Cronkite News has moved to a new home at cronkitenews.azpbs.org. Use this site to search archives from 2011 to May 2015. You can search the new site for current stories.

1st Congressional District still too close to call

Tweet

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012
By Sarah Pringle
Cronkite News

The contest for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District remains too close to call as Republican Jonathan Paton, a former state lawmaker and Iraq War veteran, and his Democratic opponent Ann Kirkpatrick wait for the last votes to come in.

Unofficial returns show Paton with a narrow lead.

Kirkpatrick, an attorney and former prosecutor, served two terms in the state Legislature before winning election to Congress in 2008.

The 1st Congressional District is one of the largest in the nation, extending from Cochise County to the Utah line.

Paton and Kirkpatrick engaged in a heated race that featured negative advertising, much of it funded by national groups that viewed the district as competitive.

Kirkpatrick portrayed Paton as a greedy lobbyist, while Paton presented Kirkpatrick’s record as a rubber stamp for President Barack Obama.