2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Arizona, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on August 30.

Overview

Statewide

By district

Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona by district:

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who had represented the district since 2013, and previously between 2009 and 2011, ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by John McCain. She was re-elected in 2014 with 52% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom O'Halleran, former Republican state senator and independent candidate for state senate in 2014

Eliminated in primary

• Miguel Olivas, former Republican congressional aide, Democratic candidate for this seat in 2012 and Libertarian candidate for 3rd district in 2014

Withdrawn

• James Maloney, small business owner

Declined

• Ann Kirkpatrick, incumbent U.S. Representative
• Fred DuVal, former chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents and nominee for governor in 2014
• Catherine Miranda, state senator
• Liz Archuleta, chair of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors
• Brad Carlyon, Navajo County Attorney
• Chris Deschene, former state representative, nominee for secretary of state in 2010, and candidate for President of the Navajo Nation in 2014
• Barbara McGuire, state senator

Endorsements

U.S. Representatives

• Ron Barber, former U.S. Representative (AZ−2)
• Ann Kirkpatrick, incumbent U.S. Representative (AZ−1)

Statewide officials

• Terry Goddard, former Attorney General, nominee for governor in 1990 and 2010 and nominee for Secretary of State in 2014

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO

Individuals

• Fred DuVal, former chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents and nominee for governor in 2014, state representative
• Felecia Rotellini, nominee for Attorney General in 2010 and 2014

Results

Republican primary

On the Republican side, rancher and candidate for the seat in 2014 Gary Kiehne ran again. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu also ran in the primary.

Candidates

Nominee

• Paul Babeu, Pinal County Sheriff

Eliminated in primary

• Ken Bennett, former secretary of state, former president of the Arizona Senate, and candidate for governor in 2014
• Gary Kiehne, rancher, businessman and candidate in 2014
• Shawn Redd, businessman
• Wendy Rogers, former air force officer and nominee for the 9th district in 2014

Withdrawn

• Carlyle Begay, state senator, (endorsed Babeu)
• David Gowan, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, (endorsed Kiehne) (remained on ballot)

Declined

• David Tenney, director of the Arizona Residential Utility Consumer Office and former Navajo County Supervisor
• Andy Tobin, director of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and nominee for this seat in 2014

Endorsements

U.S. Senators

• Jon Kyl, former US senator

U.S. Representatives

• John Shadegg, former US representative

Newspapers

• The Arizona Republic

Local officials

• Chris Gibbs, Mayor of Safford, Arizona
• Christian Price, Mayor of Maricopa, Arizona
• Bob Rivera, Mayor of Thatcher, Arizona
• Anthony Smith, Pinal County supervisor
• Todd House, Pinal County supervisor
• Cheryl Chase, Pinal County supervisor
• Jack Smith, Yavapai County supervisor
• Chip Davis, Yavapai County supervisor
• Craig Brower, Yavapai County supervisor
• Rowle Simmons, Yavapai County supervisor
• Thomas Thurman, Yavapai County supervisor
• Drew John, Gila County supervisor
• Danny Smith, Gila County supervisor

State legislators

• David Gowan, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives

Newspapers

• Tri-valley Central
• White Mountain Independent

Local officials

• Steve Miller, Pinal County supervisor
• PJ Allred, Graham County Sheriff
• Bryce Hamblin, Mayor of Eagar, Arizona

U.S. Representatives

• Jim Kolbe, former US representative

Statewide officials

• Jan Brewer, former governor

State legislators

• Carlyle Begay, state senator

State legislators

• Adam Kwasman, former state representative

Individuals

• Lucy Babeu and Veronica Keating, candidate Paul Babeu's sisters

Debate

Results

General election

Endorsements

U.S. Representatives

• Ron Barber, former U.S. Representative (AZ−2)
• Ann Kirkpatrick, incumbent U.S. Representative (AZ−1)

Statewide officials

• Terry Goddard, former attorney general, nominee for governor in 1990 and 2010 and nominee for Secretary of State in 2014

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program

Newspapers

• Arizona Daily Star

Individuals

• Fred DuVal, former chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents and nominee for governor in 2014, state representative
• Felecia Rotellini, nominee for Attorney General in 2010 and 2014

U.S. Representatives

• Jim Kolbe, former US representative

Statewide officials

• Jan Brewer, former governor

State legislators

• Carlyle Begay, state senator

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program

Debate

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 2

Incumbent Republican Martha McSally, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. She defeated Democratic incumbent Ron Barber in 2014 with 50% of the vote

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Martha McSally, incumbent U.S. representative

Results

Democratic primary

State Representative Bruce Wheeler had formed an exploratory committee to run for the Democratic nomination, but decided not to run after having surgery to repair a torn retina.

