Posted on 09/13/2006 2:55:49 AM PDT by Dane
Graf leads GOP; 'Gabby wanted me, has me,' front-runner says By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.13.2006
Randy Graf held a commanding lead for the Republican nomination in Congressional District 8 Tuesday night over Steve Huffman with the help of voters in rural areas. With nearly 95 percent of the vote counted, and leading by about 3,000 votes, Graf claimed victory. An undetermined number of early ballots that were turned in late remain uncounted and may not be counted until Friday.
"Gabby Giffords wanted me. Gabby Giffords has me," he told supporters late last night. Graf said he felt for some time he had the race won but held off claiming victory until he heard from Huffman. But when no call came, he made his claim. Graf led with about 43 percent of the vote compared with Huffman's 37 percent. Mike Hellon followed with 12 percent.
Though Graf continued to extend his lead through the night, Huffman refused to concede or speculate about the remaining uncounted votes. "Clearly the race is a lot tighter than was projected, even (as recently as) this weekend," he said from his Oro Valley home where about 75 supporters had gathered. Meanwhile, at Graf's celebration party, attended by 200 of his supporters, the candidate was looking ahead at his general election campaign against Democrat Gabrielle Giffords — the victor on the other side of the race. The general election is Nov. 7.
Graf, who worked with Giffords in the Legislature, told reporters he "expects it to be a clean campaign, focused on the issues." "Elections are about choices," he said. "It will be easy for voters to choose between myself and Gabrielle Giffords."
Asked if he would eventually be willing to support Graf, Huffman did not provide a direct answer. "I will be working to make sure the House maintains Republican control," he said. But when pressed, Huffman had indicated on Saturday night that he would support whoever won. Graf told reporters he would welcome Huffman's support but was not overly concerned about his holdout. In a contest that often centered on who was the most hawkish on the thorny immigration issue, the five candidates in the race spent much of the year debating issues and highlighting their achievements. Also in the race were Raytheon employee Frank Antenori, who had garnered 4 percent of the vote, and auto-shop manager Mike Jenkins, who received about 3 percent. Antenori said Republicans now need to come together after an often acrimonious campaign. "We need to come together as a team, and Randy Graf is our quarterback," he said.
Graf, a former golf professional, ran unsuccessfully against retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe in 2004. This time Graf said he's the best candidate to win the district in the general election because he presents a clear alternative to the Democratic Party, has a strong base of grass-roots support and was the first to take illegal immigration seriously. On that, Graf and Huffman's competition exposed an ideological split.
The candidates previously conceded that bringing together the party will be difficult, but not impossible. "We don't have to change the game plan," Graf said Tuesday night. "We just need a lot more room on the bus for more supporters." National Republicans decided last month to spend more than $122,000 on primary-race television ads endorsing Huffman. Democrats also pumped money into the race, launching a last-minute campaign against Huffman. There had been early pressure on Hellon to drop out of the race. With both he and Huffman sharing moderate views on social issues like marriage and abortion and supporting a guest-worker plan for illegal immigrants, his presence in the race was viewed as a drag on Huffman's chances.
But Hellon stayed in, releasing a detailed border plan and holding town halls to tap into conservative voters.
Graf got about the same % he did in the 2004 GOP primary, while another Pubbie, Mike Hellon siphoned away votes from Huffman, meaning that between Hellon and Huffman, they got the majority of the vote while, Graf wins with the plurality in the primary.
Huffman should concede and get behind Graf. Graf should build bridges, especially with Mike Pence and defeat the vote for Nancy Pelosi for speaker, Giffords, becuase if Nancy Pelosi is Speaker there will be no immigration bill. Those are the facts.
I originally was going to use a Tuscon Citizen article, but couldn't due to copyright issues and changed the article but forgot to change the writer's name.
So? Huffman and Hellon put together got 49.5% and I'm sure a lone Huffman candidacy would have gotten enough votes from the other minor candidates to put him over the top with a majority.
Also everyone complains about the NRCC, but what about the democrats putting in money against Huffman(i.e basically helping Graf). If I was Huffman I would be angry at the indirect help Graf got from nancy pelosi & co.
So despite Graf's having four times the number of people looking to take votes from him, he got even a larger percentage of the votes as he did in 2004. And he basically ran on illegal immigration. How's that for a referendum?
Stupid writers! It would be nice if they told us who the hell 'Gabby' Giffords is at the BEGINNING of the article.
And Huffman had the third place finisher siphoning votes from him.
All one has to do is look at the %'s, if Hellon had not been in the race, Huffman would have won, while Graf would have basically stayed at the same % he did in 2004.
Also what do you think of the democrats spending money against Huffman and basically helping Graf?
I think they'll discover that they should've been careful what they wished for :)
Since I support Graf over Huffman, if the Democrat money went to help Graf, then good for them.
Does anyone know how this seat will play in November? Is it definitely ours or are we at risk?
Remind me never to never have my back in front of you. No telling what you would stab the back with.
But Graf has won, I would vote for him in the General, especially if he built bridges to Mike Pence and not tom tancredo.
It isn't a lock.
Why would a border hawk who won because he was a border hawk join an amnesty sell out? Face it Dane, the anti-illegal forces won yet another race. You lost. Deal with it.
Was one of these candidates the one who ran strictly on "Border Security"? I saw an AZ candidate on one of the cable news networks standing at the border.
I don't live in AZ and I try to keep up with all races but this one didn't get that much attention outside the State.
Points to consider: Huffman was McCain's man and one of the more liberal Republicans in the state. Graf took on the feckless Jim Kolbe practically on his own hook in 2004. He then ran strongly against an entrenched candidate by pumping conservative causes. The people of Sahuarita, Green Valley and points south did not forget, and they gave Graf the election.
You mean change his views from a no-amnesty to a path to citizenship approach advocated by Pence? Graf should remain true to his principles. It is a winning strategy.
These earlier polls also showed that Huffman would have a very close race with the dem. If Huffman had won the primary, it is unlikely that the far right would have turned out in the general election to vote for him over the dem.
It is entirely possible that who won the republican primary is irrelevant.
Uh Pence is not an "amnesty" sellout, but keep on smearing him, that's what you do best.
And this was not really a "win" per se. Graf didn't gain from his 2004 primary totals, but I would still vote for him despite your hankering to burn bridges with fellow conservatoves.
Huh, I guess that is why the dem is competitve in that district.
Why don't get you all get over your slavishness over Tancredo and defeat democrats, instead of smearing people like Pence.
If pelosi is Speaker, Tancredo will be more of a backbencher than he is now.
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