Tobin Concedes To Kirkpatrick In US House Race

By Laurel Morales
Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2014 - 10:16am
Updated: Wednesday, November 5, 2014 - 12:19pm
Tracy Greer/KJZZ
Ann Kirkpatrick in KJZZ's studio in December 2012.

Despite a million dollar effort to topple the two-term incumbent, Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick has managed to hold onto her seat in Arizona's sprawling 1st Congressional District.

Republican state House Speaker Andy Tobin conceded defeat Wednesday morning in his bid against Kirkpatrick, who won by about 10,000 votes.

Kirkpatrick said the voters, “stood up to Washington and gave its partisan games the boot.”

After last week’s announcement that the Navajo presidential race would be postponed, Democrats rallied the tribe to vote. About 40 percent cast ballots. Kirkpatrick says her strategy didn’t change.

"I’ve always spent the last few days of the election on the Navajo Nation. This district is 25 percent Native American so it’s not just Navajo it’s all the tribes," Kirkpatrick said.

Winning this term means ending Kirkpatrick’s on-again, off-again relationship with Congress. She was defeated during the last midterm election.

Kirkpatrick says she’s looking forward to working across the aisle on economic development and veterans benefits in the coming term.

Politics