Peterson wins tight GOP primary in District 2

Kirkpatrick will be Democrats’ candidate on November ballot

Lea Marquez Peterson narrowly won the Republican primary in a key Tucson-based district, setting the stage for a contest with former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick for the Democrats.

Kirkpatrick, a three-term Washington veteran, defeated six other Democratic opponents Tuesday night in her bid to renew her congressional career in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District.

Regardless of who wins in November, the Tucson area will have its fourth member of Congress in seven years.

“We started this campaign because we were out there talking about protecting southern Arizona families from a Washington, D.C., that has completely gone off the rails,” Kirkpatrick told her supporters on Tuesday. “We’re going to continue to make sure that seniors get their Social Security and their Medicare. It’s not an entitlement; it’s an earned benefit. We’re going to make sure that our veterans are taken care of.”

“Lea Marquez Peterson is one of our brightest rising stars,” said Steve Stivers, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Lea is a Tucson native, and her experience building a small business, creating jobs, and running the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce gives her both the right perspective and local roots to effectively represent the Second District in Congress.”

The Associated Press called the races for Kirkpatrick and Marquez Peterson.

The race has attracted national attention in part because it is considered one of the more promising possibilities for a Democratic pick-up. The party needs to win a net 23 new seats to regain control of the House next year.

In 2016, voters in the district chose Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump for president by 5 percentage points on the same night they sent U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican, back to Washington for a second term by a comfortable 14 percentage points.

Republicans picked among four candidates to replace McSally, who is running for the U.S. Senate.

Marquez Peterson, the CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, dominated the field financially. She raised more than $700,000 for her campaign, while her three opponents brought in about $60,000 combined.

Marquez Peterson favors stepped-up border security, including a wall, and repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

Also running for the GOP were: Brandon Martin, who worked in intelligence for the U.S. Army and is a veteran of the Afghanistan War; Daniel Morales, a former Douglas city councilman trained in biochemistry; and Casey Welch, a member of the Peace Corps.

Kirkpatrick, meanwhile, was long viewed as the favorite for the Democrats, though she faced significant opposition from a crowded field.

The district includes most of Tucson and runs south and east to the border with Mexico and New Mexico.

The district is evenly divided between registered Democrats and registered Republicans, which is one reason for its high turnover in recent years.

Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, held the seat that largely resembled the current district for three terms until 2012, when she resigned after being shot in the head in a massacre near Tucson.

Ron Barber, a district director for Giffords who was wounded in the same shooting, replaced Giffords in a 2012 special election and won a full term later that year.

McSally narrowly lost to Barber in 2012 and beat him in the closest House race in the country in 2014 to win her current seat.

Regardless of who wins in November, the Tucson area will have its fourth member of Congress in seven years.