Democrats close to majority win of Arizona's 9 House seats

PHOENIX — Democrats picked up a Southern Arizona congressional seat and worked to grab the majority of the state’s nine seats and help the party wrest control of Congress from Republicans. But Republicans could still keep a 5-4 majority if they pull off an upset in the sprawling 1st District.

Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, beat Republican Lea Marquez Peterson in the 2nd District, which covers parts of Tucson and spreads east through more conservative Cochise County.

Democrats held the district until Martha McSally beat Democrat Ron Barber in 2014, but McSally is now running for Senate in a race that was too close to call late Tuesday.

Two other districts now held by Democrats were eyed by Republicans, but the 9th District in metro Phoenix went strongly for a Democrat. Former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton beat Republican and former Navy physician Steve Ferrera in that race to replace Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, who faced McSally.

That left incumbent Democrat Tom O’Halleran in a tight race against Republican Wendy Rogers in the 1st District covering Northern and Eastern Arizona. The two traded leads as the night wore on and the race remained too close to call late into the night.

Kirkpatrick touted her vote for the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and her credentials as a moderate Democrat.

Peterson leads the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is a businesswoman.

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Kirkpatrick quickly drew a distinction between herself and McSally.

“I am going to be accessible and hit the ground running. This district will finally have a representative that represents them. I am looking forward to getting to work,” Kirkpatrick said on Tuesday night.

“I’ll do town halls. I’ll be accessible. I’ll be around plenty.”

On a possible motion in the U.S. House to impeach President Trump, Kirkpatrick said, “You know, I am a former prosecutor here in Pima County. I’ve never interfered with law enforcement investigation. Let’s let Robert Mueller finish his investigation, write a report.”

Another closely watched House is a rematch of an April special election held to replace a Republican who resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations. Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko won that 8th District race by 5 percentage points against Democrat Hiral Tipirneni and was ahead late Tuesday.

Five other Arizona congressmen whose districts have heavy partisan registration advantages, two Democrats and three Republicans, easily won new terms.