This is unexpected - and interesting:
Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a freshman Democrat ousted in last year's Republican tidal wave, is angling for a rematch against Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. She told AZ/DC Tuesday that she has made the decision to run for her seat again in 2012. ...
"It's clear to me, now that Paul Gosar has a record, that he is toeing the party line rather than serving the district," she said. "The real key for me is the number of people who I've been hearing from in the district -- and this is Democrats, independents, Republicans and even folks who are actively involved in the 'tea party' -- that they feel he is deeply out-of-touch with the district."
Kirkpatrick said she hopes the 2012 political climate will be more hospitable to her candidacy because it is a presidential year and likely will have a bigger turnout.
I'm not sure that this comeback had really been on our radar. In fact, I apart from randomly appearing in a PPP poll a little while back, her name hasn't come up on SSP since the November election. Most commentators wrote her off at one point or another last year - we eventually moved the race to Lean R. Kirkpatrick wound up losing, of course, but by a not-entire-horribly six points. (By comparison, Carol Shea-Porter was also universally considered to be in a "Lean R" race, and she lost by double that margin.) So perhaps she has enough mojo to stage a comeback.
(As an aside, I'd also point out that Kirkpatrick was the Dem in the reddest seat who both voted for healthcare reform and against the Stupak amendment-as a freshman, no less.)
Of course, there's the little matter of redistricting, but as the article notes, both Gosar and Kirkpatrick hail from Flagstaff, so if there's a district for them to run in after the state's independent commission gets done with its work, they'll both be in it. AZ-01 is also one of those seats that you're pretty much required to describe as "sprawling" - it is, in fact, the tenth-largest by area (and fifth among non-at-large states). So unless mapmakers get very creative, it's hard to imagine this behemoth won't still exist in some form or another come next year. |
