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Former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D) defeated Tucson Hispanic Chamber CEO Lea Marquez Peterson (R) in the general election on November 6, 2018, to represent Arizona's 2nd Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Martha McSally (R) was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in the state and did not seek re-election.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.
Arizona's 2nd was one of 25 Republican-held districts won by Hillary Clinton (D) in the 2016 presidential election. Both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee identified this district as a target in 2018.
Former Rep. Ron Barber (D), who represented the district from 2012 to 2014, said of the importance of this race, "The path to a Democratic majority in the House runs right through this district."
The 2nd District is located in the southeastern corner of Arizona and includes Cochise County and part of Pima County.
Arizona's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018
| Poll | Poll sponsor |  Kirkpatrick |
 Marquez Peterson | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena College September 26-October 1, 2018 | New York Times | 50% | 39% | 10% | +/-4.5 | 502 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lea Marquez Peterson | Republican Party | $1,466,445 | $1,457,231 | $9,214 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Ann Kirkpatrick | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Arizona from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Arizona Secretary of State.
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Arizona every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Arizona 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Donald Trump |
48.7% | Hillary Clinton |
45.1% | 3.6% |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney |
53.7% | Barack Obama |
44.6% | 9.1% |
| 2008 | John McCain |
53.6% | Barack Obama |
45.1% | 7.5% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush |
54.9% | John Kerry |
44.4% | 10.5% |
| 2000 | George W. Bush |
51.0% | Al Gore |
44.5% | 5.5% |
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Arizona from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Arizona 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | John McCain |
53.7% | Ann Kirkpatrick |
40.7% | 13.0% |
| 2012 | Jeff Flake |
49.2% | Richard Carmona |
46.2% | 3.0% |
| 2010 | John McCain |
58.9% | Rodney Glassman |
34.7% | 24.2% |
| 2006 | Jon Kyl |
53.3% | Jim Pederson |
43.5% | 9.8% |
| 2004 | John McCain |
76.7% | Stuart Starky |
20.6% | 56.1% |
| 2002 | Jon Kyl |
79.3% |  William Toel (I) |
7.8% | 7.8% |
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Arizona.
Election results (Governor), Arizona 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Doug Ducey |
53.4% | Fred DuVal |
41.6% | 11.8% |
| 2010 | Jan Brewer |
54.3% | Terry Goddard |
42.4% | 12.1% |
| 2006 | Janet Napolitano |
62.6% | Len Munsil |
35.4% | 27.2% |
| 2002 | Janet Napolitano |
46.2% | Matt Salmon |
45.2% | 1.0%' |
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Arizona in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Congressional delegation, Arizona 2000-2016
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 |
55.5% | 4 |
44.4% | R+1 |
| 2014 | 5 |
55.5% | 4 |
44.4% | R+1 |
| 2012 | 4 |
44.4% | 5 |
55.5% | D+1 |
| 2010 | 5 |
62.5% | 3 |
37.5% | R+2 |
| 2008 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
| 2006 | 4 |
50% | 4 |
50% | Even |
| 2004 | 6 |
75% | 2 |
25% | R+4 |
| 2002 | 6 |
75% | 2 |
25% | R+4 |
| 2000 | 5 |
83.3% | 1 |
16.6% | R+4 |
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Arizona Party Control: 1992-2019
No Democratic trifectas • 19 years of Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Demographic data for Arizona
| Arizona | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 6,817,565 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 113,594 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.3% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 78.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 4.4% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 30.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $50,255 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Arizona. | ||
As of July 2016, Arizona's three largest cities were Phoenix (pop. est. 1,626,078), Tucson (pop. est. 535,677), and Mesa (pop. est. 496,401).