Candidates

Nominee

• Matt Heinz, former state representative and candidate for 8th district in 2012

Eliminated in primary

• Victoria Steele, state representative

Declined

• Ron Barber, former U.S. representative
• David Bradley, state senator
• Fred DuVal, former chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents and nominee for governor in 2014
• Steve Farley, state senator
• Randall Friese, state representative
• Steve Kozachik, Tucson City Councilman
• Nan Walden, businesswoman, attorney and former chief of staff to Senator Bill Bradley
• Bruce Wheeler, state representative
• Paula Aboud, former state senator
• Mark Kelly, retired astronaut and husband of former U.S. representative Gabby Giffords

Endorsements

U.S. Representatives

• Ruben Gallego, US representative from Arizona
• Jared Polis, US representative from Colorado
• Kyrsten Sinema, US representative from Arizona

State legislators

• Ed Ableser, former state senator
• Amanda Aguirre, former state senator
• David Bradley, state senator
• Olivia Cajero Bedford, state senator
• Cloves Campbell, former state representative
• Robert Cannell, former state senator
• Mark Cardenas, state representative
• Ken Cheuvront, former state senator
• Demion Clinco, former state representative
• Ann English, Cochise County supervisor
• Pat Fleming, former state representative and US Army analyst
• Randall Friese, state representative
• Rosanna Gabaldón, state representative
• Steve Gallardo, Maricopa County Supervisor
• Linda J. Lopez, former state senator
• Stefanie Mach, state representative
• Robert Meza, state senator
• Lynne Pancrazi, state senator
• Elaine Richardson, former state senator
• Macario Saldate, state representative

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO
• American Osteopathic Association

Organizations

• New Democrat Coalition
• Victory Fund

Newspapers

• The Arizona Republic

Local officials

• Daniel Hernández Jr., clerk and former president of the Sunnyside Unified School District
• Sandra Kelly, former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission
• Thomas Volgy, former Mayor of Tucson

U.S. Representatives

• Raul Grijalva, US representative from Arizona

State legislators

• Eric Meyer, House Minority Leader
• Rebecca Rios, Minority Whip
• Steve Farley, Senate Assistant Minority Leader
• Richard Andrade, state representative
• Reginald Bolding, state representative
• Jennifer D. Benally, state representative
• Diego Espinosa, state representative
• Charlene Fernandez, state representative
• Jonathan Larkin, state representative
• Debbie McCune Davis, state representative
• Juan Mendez, state representative
• Albert Hale, state representative
• Andrew Sherwood, state representative
• Lela Alston, state representative

Local officials

• Barbara LaWall, Pima County Attorney
• Chris Nanos, Pima County Sheriff

Results

General election

Endorsements

Organizations

• Maggie's List
• National Republican Congressional Committee "Patriot" Program

Newspapers

• Arizona Daily Star

U.S. Representatives

• Ruben Gallego, US representative from Arizona
• Jared Polis, US representative from Colorado
• Kyrsten Sinema, US representative from Arizona

State legislators

• Ed Ableser, former state senator
• Amanda Aguirre, former state senator
• David Bradley, state senator
• Olivia Cajero Bedford, state senator
• Cloves Campbell, former state representative
• Robert Cannell, former state senator
• Mark Cardenas, state representative
• Ken Cheuvront, former state senator
• Demion Clinco, former state representative
• Pat Fleming, former state representative and US Army analyst
• Randall Friese, state representative
• Rosanna Gabaldón, state representative
• Linda J. Lopez, former state senator
• Stefanie Mach, state representative
• Robert Meza, state senator
• Lynne Pancrazi, state senator
• Elaine Richardson, former state senator
• Macario Saldate, state representative
• Victoria Steele, state representative and primary candidate for this seat

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO
• American Osteopathic Association

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program
• New Democrat Coalition
• Victory Fund

Newspapers

• The Arizona Republic

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Raúl Grijalva who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected in 2014 with 55.7% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Raúl Grijalva, incumbent U.S. Representative

Declined

• James Villarreal, Senior Propulsion Engineer at Raytheon and University of Arizona instructor

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declined

• Edna San Miguel, artist and former teacher

General election

Grijalva faced only Libertarian write-in candidate Mike Ross in the general election. The Arizona secretary of state reported no results for Ross.

