,353	1.7
	Republican	Bob Branch	1,141	1.4
	Republican	LeAnn Hull	1,044	1.3
Total votes			78,907	100.0

Democratic primary

Jon Hulburd filed his candidacy for the Democratic nomination on October 16, 2009.^[43] The Hulburd campaign got off to a strong start and raised over $300,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009.^[44] This attracted national attention with the DCCC naming the race as one of its top 17 races to watch nationwide.^[45]

Candidates

Nominee

• Jon Hulburd, attorney and small businessman

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jon Hulburd	27,388	100.0
Total votes			27,388	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Michael Shoen, attorney and nominee for this seat in 2008(campaign site PVS)^[46]

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Michael Shoen	392	99.7
	Libertarian	Clay Adair (write-in)	1	0.3
Total votes			393	100.0

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Leonard Clark, Iraq War veteran (campaign site, PVS)^[47][48]

Results

Green primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Leonard Clark (write-in)	5	100.0
Total votes			5	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ben Quayle (R)	Jon Hulburd (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[49]	October 16–17, 2010	655 (LV)	±3.8%	44%	46%	10%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[17]	Lean R	November 1, 2010
Rothenberg[18]	Safe R	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Lean R	November 1, 2010
RCP[20]	Lean R	November 1, 2010
CQ Politics[21]	Safe R	October 28, 2010
New York Times[22]	Lean R	November 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight[22]	Lean R	November 1, 2010

Results

Arizona's 3rd congressional district election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Quayle	108,689	52.2
	Democratic	Jon Hulburd	85,610	41.1
	Libertarian	Michael Shoen	10,478	5.0
	Green	Leonard Clark	3,294	1.6
Majority			23,079	11.1
Total votes			208,071	100.0
	Republican hold

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 4

2012 Arizona's 4th congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee Ed Pastor Janet Contreras Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 61,524 25,300 Percentage 66.8% 27.5%

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

See also: Arizona's 4th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Ed Pastor, who had represented the district since 1991, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 72.1% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of D+13. Since taking office, he has been re-elected nine times with no less than 62% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ed Pastor, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Pastor (incumbent)	24,613	100.0
Total votes			24,613	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Janet Contreras, businesswoman (campaign site, PVS)

Eliminated in primary

• Joe Peñalosa, immigration attorney^[23]

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janet Contreras	8,085	60.1
	Republican	Joe Peñalosa	5,368	39.9
Total votes			13,453	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joe Cobb, retired economist and nominee for this seat in 2008 (campaign site, PVS)

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Joe Cobb	219	100.0
Total votes			219	100.0

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rebecca DeWitt, accountant and nominee for this seat in 2008 (campaign site, PVS)

Results

Green primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Rebecca DeWitt	148	100.0
Total votes			148	100.0

General election

Results

Arizona's 4th congressional district election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Pastor (incumbent)	61,524	66.8
	Republican	Janet Contreras	25,300	27.5
	Libertarian	Joe Cobb	2,718	3.0
	Green	Rebecca DeWitt	2,365	2.6
Majority			36,224	39.3
Total votes			91,907	100.0
	Democratic hold

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 5

2010 Arizona's 5th congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee David Schweikert Harry Mitchell Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 110,374 91,749 Percentage 52.0% 43.2%

Precinct results Schweikert:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Mitchell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      Tie      No votes

U.S. Representative before election Harry Mitchell Democratic Elected U.S. Representative David Schweikert Republican

See also: Arizona's 5th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Harry Mitchell, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 53.2% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of R+5.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Harry Mitchell, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry Mitchell (incumbent)	29,716	100.0
Total votes			29,716	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Schweikert, former Maricopa County Treasurer, former state representative, nominee for this seat in 2008 and candidate in 1994

Eliminated in primary

• Susan Bitter Smith, former Scottsdale city council member, candidate for the 1st District in 1994 and 2000 and for this seat in 2008.
• Lee Gentry, business owner, attorney, certified public accountant and candidate for this seat in 2008
• Chris Salvino, surgeon
• Mark Spinks, realtor^[50]
• Jim Ward, venture capitalist

Withdrawn

• Eric Wnuck, businessman^[51]

Results

Schweikert's victory sets up a rematch against Mitchell, who defeated him 53-44% in the 2008 general election.^[52]

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Schweikert	26,678	37.2
	Republican	Jim Ward	18,480	25.8
	Republican	Susan Bitter Smith	17,297	24.1
	Republican	Chris Salvino	7,156	10.0
	Republican	Lee Gentry	1,157	1.6
	Republican	Mark Spinks	884	1.2
Total votes			71,652	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Nick Coons (campaign site^[usurped], PVS).

