Republican
Randy Graf
was elected
in 1994 to
serve on the
governing
board of the
Continental
School
District. In
1998 he was
elected
Board
President.
He also
served as
the
government
relations
liaison to
the Green
Valley
Chamber of
Commerce. In
2000, Graf
was elected
to the
Arizona
House of
Representatives
from the
30th
District. He
served there
from 2000 to
2004. During
his second
term in the
legislature,
Graf was
elected as
House
Majority
Whip. He
also served
as the state
chairman of
the American
Legislative
Exchange. In
2004, Graf
resigned
from the
state house
to run in
the
Republican
primary for
the 8th
District
against
10-term
incumbent
Jim Kolbe.
It was the
first time
Kolbe had
faced a
serious
primary
challenge
since
winning the
seat in
1984. Graf
ran well to
Kolbe's
right. He
campaigned
with a "get
tough"
message on
illegal
immigration,
a "hot
button"
issue,
especially
for
residents
living along
Arizona's
border with
Mexico,
which has
become a
major
crossing
point for
smuggling.
He also
aligned
himself with
U.S.
Representatives
Tom Tancredo
of Colorado
and Steve
King of
Iowa, who
proposed
enhanced
border
security.
Graf was
also a
senior
advisor for
Proposition
200, an
initiative
passed by
Arizona
voters in
2004 to
prevent
welfare and
voter fraud.
He was no
less
conservative
on other
issues; he
is
anti-abortion,
against
same-sex
marriage,
in favor of
continued
U.S. support
for Israel,
and in favor
of tort
reforms and
medical care
choice as a
way of
lowering
health
insurance
rates.
Ultimately,
Graf took 42
percent of
the primary
vote. By
comparison,
Kolbe's
previous
primary
opponents
hadn't
cleared 30
percent. In
2004, Graf
appeared on
The Daily
Show as the
butt of a
mock
interview
titled "A
Round of
Shots." Ed
Helms asked
him about
his
introduction
of a bill in
the Arizona
legislature
that would
allow people
to bring
concealed
handguns
into bars.
Kolbe did
not run for
re-election
in 2006, and
Graf
immediately
jumped into
the race.
The national
Republican
leadership
was somewhat
cool toward
Graf,
believing he
was too
conservative
for a
district
that has
historically
been a
bastion of
moderate
Republicanism.
The National
Republican
Congressional
Committee
took the
unusual step
of endorsing
Kolbe's
former
campaign
manager,
Steve
Huffman,
whom Kolbe
had already
endorsed as
his
successor.
However,
another
moderate
Republican,
former state
party
chairman
Mike Hellon,
was also in
the field.
Huffman and
Hellon split
the moderate
vote,
allowing
Graf to win
with a
plurality of
42 percent.
Graf faced
Democrat
Gabby
Giffords and
Libertarian
David Nolan
in the
November 7,
2006,
general
election.
However,
Kolbe
refused to
endorse him.
With Graf
sinking in
the polls,
the NRCC
pulled $1
million
worth of
advertising
in the 8th—a
step that,
by most
accounts,
effectively
handed the
seat to
Giffords.
Graf was
defeated by
Giffords in
the general
election by
a
54.1%-42.2%
margin.
Screen capture taken April 4, 2018. Please note the third name from the bottom.
Center for Arizona Policy
2006 Survey Questions For Arizona Candidates
Position Sought: United States Representative CD-8
Question 6: Amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Candidates' Position: Support
Question 8: . Adding “sexual orientation” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in antidiscrimination law.
"The values of Graf and the KKK correspond enough for David Duke to go out of his way to endorse him on his website.
These aren't the values of Southern Arizona, and it would be terrible if such a reasonable Congressman as Jim Kolbe (who will not endorse Graf) is to be followed by this man.
The Arizona Democratic Party has asked Graf to demand that David Duke take him off his site, but Graf has no plans to do so.
AZ-08 is considered one of the best Dem pickups in the country. Graf is facing an excellent Democratic candidate in Gabrielle Giffords."
Affirmative Action/Civil Rights
