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Democrat Gabrielle Giffords is running for Congress against Randy Graf in Arizona, and I called her office a few times trying to find out exactly which of the various immigration plans she supports or where her support differs from those plans. All I managed to get out of one of her staff members is that she supports the Kennedy-McCain plan, which includes a "guest" worker plan. [1] However, that plan did not pass. I asked about the plan that did pass the Senate, the "Hagel-Martinez compromise", which also contains a "guest" worker plan similar to that from Kennedy-McCain. [2] I...

There's something about Randy Graf that makes even his own party queasy...somewhere between seasick and wet-your-pants alarmed. He has this Howdy Doody happy face that doesn't seem to fade entirely, even when he talks about Mexicans. Mexicans are a subject about which Graf feels quite strongly. Serious. You might say angry READ MORE We are only linking this column to show what Graf is up against! This is a perfect example of the type of smears we can expect in the coming months. They call Graf "angry" and "anti-Mexican" without giving any examples or even attempting to rebut any of...

National Republicans are pulling advertising in Arizona for 8th District GOP nominee Randy Graf, who last week won his party’s primary but is trailing by nineteen points in a general election poll released Tuesday by his Democratic challenger. A spokesman for the Tucson ABC affiliate, where ads were reserved, confirmed that the party committee was pulling them. The Arizona Democratic Party on Wednesday accused Graf of "associating himself" with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, citing a posting on Duke’s website but offering no evidence of an actual relationship. On Thursday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Rahm Emanuel...

WASHINGTON - Republicans signaled retreat Thursday in their battle to retain an Arizona congressional seat, dropping plans for nonstop television advertisements through Election Day on behalf of GOP contender Randy Graf. Officials in both parties said private polls show Graf trailing Democratic rival Gabrielle Giffords in the race to replace Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe (news, bio, voting record), who is retiring after 22 years in Congress. The maneuvering shows the intense district-by-district competition for control of the House, with the two parties adjusting tactics frequently to take changing circumstances into account. Democrats must gain 15 seats this fall to capture...

The source here is highly questionable, (the DCCC's weblog) but the allegation is troubling: "The NRCC, having gone out on a limb to get a more moderate candidate through the primary and failed, has just given up on ... nominee Randy Graf. We have just gotten word that they have cancelled everything on the air from October 3rd forward." If this is true, I'm ashamed of the NRCC

Shootout at the Not-So-OK Corral What We Learned From Randy Graf's Win by Rep. Tom Tancredo Posted Sep 15, 2006 A funny thing happened in Arizona's 8th District primary election on Tuesday. A conservative former state legislator, Randy Graf, faced off against the hand-picked candidate of the retiring incumbent, liberal Republican Jim Kolbe and the entire Republican establishment. The Kolbe clone had the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which had decided that Graf was "too conservative for his district.” The Republican voters in the 8th District of Arizona told the NRCC and Jim Kolbe to take a hike...

Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe, who is leaving office after eleven terms, will not be supporting the Republican candidate to succeed him. Today, Kolbe, who supported state Representative Steve Huffman in the primary for the eighth Congressional district, issued a statement saying he congratulates conservative Republican Randy Graf on his victory. However, he says "there are such profound and fundamental differences" between Graf and him on several key issues that he can't endorse Graf for the general election. Graf, a former golf pro, campaigned foremost on the need to secure the border with Mexico and put a halt to illegal immigration.

Thanks to your help, Team America endorsed candidate Randy Graf beat out establishment candidate Steve Huffman in Arizona's 8th congressional district 43% to 37%. Graf is as strong a candidate you can find, while Huffman is an amnesty supporter. Graf won even though the National Republican Congressional Committee pumped in hundreds of thousands of dollars into Huffman's campaign -- something unheard of in an open primary. If that wasn't bad enough, the ads portrayed pro-amnesty Huffman as tough on border security! Arizona voters were not fooled, and selected a candidate who will secure our borders and enforce our laws. We...

Writing in Sunday's Washington Post, Marc Ambinder observed, “Both parties have well-financed internal agitators who yank tight the chains of ideological discipline -- think of MoveOn.Org on the left and the Club for Growth on the right ... The Republican base is fracturing around fiscal probity, immigration and cultural issues.” He's right. And it seems the Republican Party committees are actually working around-the-clock to expedite the process. It has been much noted that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has spent millions of dollars against conservative Steve Laffey in Rhode Island. But now, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has...

One of the most vocal Republican opponents of President Bush’s immigration policy is planning a trip to Tucson later this month to stump for Congressional candidate Randy Graf. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, will appear with Graf at an event intended to highlight the work of the Minuteman Project, said Graf’s campaign manager R.T. Gregg. Tancredo, a foe of the White House on immigration, has become a national figure for his strong advocacy for securing the U.S.-Mexico border. He has endorsed Graf for Congress. Graf said he met Tancredo in 2003, when the Congressman visited Cochise County to assess...

Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman was in Arizona Thursday, visiting with a Hispanic-owned business in West Phoenix and attending a GOP fundraiser in Tucson. Hispanics are poised to become key voting blocs in Arizona and other states in the coming years and Republicans hope to make inroads with that community on social and economic issues, including tax cuts and private school tax credits. Mehlman visited ATL Inc.'s offices in Phoenix. ATL is an engineering consulting firm headed by Frank Rivera. Mehlman has focused on outreach to traditionally Democratic minority communities -- including Latinos -- since becoming RNC chair after...

The woman at the podium was angry about U.S. immigration policy. She loudly criticized President Bush, Senate Republicans and business interests, telling a Tucson audience they were working against the kind of solution that most Americans want. "We're going to hold Republicans responsible," she said as the crowd of more than 100 responded with loud applause. Democrats? Immigration rights advocates? Far from it. This was a meeting of Republicans. Few issues divide the GOP like illegal immigration, as this gathering at a Downtown hotel on Friday morning showed. On one side are conservatives like Bay Buchanan, the woman who fired...

Regarding Congressman Jim Kolbe's decision not to run for reelection, in a word, "Hallelujah." When someone retires or passes away, we try to say something nice about that person, we downplay his negatives and point out his positives. I would like to do the same for Congressman Jim Kolbe, but I really don't have the time to do that much research, other then to say, I wholeheartedly approve of his decision to leave Congress. I'm sure Kolbe will be missed by Mexican President Vincente Fox, he is one of the best members of Congress Mexico has ever had in the...

Any Arizonians(sp.?) care to jump in and explain to me how these liberal "Republicans" keep getting elected? I mean, c'mon, Kolbe and Flake are not Republicans. What is the outlook for 2006? Randy Graf seems like a good choice, butcan he win in District 8? Plus, people are saying that Russell Pearce may run for Governor against Napolitano, or against Flake. I like Pearce, think he would be greate in either position. Can anyone with any insight tell me if Kolbe, Flake, or Napolitano can actually be defeated? I'm really pulling for Graf against Kolbe!

A woman whose brother was killed in the September 11 attacks yesterday surprised top members of the House Homeland Security Committee with counterfeit Mexican matricula consular cards bearing the members' identities and showcasing how easy it is to get valid identification to board an airplane. Debra Burlingame, who was testifying on the Transportation Security Administration's screening procedures for pilots and flight crews, wouldn't reveal who made the cards, which appeared to bear the security marks of a valid card, but emphasized that they can be used to carry on daily business. "They look exactly like what I've seen. The back...

Local News Graf plans to face Kolbe again in 2006 BY BILL HESS Wednesday, April 27, 2005 2:04 PM MDT Herald/Review SIERRA VISTA - With a little than 16 months before the next congressional primary, former state Rep. Randy Graf will officially throw his hat into the Republican ring this week. Graf, of Green Valley, said Tuesday that he wants to have more time to raise money for his campaign against Republican incumbent Jim Kolbe for the Congressional District 8 seat. "We got a late start last time," Graf told the Herald/Review, referring to the 2004 primary campaign. On Thursday,...

It was not much of a night for supporters of Proposition 200. Religious leaders were against it. The audience was predominantly against it. And a prominent Tucson homebuilder who admitted his industry relies on undocumented workers was against it. But Republican congressional candidate Randy Graf stood his ground, telling about 200 people at St. Philip's in the Foothills Episcopal Church on Thursday night of his support for the initiative that would require proof of citizenship to vote and receive certain public services. Graf was the only one of nine candidates to endorse the "Protect Arizona Now" initiative at a candidate...

Is Rep. Jim Kolbe On the Outs with the Bush/Cheney Campaign? By Todd Evans - President, South East Arizona Republican Club Along with the rest of the Arizona Republican Congressional Delegation, Jim Kolbe may serve as a Co-Chairman of the Bush-Cheney '04 Arizona Leadership Team. However, he was not anywhere to be found at the jam-packed Dick Cheney rally held in Tucson on July 31st. He wasn't on the stage and he certainly did not speak despite the fact that the rally was held in Tucson which includes most of Rep. Jim Kolbe's constituents. Rep. J.D. Hayworth spoke despite the...

Randy Graf “stymies” 10 term incumbent! Jim Kolbe visibly shaken after duo debate. (Sierra Vista) The Graf for Congress campaign is wondering if they may be on the verge of the “upset of the year” for a Republican Primary. They have every reason to be confident after Randy Graf left little doubt he is ready and prepared to unseat Congressional (strongman), Jim Kolbe in Arizona’s 8th District. Kolbe and Graf squared off for their first debate last night, held in the Sierra Vista High School. Graf stated; “…the differences between Jim Kolbe and I, are vast. We differ on...

Jim Kolbe visibly shaken after duo debate. (Sierra Vista) The Graf for Congress campaign is wondering if they may be on the verge of the “upset of the year” for a Republican Primary. They have every reason to be confident after Randy Graf left little doubt he is ready and prepared to unseat Congressional (strongman), Jim Kolbe in Arizona’s 8th District. Kolbe and Graf squared off for their first debate last night, held in the Sierra Vista High School. Graf stated; “…the differences between Jim Kolbe and I, are vast. We differ on the “right to life” issue, the sanctity...