Rick Renzi

CQ Politics has a story this morning on the top 5 most vulnerable house seats in the country.  All five of the seats listed are held by Republicans and included on that list is Arizona’s 1st Congressional District to replace Rick Renzi. 

Cook Political Report has shifted the 3rd Congressional District race from "solid Republican" to "likely Republican," following the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's addition of challenger Bob Lord to its Red to Blue program.

Lord is facing incumbent U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) in a fight for the 3rd District, where Republican registration outstrips Democratic by a significant margin. However, after Lord's strong fundraising totals and Shadegg's decision to leave the race, which he reversed two weeks later, many, including Cook, see a possibility for Lord to pull an upset.

According to Cook, Lord's "strong fundraising and Shadegg's hesitancy to announce reelection plans" got the attention of the DCCC. In May, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) appeared with Lord in Phoenix to show his support for the first-time candidate, and now, with Lord on the Red to Blue list, the challenger has some potentially serious financial backing as well.

Most pundits and observers believe the CD1 Congressional race is going to be Democratic candidate Ann Kirkpatrick vs Republican candidate Sydney Hay. While the two do appear to be on a collision course to meet in November unless there is a major upset, there may be another player who has a say in the outcome.

Brent Maupin, a Sedona businessman, is also running for the seat being vacated by Congressman Rick Renzi. Maupin, a lifelong Republican, is running as an independent for the office. Maupin calls himself a “centrist” and thinks both parties are out of touch.

Maupin has retained outside professional help with the addition of Steve Kush and Kush and Associates out of New Jersey to handle his media.

If you visit Maupin’s website, make sure you check out his song “Stand Up America.”

1st Congressional District democratic candidate Ann Kirkpatrick is in a primary for the right to succeed Rick Renzi in CD1, but don’t tell that to the DCCC.  The DCCC has added Kirkpatrick to their Red-to-Blue program which will help Kirkpatrick with fundraising. 

Kirkpatrick was also endorsed last week by Governor Janet Napolitano.

Capping a day when CD1 candidate Sydney Hay picked up the support of ten state legislators in the district she hopes to represent, Hay also gained a backer in higher office: U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-3).

Shadegg is the second member of Congress to lend his support to Hay, who looks increasingly likely to become the Republican nominee to face off against the eventual Democratic nominee for the open seat. U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake endorsed Hay on May 20, and U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-2), for whom Hay was a spokeswoman during his 2006 re-election campaign, endorsed her as soon as she entered the race last August.

"We need you in the halls of Congress," the release from the Hay campaign quoted Shadegg as saying.

Indicted U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-1) is seeking to have dozens of his cell phone conversations which were recorded by the FBI barred from admission at his trial. He filed separate motions yesterday in the U.S. District Court of Arizona arguing that many of the calls are either subject to attorney-client privilege or are protected under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.According to TheHill.com:

U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi: Getty Images PhotoThe House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct will "suspend a portion of its inquiry" into possible ethics violations by U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Flagstaff), reports Roll Call.

The Justice Department indicted Renzi in on 35 counts including extortion and money laundering following a lengthy FBI probe. The House ethics committee's decision to suspend its inquiry came at the behest of the Department of Justice, according to the report.

While Arizona's congressional delegation may often split along ideological divides, yesterday marked a rare occasion in which Democrats and Republicans united behind a common cause.

In a letter sent to President George W. Bush, four Republican and two Democratic members of Congress from Arizona urged the federal government to renew Operation Jump Start, the 2006 initiative to place National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border. The mandate is set to expire in just over two months, which, the legislators argue, would severely compromise anti-illegal immigration efforts.

Sydney Hay has heard it all, she is too conservative, she can’t raise the money, she won’t be able to attract Independent voters, she won’t be able to withstand the Republican establishment once they find a candidate. Well here she is, almost certainly on her way to the Republican nomination in Arizona’s First Congressional District.

Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen is optimistic about the chances of Republicans to regain lost ground against Democrats in the Arizona congressional delegation, he said today on Grover Norquist's radio show. However, he said that key to recapturing CD5 will be a Republican primary that keeps the fighting above the belt.