Gabrielle Giffords

U.S. Reps. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) and Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) broke ranks with their party Wednesday night to vote against a bill that would commit billions of federal dollars to the resuscitation of the U.S. auto industry.

The bill passed around 8:30 p.m. EST on a vote of 237-170, with all but 32 Republicans opposing the bill or not voting, and 20 Democrats joining with the GOP. Two of them were Giffords, a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, and Mitchell, who has sought admittance into the Blue Dog coalition.

A number of Arizonans and national leaders are urging President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team to name U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Tucson) as secretary of the Department of Interior.

Natalie Luna, Grijalva's communications director, told PolitickerAZ.com that a number of environmental groups and other activists within the district have been contacting the transition team to push for Grijalva's nomination.

Also, former 1st Congressional District Democratic primary candidate Howard Shanker, an attorney who has worked extensively on environmental litigation, put out an editorial Monday in which he called Grijalva, "a visionary when it comes to responsible stewardship and multiple use of public lands."

Former 8th Congressional District Representative Jim Kolbe, a Republican, told PolitickerAZ.com he doesn't believe the double-digit victory of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) should deter Republicans from challenging her in the future.

"2008 is a very bad year for Republicans," Kolbe said.

He wouldn't comment on whether or not he thought state Sen. Pres. Tim Bee (R-Tucson), who was 12 points behind Giffords with vote counting nearly complete.   

However, Kolbe did say that to defeat Giffords, "You have to have the right candidate."

It was a good night for Arizona's incumbent members of Congress, as all three representatives up for re-election are set to be returned to office in January.

Republican challenger David Schweikert came closest to pulling an upset, but not very close. He trailed U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) by a little over nine points with 97 percent of returns in.

At 99 percent of precincts reporting, U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) had a larger margin over his opponent, Democrat Bob Lord, leading 54 to 42 in the 3rd District.

Tim Bee, president of the Arizona State Senate, had the same deficit against U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (R-Tucson) as of midnight, attracting 43 percent to Giffords's 55. However, with only 73 percent of precincts in, it's still possible Bee could pull an upset over the first term 8th District Democrat.

Here are the Election Night happenings for congressional candidates and Sen. John McCain.

This post will be updated as events are announced.

JOHN MCCAIN:

Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa

2400 E. Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85016

This is a ticketed event. No one without a ticket will be admitted.

Latest video from Gabrielle Giffords district swing.

Gabrielle Giffords offers this television ad as her closing argument for re-election.    

The campaign of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) is mocking rival Tim Bee over an ad he is running that is virtually identical to an ad from the campaign of Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Steelman against her opponent, U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof (D-Missouri).

"Tim Bee's latest television advertisement does more than continue his campaign's unblemished streak of relying on distortions and false claims to attack Congresswoman Giffords – it's a cheap cut-and-paste job," said Eric Swedlund, spokesman for the Giffords campaign, in a press release.

Both ads feature two drawling, folksy characters, Ed and Orville, who lead an "earmark" tour based on the votes of Giffords and Hulshof. The same actors appear in the ads, and for the most part the scripts are the same as well.

Tim Bee has a new television ad. Bee is not using a Joe the Plumber, but Ed, who was to hip for Woodstock.    

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has poured millions of dollars' worth of television advertising into competitive U.S. House races in Arizona, is either drastically scaling back or ending its TV presence in the 8th and 5th Congressional Districts, according to a Democratic strategist with knowledge of the DCCC's plans.

The change in the 8th District was first reported on the liberal blog Rum, Romanism and Rebellion, and confirmed to PolitickerAZ.com, along with the shift in the 5th district strategy.

"Congresswoman [Gabrielle] Giffords has been a great member of confidence, and the DCCC is confident of her chances" against her challenger, state Sen. Pres. Tim Bee (R-Tucson), said the Democratic insider.