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Nick Coons	306	100.0
Total votes			306	100.0

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ryan Blackman

Results

Green primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Ryan Blackman (write-in)	4	100.0
Total votes			4	100.0

Blackman withdrew from the general election.^[53]

General election

Campaign

Prior to Mitchell's victory over incumbent conservative Republican J. D. Hayworth in 2006, the district had been held by Republicans since 1995, although it had been tending towards the Democrats. Schweikert posted signs across the district calling Mitchell a “lap dog” for Nancy Pelosi, after Mitchell voted for the 2008 bank bailout, the $787 billion stimulus law in 2009 and the Affordable Care Act in March 2010. This despite Mitchell's breaks with the Party on a number of Tax and climate change legislation.^[54]

Endorsements

David Schweikert (R)

Statewide officials

• Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and nominee for Vice President in 2008

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 12, 2010
• Complete video of debate, October 18, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Harry Mitchell (D)	David Schweikert (R)	Nick Coons (L)	Undecided
Penn Schoen Berland (D)/The Hill/ANGA)[55]	October 12–14, 2010	408 (LV)	±4.9%	42%	45%	1%	12%
Benenson Strategy Group (D)[56]	October 5–7, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	46%	39%	—	15%
National Research (R)[57]	October 5–6, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	43%	45%	—	12%
Bennett, Petts & Normington (D)[58]	September 26–27, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	43%	40%	6%	11%
Harstad Strategic Research (D)[59]	September 13–16, 2010	509 (LV)	±4.3%	45%	44%	6%	5%
National Research (R)[60]	August 31-September 2, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	38%	46%	—	16%
American Action Forum[61]	August 25–29, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	44%	50%	—	6%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[17]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
Rothenberg[18]	Tilt R (flip)	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
RCP[20]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
CQ Politics[21]	Tossup	October 28, 2010
New York Times[22]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight[22]	Tilt R (flip)	November 1, 2010

Results

David Schweikert defeated Democratic incumbent Harry Mitchell on November 2, 2010, returning the seat to the Republicans.

Arizona's 5th congressional district election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Schweikert	110,374	52.0
	Democratic	Harry Mitchell (incumbent)	91,749	43.2
	Libertarian	Nick Coons	10,127	4.8
Majority			18,625	8.8
Total votes			212,250	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 6

2010 Arizona's 6th congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee Jeff Flake Rebecca Schneider Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 165,649 72,615 Percentage 66.3% 29.1%

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

See also: Arizona's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Jeff Flake, who had represented the district since 2001, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 62.4% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of R+15.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jeff Flake, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Jeff Smith, investor

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Flake (incumbent)	62,285	64.6
	Republican	Jeff Smith	34,137	35.4
Total votes			96,422	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rebecca Schneider, librarian and nominee for this seat in 2008 (campaign site, PVS)

Withdrawn

• Amos Chiarappa^[10]

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rebecca Schneider	26,220	100.0
Total votes			26,220	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Darell Tapp (PVS)

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Darell Tapp (write-in)	28	100.0
Total votes			28	100.0

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Richard Grayson, writer and perennial candidate (campaign site)

Results

Green primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Richard Grayson (write-in)	6	100.0
Total votes			6	100.0

General election

Results

Arizona's 6th congressional district election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Flake (incumbent)	165,649	66.3
	Democratic	Rebecca Schneider	72,615	29.1
	Libertarian	Darell Tapp	7,712	3.1
	Green	Richard Grayson	3,407	1.4
Majority			93,034	37.2
Total votes			249,383	100.0
	Republican hold

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 7

2010 Arizona's 7th congressional district election

← 2008 2012 →

Nominee Raúl Grijalva Ruth McClung Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 79,935 70,385 Percentage 50.2% 44.2%

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

See also: Arizona's 7th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Raúl Grijalva, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 63.3% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of D+6.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Raúl Grijalva, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Raúl Grijalva (incumbent)	33,931	100.0
Total votes			33,931	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ruth McClung, physicist (campaign site, PVS)

Eliminated in primary

• Christopher J. Flowers
• Terry Myers
• Joseph Sweeney, educator, nominee for this seat in 2004 & 2008 and candidate in 2000, 2002 & 2006
• Robert Wilson

Results

Republican primary results^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ruth McClung	15,455	51.0
	Republican	Terry Myers	7,044	23.2
	Republican	Joseph Sweeney	3,702	12.2
	Republican	Robert Wilson	2,737	9.0
	Republican	Christopher J. Flowers	1,394	4.6
Total votes			30,332	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• George Keane, banker (campaign site, PVS)

Eliminated in primary

• Andrew Ibarra^[23]

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	George Keane	159	56.8
	Libertarian	Andrew Ibarra	121	43.2
Total votes			280	100.0

Independents

Candidates

Nominee

• Harley Meyer, high school teacher (campaign site, PVS).

