Congressional District 2 is a political barometer β a large swath of Southern and Eastern Arizona populated with registered voters closely split between Democrats (136,268) and Republicans (132,730).
The key voters are the 121,090 residents who have eschewed a political party. The district has a bipartisan history and has been represented by Republicans and Democrats, including Jim Kolbe and Gabby Giffords.
Its current representative is Martha McSally, a Republican who has closely aligned herself with President Trumpβs policies and is now running for U.S. Senate. In a way, the November vote is a referendum on her performance in CD2, because both candidates to replace her β Republican Lea Marquez Peterson and Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick β were spurred by her actions.
We know both candidates fairly well. The Starβs Editorial department has partnered with the Hispanic Chamber on events, including Tucson City Council political debates, and Marquez Peterson served on our Community Editorial Advisory Board last year, until she declared her candidacy.
And weβve met with Kirkpatrick multiple times over the years, because CD 1 reaches into Oro Valley and Marana. We did not endorse her Senate run β not because we werenβt impressed by her knowledge and commitment, but because most any candidate would have paled in comparison to the institutional and foreign-policy knowledge that John McCain brought to the table.
Marquez Peterson, a Republican since age 18, is a political newcomer who is well-known in Southern Arizona for her work with community organizations and for expanding the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce throughout the region.
She told the Starβs Editorial Board that she watched and supported McSally, and when it became clear McSally was going for the Senate, she decided to run for CD2. βI thought, I can keep this seat Republican and pro-business.β
Marquez Peterson is casting herself as βhometown,β to draw a distinction from Kirkpatrick, a Democrat who represented Northern Arizonaβs District 1 in Congress before losing to McCain in what was his final Senate election. Kirkpatrick moved to Tucson after that 2016 election to help take care of her grandchildren while her daughter completed a medical residency.
She watched as McSally voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act β which Kirkpatrick had supported at a high political cost β and, after doing some polling that indicated McSally was vulnerable, decided to run against her.
The way we see it, after researching each candidate, watching them debate and conducting interviews, the choice boils down to this: If you support Martha McSally, you will likely find Lea Marquez Peterson an appealing candidate.
Marquez Peterson has much to recommend her, including her work promoting trade between Southern Arizona and Mexico, and her local roots.
But.
We have serious concerns about what Marquez Peterson has said during the campaign.
She says she supports Trumpβs plan for an expanded border wall βwhere it makes sense,β an answer that avoids taking a stand.
She said she supports legal status β but not a path to citizenship β for βdreamers,β the young immigrant DACA recipients who were brought into the country illegally by their parents.
She said she supports a private-investment Social Security option for younger people, an answer that isnβt an outright call to eliminate Social Security, but isnβt realistic if the safety net for senior citizens is to continue.
She said she makes a distinction between Trump the person and Trumpβs policies, saying she supports the administration, but not always the man. We donβt think the two can, or should, be so easily separated.
While Marquez Peterson describes herself as an independent Republican, she has taken a few pages out of McSallyβs playbook. She would not commit to at least two public town halls if she wins office. (McSally has been roundly criticized by many constituents for meeting mostly with small groups of invitees, not in open forums.)
Kirkpatrick said she welcomes town halls and has held many, including with Rep. Paul Gosar, a conservative Republican congressman from Arizona. βIβm not afraid of being shouted at,β she said.
In a debate last week, Marquez Peterson was asked if she accepts climate change science and she didnβt answer the question directly, saying, βI think it is a delicate balance between growing a company and the environmental regulations put in place and making sure that they donβt overreach.β
Kirkpatrick described climate change an βexistential threatβ and said she, along with the Defense Department, accepts climate science.
When asked in our interview about background checks for firearms purchases, Marquez Peterson said she does not support βtaking awayβ guns from Americans β a statement we found reveals either a misunderstanding of what the idea of universal background checks involves or an outright attempt to stoke fear amid CD 2 voters.
When pressed, she said she does not support requiring a federal background check for private gun sales β a position with which we strongly disagree.
The gun issue is an interesting one for Kirkpatrick, because she has been roundly criticized by other Democrats after receiving a high rating from the National Rifle Association in 2012. She told the Starβs Editorial Board that school shootings have helped change her mind and she now advocates universal background checks for all firearm sales.
Kirkpatrickβs prior three terms in Congress, even if it was representing CD 1, give her a track record. She has been excoriated for her vote on mining in Oak Flats in Western Arizona, but, as she explained it, βIt was going to be mined, no question,β so she made sure she was at the negotiating table and added some limitations and environmental studies to the legislation.
Kirkpatrick has the advantage of having served in Congress before, and the Republicans are trying to use that against her, tying her to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi β even as Marquez Peterson recently welcomed current Speaker Paul Ryan to the campaign with her.
More importantly, Kirkpatrickβs experience with the federal role in major needs in Arizona β water, infrastructure, homeland security, education β gives her a head start in effectiveness for CD 2.
We have some advice for Ann Kirkpatrick: Do your homework on Southern Arizona. Spend every waking moment connecting with residents. Learn our school districts, town councils, roads, community groups.
The hometown advantage is an advantage, with all else being equal. In this particular race in this particular election, however, we find that Ann Kirkpatrick is the better choice for Congressional District 2.
