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Arizona: NRCC Backs GOP centrist in open CD-8 primary
Free Republic
Politics 1 | Aug. 31, 2006 | Ron Gunzburger
Posted on 08/31/2006 11:17:40 AM PDT by PhilCollins


THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.

ARIZONA: NRCC BACKS GOP CENTRIST IN OPEN CD-8 PRIMARY. Retiring eleven-term Congressman Jim Kolbe (R) is strongly supporting State Representative Steve Huffman as his successor -- and now Kolbe has some powerful allies in his vocal efforts to derail the candidacy of former State Representative Randy Graf. The National Republican Congressional Committee spent $122,292 to purchase TV time for a spot in support of Huffman scheduled to start airing later this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal also reported the individual leadership PACs of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader John Boehner and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt each gave $5,000 to Huffman within the last week. The NRCC and House Republican leaders purportedly share Kolbe's concern that Graf is far too conservative to win this swing district in November. Graf's campaign responded by claiming these contributions to Huffman will "tick off a whole lot of people." Huffman, like Kolbe, is a GOP centrist. Graf -- a hardcore conservative who has embraced the anti-immigration views of Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) -- lost to Kolbe by a 14-point margin in the 2004 GOP primary. Graf is endorsed by Tancredo, Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater, National Right to Life, and the Fraternal Order of Police. Huffman is backed by Kolbe, the NRCC, BIPAC, and Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup. Former State GOP Chair Mike Hellon and two others are also running in the Republican primary. Former State Senator Gabrielle Giffords is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Giffords is endorsed by Emily's List, the AFL-CIO, the National Education Association, the Arizona Police Association, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club.