Arizona's 8th congressional district

Infobox U.S. congressional district
state = Arizona
district number = 8

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image width = 300
image caption =
representative = Gabrielle Giffords
party = Democratic
english area =9,057
metric area =
percent urban = 87.3
percent rural = 12.7
population = 641,329
population year = 2000
median income = 40,656
percent white = 73.9
percent black = 3
percent asian = 2.1
percent native american = 0.8
percent hispanic = 18.2
percent other race = 0.1
percent blue collar =
percent white collar =
percent gray collar =
cpvi = R+1

Arizona's 8th Congressional District encompasses the extreme southeastern of the state. It includes all of Cochise County, Arizona and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.

It is currently represented by Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat. George W. Bush received 53% of the vote in this district in 2004.

Statistics

* Male 49.1%, Female 50.9%
* Median age: 39.1
* Median Household Income: $40,656

Competitiveness

This seat was in Republican hands until the election in Giffords in 2006. Historically, the seat has had a slight GOP lean with most of the latino areas of Tucson contained in the neighboring 7th District. Tucson's GOP leanings are more socially liberal than its neighbor to the north Phoenix which helped Giffords in her 2006 bid over Randy Graf.

Recent results

2002

2008 Election

Tim Bee, current President of the Arizona Senate is running against incumbent Gabrielle Giffords.

List of Representatives

History

Athabaskan-speaking Native Americans lived in this region long before the arrival of the Europeans who established the Arizona Territory. In the late 1800s, Apache chief Cochise and a band of Chiricahuas built their stronghold on the Dragoon range of mountains. The tribe would often ambush and rob passer-by as an attempt to keep interlopers off their land. The presence of the tribe deterred the settlement of the area for far longer than the rest of the Arizona Territory. Cochise, after a few decades, was eventually starved out of his stronghold and hanged. The district, containing a county now called by his name, developed when its varied and valuable resources were found in the 1870s. The discovery of mines in 1878 in the Tombstone district spurred much growth and investment in the area.

Geography

The District is mountains and wide valleys. The district is considered to be high desert grasslands with elevations from 3500 to 6000 feet. Several mountain ranges run through the district with the highest peak in the Chiricahua Mountains at 9,796 feet. Southeast Arizona is at an ecological crossroads where habitats and species from the Sierra Madre of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts can all be found. The abrupt rise of mountains from the surrounding grasslands creates unique habitats harboring rare species and communities of plants and animals. The area has a semi-arid climate with moderate winters and hot summers. Precipitation rarely exceeds one inch in any month other than July, August, and September, when high intensity, but short-lived monsoon storms can occur.

Main industries

Primary job fields of the people in the district include: agriculture, ranching, livestock, mining, and tourism. The main irrigated crops are cotton, wheat, corn, grain, sorghum, alfalfa, hay, apples, peaches, cherries, grapes, pistachios, pecans, lettuce, chilis, and other vegetables. The area has a multitude of U-pick vegetable farms and orchards, including several organic farms. Greenhouse tomato and cucumber operations have been completed in the past few years with good success. In Cochise County there is the U.S. Army base Fort Huachuca and numerous military-industrial companies. In suburban and urban areas, Wal-Marts are the most abundant superstores.

chools

In the district, there is Cochise College, a 2-year college. The University of Arizona is within a couple miles of the district border, located in central Tucson. 2.8% of adults 25 and older have completed less than 9th grade; 5.5% between 9th and 12th grade; but have not received a diploma. 17.9% are high school graduates; 26.8% have some college but no degree; 7.5% have an Associate’s degree; 26.1% have a Bachelor’s degree; and 13.5% have a Graduate or professional degree.

Tourism, recreation

Tourism is an important industry; the district has numerous natural wonders, national forests, parks, and conservation areas. There are multiple caverns (including the renowned Kartchner Caverns) and canyons available for visitation. Hiking, camping, fishing, and boating can be found throughout the region. There are also Apache historical sites, war memorials, museums, tour trains, and mine tours. Golfing is popular, and there are multiple golf courses across the district.

References

# [http://fastfacts.census.gov/servlet/CWSFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=50000US0405&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US04%7C50000US0404&_street=&_county=&_cd=50000US0405&_cityTown=&_state=04000US04&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=500&_content=&_keyword=&_industry= Demographic information at census.gov]
# [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004//pages/results/states/AZ/index.html 2004 Election data at CNN.com]
# [http://www.election.cbsnews.com/campaign2002/state/state_az.shtml 2002 Election data from CBSNews.com]
# [http://www.willcoxaz.net/cochisecounty.html Cochise County Page]
# [http://www.arizonagenealogy.com/cochise/index.htm Arizona Genealogy]
# [http://www.greatdreams.com/apache/lozen.htm Apache Tribe]
# [http://giffords.house.gov/ Giffords House Website]