Arizona's 8th congressional district

Arizona's 8th congressional district
Current Representative		Vacant ()
Area	9,057 mi²
Distribution	87.3% urban, 12.7% rural
Population (2000)	641,329
Median income	$40,656
Ethnicity	73.9% White, 3% Black, 2.1% Asian, 18.2% Hispanic, 0.8% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+4

Arizona's 8th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona and encompasses the extreme southeastern part of the state. It includes all of Cochise County and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.

A swing district, it was represented from 2007 to 2012 by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot and severely wounded at a public event on January 8, 2011. Giffords resigned her seat in January of 2012. A special election will be held in June 2012 to determine a replacement.^[1]

2012 redistricting

After redistricting for the 2012 general election, most of current 8th district will become the 2nd congressional district, and the new 8th district will be in Maricopa County, including Phoenix and its northwestern suburbs.^[2]

History and demographics

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 passersby 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. 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 covered by mountains and wide valleys. The district is 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 much 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

Located within the district is Cochise College, a two-year college. The University of Arizona is within a couple miles of the district border, located in central Tucson. Approximately 2.8% of adults 25 and older have completed less than 9th grade; 5.5% have completed 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 and recreation

Tourism is an important industry as 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.

Political competitiveness

This seat was in Republican hands until the election of Gabrielle Giffords in 2006. Historically, the seat has had a slight Republican lean, with most of the Latino areas of Tucson contained in the neighboring 7th District. Tucson's more Republican-leaning areas are more socially liberal than its neighbor to the north Phoenix, which helped Giffords in her 2006 bid over Randy Graf.

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%.

Voting in presidential races

List of representatives

Arizona began sending an eighth member to the House after the 2000 Census. Prior to this time, most of the 8th's current territory was in the 5th district.

Representative	Party	Term	Congress	District description: Counties[3][4][5]	Electoral history
Jim Kolbe	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007	108 109	Southeast Arizona, including parts of Tucson: Cochise, Pima (part), Pinal (part), Santa Cruz (part)	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 2002 Re-elected in 2004 Retired
Gabrielle Giffords	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – January 25, 2012	110 111 112		First elected in 2006 Re-elected in 2008 Re-elected in 2010 Resigned January 25, 2012
Vacant		January 25, 2012 - Present	112th

Recent results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

References

External links

• Demographic information at census.gov
• 2004 Election data at CNN.com
• 2002 Election data from CBSNews.com
• Maps of Congressional Districts first in effect for the 2002 election
• Maps for the 2012 election