Meet the candidates: Winners of the congressional primaries in Arizona

(For a full list of candidates, see the Arizona portal.)

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

There were no surprises in Arizona on Tuesday, with the front-runners obtaining victories in the state’s congressional primary elections. Half of Arizona’s eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are considered competitive, and the goal for Republicans is to prevent Democrats from flipping any of the four GOP-held seats. The best chance for Democrats is likely in the 1st congressional district, where indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (R) is not seeking re-election.

For CD-01, the November ballot will feature former state Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D), who easily won her party’s nomination, and Sydney Hay, a lobbyist for Arizona’s mining industry. Kirkpatrick has an advantage with fundraising, but Hay has accused the Democrat of having no legislative accomplishments and of being "wrong" on the issues.

In other races, former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert secured the GOP nomination in the race of Republican candidates looking to unseat Democratic Rep. Harry Mitchell in the 5th district. Meanwhile, in the 6th CD, Rebecca Schneider won the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Jeff Flake in the general election.

One competitive race was already set — Democratic freshman Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Arizona state Senate Pres. Tim Bee (R) were both unopposed in the primary. Giffords was a well-regarded state legislator before easily defeating her opponent in 2006, winning the seat vacated by Rep. Jim Kolbe. Bee is attacking the incumbent on energy policy, and both will be well-funded during the general election campaign.

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Here are the victors of Arizona’s primaries:

• In the 1st district, incumbent Rep. Rick Renzi is retiring. Republicans in the district nominated Sydney Hay, president of the Arizona Mining Association, who will face Ann Kirkpatrick, a former state lawmaker.
• In the 2nd district, incumbent Rep. Trent Franks, a Republican, is being challenged by John Thrasher, a retired community college band director.
• In the 3rd district, incumbent Rep. John Shadegg (R), will face Democrat Bob Lord, an attorney.
• In the 4th district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Ed Pastor is running against Don Karg (R), who works in aerospace management.
• In the 5th district, incumbent Rep. Harry Mitchell (D) is facing former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert (R).
• In the 6th district, Republican incumbent Rep. Jeff Flake is being challenged by Democratic nominee Rebecca Schneider, library supervisor for ASU.
• In the 7th district, incumbent Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat, is up against Gene Chewning (R), a pastor.
• In the 8th district, incumbent Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) will face Tim Bee, a Republican, who is the state senate president.