General election

Campaign

Despite the Democratic lean of the district, Grijalva faced a tougher than expected re-election campaign following his suggestion that businesses should boycott the state in response to the passing of the highly controversial SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration bill. Both Grijalva and challenger, 28-year-old physicist Ruth McClung, benefitted from outside spending in the final weeks of the campaign, in addition to the national environment favouring the Republicans.^[62][63]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Raúl Grijalva (D)	Ruth McClung (R)	George Keane (L)	Harley Meyer (I)	Undecided
Summit Consulting Group[64]	October 4–5, 2010	1,807 (LV)	±3.0%	37%	39%	—	—	24%
Magellan Strategies (R)[65]	September 29, 2010	686 (LV)	±3.7%	40%	38%	4%	5%	13%
American Political Consultants (R)[66]	September 25–26, 2010	450 (LV)	±4.3%	42%	35%	—	—	23%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[17]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
Rothenberg[18]	Lean D	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Lean D	November 1, 2010
RCP[20]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
CQ Politics[21]	Lean D	October 28, 2010
New York Times[22]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight[22]	Tilts D	November 1, 2010

Results

Two days after the election Grijalva was declared the winner, with his margin of victory being ultimately 6 points.^[67]

Arizona's 7th congressional district election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Raúl Grijalva (incumbent)	79,935	50.2
	Republican	Ruth McClung	70,385	44.2
	Independent	Harley Meyer[47]	4,506	2.8
	Libertarian	George Keane	4,318	2.7
Majority			9,550	6.0
Total votes			159,144	100.0
	Democratic hold

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times

District 8

2010 Arizona's 8th congressional district election

← 2008 2012 (special) →

Nominee Gabby Giffords Jesse Kelly Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 138,280 134,124 Percentage 48.8% 47.3%

U.S. Representative before election Gabby Giffords Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords Democratic

See also: Arizona's 8th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Gabby Giffords, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 54.7% of the vote in 2008 and the district had a PVI of R+4.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Gabby Giffords, incumbent U.S. Representative^[68][69]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gabby Giffords (incumbent)	55,530	100.0
Total votes			55,530	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jesse Kelly, Marine veteran and businessman (no relation to Giffords' husband Mark Kelly)

Eliminated in primary

• Jonathan Paton, former state senator^[70][71]
• Jay Quick

Withdrawn

• Andy Goss, army veteran (endorsed Kelly)^[10]
• Brian Miller, Air Force Reserve Major (endorsed Paton)^[72]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, July 30, 2010

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jesse Kelly	43,097	48.3
	Republican	Jonathan Paton	37,066	41.5
	Republican	Brian Miller (withdrawn)	6,613	7.4
	Republican	Jay Quick	1,933	2.2
	Republican	Andy Goss (withdrawn)	502	0.6
Total votes			89,211	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steven Stoltz, engineer

Results

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Steven Stoltz	482	100.0
Total votes			482	100.0

General election

Prior to Giffords win in 2006, the seat had been held by Republicans since 1985 under moderate Jim Kolbe.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Gabrielle Giffords (D)	Jesse Kelly (R)	Undecided
American Action Forum[73]	August 25–29, 2010	400 (LV)	±4.9%	46%	46%	8%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[17]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
Rothenberg[18]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Lean D	November 1, 2010
RCP[20]	Lean R (flip)	November 1, 2010
CQ Politics[21]	Tossup	October 28, 2010
New York Times[22]	Tossup	November 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight[22]	Tossup	November 1, 2010

Results

Arizona's 8th congressional district, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gabby Giffords (incumbent)	138,280	48.8
	Republican	Jesse Kelly	134,124	47.3
	Libertarian	Steven Stoltz	11,174	3.9
Majority			4,156	1.5
Total votes			283,578	100.0
	Democratic hold

• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Race profile^{[permanent dead link]} at The New York Times