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.

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. The primary elections for Congressional races were held on August 24, 2010.

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.

Statewide PartyCandidatesVotesSeats %+/– %Republican8900,51053.035 262.50Democratic8711,83741.923 237.50Libertarian872,2164.2500.0Green39,0660.5300.0Independent14,5060.2700.0Total281,698,135100.08100.0

By district Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona by district:

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

District 1

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

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 Jon Jensen, former Greeley County School Superintendent Steve Mehta, cardiologist Thomas J. Zaleski, President at Thoma Capital Management LLC

Withdrawn Paul Burton

Endorsements

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.

Libertarian primary Candidates Nominee Nicole Patti (PVS)

Results

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 sourceDate(s)administeredSamplesizeMargin of error AnnKirkpatrick (D) PaulGosar (R) NicolePatti (L)UndecidedLake Research Partners (D)Lake Research Partners (D) October 12–14, 2010 500 (LV) ±4.4% 41% 38% 6% 15%The Hill/ANGAThe Hill/ANGA September 25–30, 2010 403 (LV) ±4.9% 39% 46% 3% 12%Moore Information (R) August 30–31, 2010 412 (LV) ±4.8% 43% 43% – 14%American Action ForumAmerican Action Forum August 25–29, 2010 400 (LV) ±4.9% 41% 47% – 12%Lake Research Partners (D)Lake Research Partners (D) August 24–26, 2010 500 (LV) ±4.4% 43% 39% – 17%

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2010 Rothenberg November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal BallCrystal Ball, November 1, 2010RCPRealClearPolitics, November 1, 2010CQ PoliticsOctober 28, 2010New York Times November 1, 2010FiveThirtyEight November 1, 2010

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

from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets Race profile at The New York Times

District 2

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, U.S. Army veteran and contractor

Results Franks won an easy victory with over 80% of the vote in his favour.

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

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

Results

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2010 Rothenberg November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 1, 2010RCP November 1, 2010CQ PoliticsOctober 28, 2010New York Times November 1, 2010FiveThirtyEight November 1, 2010

Results

from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets Race profile at The New York Times

District 3

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. In the wake of Shadegg's retirement, several Republicans declared their candidacy.

Candidates Nominee Ben Quayle, attorney and son of former Vice President of the United States Dan Quayle

Eliminated in primary Bob Branch, professor Sam Crump, state representative Pamela Gorman, former state senator LeAnn Hull, businesswoman Steve Moak, businessman and philanthropist Paulina Morris, attorney Vernon Parker, Mayor of Paradise Valley Jim Waring, former state senator Ed Winkler, former Mayor of Paradise Valley

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

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

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. Quayle initially denied the rumors, before admitting several weeks later that he did, in fact, write material for the site under the pen name Brock Landers. Newcomer Steve Moak's strong fundraising 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.

Results

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

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

Candidates Nominee Jon Hulburd, attorney and small businessman

Results

Libertarian primary Candidates Nominee Michael Shoen, attorney and nominee for this seat in 2008(campaign site PVS)Official candidate list Arizona Secretary of State

Results

Green primary Candidates Nominee Leonard Clark, Iraq War veteran (campaign site, PVS)

Results

General election Polling Poll sourceDate(s)administeredSamplesizeMargin of error BenQuayle (R) JonHulburd (D)UndecidedPublic Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling October 16–17, 2010 655 (LV) ±3.8% 44% 46% 10%

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2010 Rothenberg November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 1, 2010RCP November 1, 2010CQ PoliticsOctober 28, 2010New York Times November 1, 2010FiveThirtyEight November 1, 2010

Results

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets Race profile at The New York Times

District 4

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

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Janet Contreras, businesswoman (campaign site, PVS)

Eliminated in primary Joe Peñalosa, immigration attorney

Results

Libertarian primary Candidates Nominee Joe Cobb, retired economist and nominee for this seat in 2008 (campaign site, PVS)

Results

Green primary Candidates Nominee Rebecca DeWitt, accountant and nominee for this seat in 2008 (campaign site, PVS)

Results

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2010 Rothenberg November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 1, 2010RCP November 1, 2010CQ PoliticsOctober 28, 2010New York Times November 1, 2010FiveThirtyEight November 1, 2010

Results

from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets Race profile at The New York Times

District 5

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

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 Jim Ward, venture capitalist

Withdrawn Eric Wnuck, businessman

Results