Endorsements

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO

Predictions

Results

District 4

Incumbent Republican Paul Gosar, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected to a third term in 2014 with 70% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Paul Gosar, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary

• Ray Strauss, Buckeye City Councilman

Endorsements

Local officials

• Hildy Angius, Mohave County Supervisor
• Steve Moss, Mohave County Supervisor
• Ed Foster

U.S. Senators

• Ted Cruz, Senator (R-TX)

U.S. Representatives

• David Schweikert, Congressman
• Trent Franks, Congressman
• Jeff Miller, Congressman (R-FL)

Statewide officials

• Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska

State legislators

• Bob Thorpe, state representative.

Newspapers

• Tri-Valley Central

Local officials

• Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff
• Mark Nexsen, Mayor of Lake Havasu
• John Cook, Mayor of Wickenburg

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mikel Weisser, homeless shelter administrator, candidate for this seat in 2012 and nominee in 2014

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 5

Incumbent Republican Matt Salmon, who had represented the district since 2013, and previously between 1995 and 2001, did not run for reelection.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Andy Biggs, president of the Arizona Senate

Eliminated in primary

• Christine Jones, former executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for GoDaddy, and candidate in the 2014 gubernatorial election (previously ran for U.S. Senate)
• Justin Olson, state representative
• Don Stapley, former Maricopa County Supervisor

Withdrawn

• Bryan Martyn, former Pinal County Supervisor and state parks director (endorsed Stapley)

Declined

• Matt Salmon, incumbent U.S. Representative

Endorsements

U.S. Senators

• Mike Lee, U.S. senator (R-UT)

U.S. Representatives

• Matt Salmon, incumbent U.S. Congressman
• Trent Franks, U.S. Congressman
• Jim Jordan, U.S. representative (OH-04) and chairman of the House Freedom Caucus
• Mark Meadows, U.S. representative (NC-11)

Organizations

• American Conservative Union
• Club for Growth
• FreedomWorks

Local officials

• Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff

State legislators

• Mark Killian, Director of Arizona Department of Agriculture & Former Speaker of the AZ House

Local officials

• John Giles, Mayor of Mesa
• Paul Petersen, Maricopa County Assessor
• Jay Tibshraeny, Mayor of Chandler

Statewide officials

• Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas

Organizations

• Maggie's List

Local officials

• Kevin Hartke, Chandler City Councilman
• Brigette Peterson, Gilbert Town Councilwoman
• Jorday Ray, Gilbert Town Councilwoman
• Jeff Brown, Queen Creek Town Councilman

Individuals

• Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and 2016 Republican presidential candidate

Polling

Debate

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Talia Fuentes, applied biologist

Eliminated in primary

• Kinsey Remaklus, real estate investor

Results

Independent

Candidates

• Randall Sand, small business owner
• Randall Sand is/was a fake political persona created by Jake Hoffman of Rally Forge. The fake politician persona was Randall Sand, who described himself on his campaign website as an Independent Candidate for Arizona's Fifth Congressional District. His Twitter Page similarly lists him as a "Former Independent Congressional write-in candidate." Sand's Facebook presence used a photo of film director Derrick Acosta, and posted a doctored image of a Derrick Acosta interview. The Page also shared several doctored images of news story headlines purporting to be from local press featuring Randall Sand; however, the articles do not appear to exist on the newspaper sites.

General election

Predictions

Results

District 6

Incumbent Republican David Schweikert, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected in 2014 with 65% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Schweikert, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Russ Wittenberg

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• W. John Williamson, candidate for this seat in 2012 and nominee in 2014

Eliminated in primary

• Brian Sinuk

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 7

Incumbent Democrat Ruben Gallego, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was first elected to this district in 2014 with 75% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ruben Gallego, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Eve Nunez

Results

General election

Endorsements

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO

Predictions

Results

District 8

Incumbent Republican Trent Franks, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected in 2014 with 75% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Trent Franks, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Clair Van Steenwyk

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Joe DeVivo (write-in)

DeVivo did not receive enough write-in votes to qualify for nomination.

Results

Green Primary

Candidates

• Mark Salazar (write-in)

Salazar qualified by receiving enough write-in votes.

General election

Predictions

Results

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kyrsten Sinema, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary

John Agra was favored to win the Republican nomination.

Candidates

Nominee

• Dave Giles, engineer and business consultant

Eliminated in primary

• John Agra, attorney

Withdrawn

• Ross Groen, retired marine. Withdrew to run for Arizona House of Representatives district 25.

Endorsements

Newspapers

• The Arizona Republic

Local officials

• Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney

Results

General election

Endorsements

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Frontline" Program

Predictions

Results

External links

• at Ballotpedia
• at OpenSecrets