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PRESCOTT -- Wednesday night, residents of the 1st Congressional District gathered to hear Republican candidate Dr. Sandra Livingstone inside her campaign headquarters, which occupy the corner of an office building that overlooks Courthouse Square.

Livingstone, who is challenging Republican Party-backed Syndey Hay and other candidates in the primary, filed her candidacy just before the June 4 deadline, and flew under the radar until her Federal Election Commission report came out, showing she had near-parity with Hay in cash on hand. Her June fundraising came in at $4,725 - well behind Hay's quarterly take of about $95,000 - but she has put up $200,000 of her own money, meaning she is very much in the race from a money perspective.

Around 20 people, mainly senior citizens, showed up for the Livingstone town hall, where they heard her discuss Second Amendment rights, energy policy and her recommendations for bringing the nation's finances under control.

The AZ-1 Democratic primary is turning out to be a contest of Ann Kirkpatrick, her war chest, DCCC support and establishment endorsements from the likes of Gov. Janet Napolitano, Congressman Harry Mitchell and Congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords vs. Howard Shanker and his Indian reservation support.

As of Wednesday, Susan Bitter Smith has become the third of the five major candidates in the 5th Congressional District Republican primary to hit the airwaves.

Her first ad begins by invoking Ronald Reagan, showing Bitter Smith as a Reagan delegate at the 1980 Republican National Convention, and prominently features Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a key endorser who spoke at her campaign kickoff.

Congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury: Campaign photoSCOTTSDALE -- Jim Ogsbury knows how to walk neighborhoods. He doesn’t mess with marker caps anymore – “I got sick of fumbling with them,” he explains – now he’s got a retractable one to mark off houses on his walk sheet. He also uses it to knock on doors, joking he “must have permanent tissue damage in my knuckles” from all the doors he’s knocked. By his count, that’s now about 16,000.

Today he is taking his quest for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District to a quiet Scottsdale street, rich in what Ogsbury terms “loyal Republican voters.” He plans to spend the afternoon, from 1:30 until dark, introducing himself to residents of house after house, chatting with the voters inside and putting campaign literature into their hands personally.

Ann Kirkpatrick has picked up another endorsement in her AZ-1 Democratic Primary campaign to succeed Rick Renzi.  Kirkpatrick’s campaign is confirming they have received the endorsement of Congressman Harry Mitchell to go along with Congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords and Governor Janet Napolitano.  Kirkpatrick faces Mary Kim Titla and Howard Shanker in the September primary.  Shanker has received the endorsement of Congressman Raul Grijalva.    

The Tim Bee campaign announced the launch of a new ad Tuesday in his effort to unseat U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson).

The ad, entitled "Accomplishments," highlights Bee's record as state senate president, and features residents of the 8th Congressional District saying they are "with Tim Bee."

See the ad here.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle GiffordsThe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is reserving $705,000 worth of TV ads in the 8th Congressional District to help re-elect U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson), according to documents obtained by PolitickerAZ.com.

The independent expenditure reserves 5,000 commercial spots to run in the 8th district, likely during September and October.

As pointed out in the Washington Post:

"Political parties and candidates frequently reserve advertising time in advance to obtain a lower price from television stations than might be available later. Final decisions on spending are normally made closer to the elections."

1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Ann Kirkpatrick sent a letter Monday to the Federal Communications Commission, in an attempt to intercede on behalf of the Navajo Nation to prevent its emergency operations Internet access from being shut off.

The letter, penned with Peterson Zah, past president of the Navajo Nation, read:

"We are writing to request that you take immediate action to prevent the imminent suspension of internet services for the Navajo Nation, scheduled to occur as early as Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Such a scenario would jeopardize the safety and security of the Navajo people by effectively shutting down the Nation's entire public safety network and crippling the ability of police and emergency response units to do their jobs. This dire situation has the potential to endanger the lives of every man, woman, and child of the Navajo Nation and requires your urgent intervention.

Congressional candidate Susan Bitter Smith: Campaign photo5th Congressional District Republican candidate Susan Bitter Smith continues to blast away at her would-be rival, U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) over his performance in Congress on energy issues, and his association with other Democrats.

The Bitter Smith campaign issued an attack against Mitchell Monday, claiming Mitchell supports a "failed policy" to curb high fuel prices.

"A few short days after Democrats like liberal Harry Mitchell passed on a key opportunity to help forge an American energy policy that would lower gas prices," read a release from the Bitter Smith campaign, "Arizona Democrats invited one of the architects of this failed policy to our state. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill, a classic Chicago pol and the Democratic Caucus Chair made an appearance in the Valley this weekend to raise money from Arizonan’s [sic] while perpetuating what Mitchell called 'one of the most costly hidden taxes on the American people,' just two years ago."

Congressional candidate David Schweikert: Campaign photoDavid Schweikert, candidate in the 5th Congressional District Republican primary, is taking heat from the Arizona Democratic Party over his latest Federal Election Commissions report, which the campaign filed late. While Democrats claim it's part of a "disturbing" pattern, the Schweikert campaign blamed a technical error.

"Congressional candidate David Schweikert violated commonly understood Federal Elections Commissions rules this week by failing to meet the July 15 filing deadline for the second quarter," read an Arizona Democratic Party release. "Schweikert was the only District Five candidate to break the rules, and now faces thousands of dollars in potential fines."