Arizona's 8th congressional district

Arizona's 8th congressional district
Representative	Gabrielle Giffords D
Area	9,057 sq mi (23,460 km2)
Distribution	87.3% urban 12.7% rural
Population (2000)	641,329
Median household income	40,656
Ethnicity	73.9% White 18.2% Hispanic 3% Black 2.1% Asian 0.8% Native American 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+4

Arizona's 8th Congressional District encompasses the extreme southeastern part of the state. It includes all of Cochise County and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties. It is represented by Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat and is generally considered to be a swing district. Giffords was shot and severely wounded at a public event on January 8, 2011. Her district director was shot and killed at the same time.

George W. Bush received 53% of the vote in this district in 2004. Arizona resident John McCain carried the district in 2008 with 52.37% of the vote while Barack Obama received 46.43%.

Competitiveness

This seat was in Republican hands until the election of Gabrielle Giffords in 2006. Historically, the seat has had a slight GOP lean with most of the Latino areas of Tucson contained in the neighboring 7th District. Even Tucson's more GOP areas are more socially liberal than its neighbor to the north Phoenix which helped Giffords in her 2006 bid over Randy Graf. On January 8, 2011, Giffords was shot at close range in the head.

Campaign signs in the 2006 election

Voting

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
2008	President	McCain 52 – 46%
2004	President	Bush 53 – 46%
2000	President	Bush 49 – 47%

List of representatives

Before the 2000 census, nearly all of the territory in this district was in the 5th District.

Representative	Lived	Party	Term	Note
District created: January 3, 2003
James T. Kolbe	(b. 1942)	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007	Redistricted from the 5th district, Retired
Gabrielle Giffords	(1970–)	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – present

Recent results

2002

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Change	Republican Party	Jim Kolbe	112,872	63		Democratic Party	Mary Judge Ryan	60,536	34		Libertarian Party	Joe Duarte	5,520	3

2004

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections, 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Change	Republican Party	Jim Kolbe	183,363	60.4	-2.6%	Democratic Party	Eva Bacal	109,963	36.2	+2.2%	Libertarian Party	Robert Anderson	10,443	3.4	+0.4%

2006

Main article: Arizona's 8th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Change	Democratic Party	Gabrielle Giffords	114,794	54.1	+17.9%	Republican Party	Randy Graf	89,609	42.2	-18.2%	Libertarian Party	David Nolan	4,025	1.9	-1.5%

2008

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2008 § District 8

Arizona's 8th congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Gabrielle Giffords	179,629	54.72	+0.62%
	Republican	Tim Bee	140,553	42.82	+0.62%
	Libertarian	Paul Davis	8,081	2.46	+0.56%
	Independent	Paul Price (write-in)	3	0.00	—
Total votes			328,266	100.00	—
	Democratic hold

History

Athabaskan-speaking Native Americans lived in this region long before the arrival of the Europeans who established the Arizona Territory. In the late 19th century, Apache chief Cochise and a band of Chiricahuas built their stronghold on the Dragoon range of mountains. The tribe would often ambush and rob passer-by as an attempt to keep interlopers off their land. The presence of the tribe deterred the settlement of the area for far longer than the rest of the Arizona Territory. Cochise, after a few decades, was eventually starved out of his stronghold and hanged. The district, containing a county now called by his name, developed when its varied and valuable resources were found in the 1870s. The discovery of mines in 1878 in the Tombstone district spurred much growth and investment in the area.

Geography

The District is mountains and wide valleys. The district is considered to be high desert grasslands with elevations from 3500 to 6000 feet. Several mountain ranges run through the district with the highest peak in the Chiricahua Mountains at 9,796 feet. Southeast Arizona is at an ecological crossroads where habitats and species from the Sierra Madre of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts can all be found. The abrupt rise of mountains from the surrounding grasslands creates unique habitats harboring rare species and communities of plants and animals. The area has a semi-arid climate with moderate winters and hot summers. Precipitation rarely exceeds one inch in any month other than July, August, and September, when high intensity, but short-lived monsoon storms can occur.

Main industries

Primary job fields of the people in the district include: agriculture, ranching, livestock, mining, and tourism. The main irrigated crops are cotton, wheat, corn, grain, sorghum, alfalfa, hay, apples, peaches, cherries, grapes, pistachios, pecans, lettuce, chilis, and other vegetables. The area has a multitude of U-pick vegetable farms and orchards, including several organic farms. Greenhouse tomato and cucumber operations have been completed in the past few years with good success. In Cochise County there is the U.S. Army base Fort Huachuca and numerous military-industrial companies. In suburban and urban areas, Wal-Marts are the most abundant superstores.

Schools

In the district, there is Cochise College, a 2-year college. The University of Arizona is within a couple miles of the district border, located in central Tucson. 2.8% of adults 25 and older have completed less than 9th grade; 5.5% between 9th and 12th grade; but have not received a diploma. 17.9% are high school graduates; 26.8% have some college but no degree; 7.5% have an Associate’s degree; 26.1% have a Bachelor’s degree; and 13.5% have a Graduate or professional degree.

Tourism, recreation

Tourism is an important industry; the district has numerous natural wonders, national forests, parks, and conservation areas. There are multiple caverns (including the renowned Kartchner Caverns) and canyons available for visitation. Hiking, camping, fishing, and boating can be found throughout the region. There are also Apache historical sites, war memorials, museums, tour trains, and mine tours. Golfing is popular, and there are multiple golf courses across the district.

External links

• Demographic information at census.gov
• 2004 Election data at CNN.com
• 2002 Election data from CBSNews.com
• Cochise County Page
• Arizona Genealogy
• Apache Tribe
• Giffords House Website