In Cost and Vitriol, Race in Arizona Draws Notice
2006-09-11
Source: New York Times
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rss feedUnfair tactics. Lying. Spying. And that is just what the Republican candidates are accusing one another of in a Congressional primary here that veteran political watchers are calling wild even by Arizona’s sometimes unconventional standards.
There are primaries in nine states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, but both parties are closely watching the campaign in the Eighth Congressional District here because it is a swing district and one of a handful nationwide that Democrats think they can capture in their bid to reclaim the House. The candidates have spent more than $2.5 million, making it among the most expensive House races in the country.
The campaign has played out near the border in a state where more people cross illegally than in any other, making immigration a top issue and illuminating a feud among moderates and conservatives in the Republican Party.
The 11 candidates from the two major parties in the primary are battling not only for the right to represent the district but also to lay claim to the general drift of politics in this fast-growing state, which is not as conservative as it used to be.
In some ways, the Eighth District, which covers a vast piece of southeastern Arizona from the liberal-leaning, metropolitan Tucson to the more conservative areas along the Mexican border, seems emblematic. It voted twice for President Bush but also for Janet Napolitano, the popular Democratic governor who is seeking a second term. The district has been represented for 22 years by Jim Kolbe, a moderate Republican who is not seeking re-election.
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