TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Randy Graf is a tough-on-immigration Republican in a district that is fed up with people pouring illegally across the border and hasn't elected a Democrat to the House in two decades. Yet Graf's national party is turning its back on him, the retiring Republican congressman he wants to succeed has disavowed his candidacy and he's finding trouble getting traction beyond the most secure GOP voters—and a border militia that's backing him.
Voters such as Sue Malusa, a mother of four from Tucson, think Graf and his supporters go too far. Graf is backed by the Minutemen, self- appointed border-watchers. Malusa will vote for a candidate who supports "a humane and fair way of controlling the border," she said. "That's important."
Arizona's 8th District, which stretches from Tucson to the Mexican border, has returned moderate Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe to office for 22 years, faithfully backing him even after he revealed in 1996 that he was gay.
Now a rift in the Republican Party over immigration is playing to the benefit of the Democratic candidate, former state Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, 36.
Giffords, like Kolbe, backs more enforcement on the border but also wants a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.
Graf made waves last week defending a state lawmaker who endorsed reinstatement of a 1950s federal deportation program called "Operation Wetback" and sent supporters information from a white separatist group.
In a candidates' debate, Graf said the lawmaker, state Rep. Russell Pearce, is a friend and they agree on how to control the border.
Arizona is the nation's busiest entryway for illegal immigration, with thousands making it across each year. Many border residents live uneasily with the migrants, sometimes seeing their livestock disturbed or killed, their homes broken into and piles of trash left behind from the illegal flight. City residents complain about the strain on schools and other government services.
Last year, Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano declared an emergency on the border because of the costs of fighting crime and dealing with immigration. She has maintained that securing the border is the federal government's job.
That climate helped establish Graf's career.
A golf pro-turned state legislator, Graf became one of the Tucson area's best-known politicians as part of a group of conservatives pushing for an immediate crackdown on immigration. He won a five-way Republican primary focused on that issue.
He hopes to appeal to voters such as Earl Fernelius, a retired real estate appraiser in Tucson fed up with illegal immigrants. "I guess they should be jailed as far as I'm concerned," Fernelius said.
Yet Graf and others are butting heads with moderate Republicans and Democrats on the issue. Kolbe has gone so far as to call him unelectable, and refused to endorse him.
Shortly after Graf's primary victory, the National Republican Congressional Committee canceled political ads it had planned for Graf. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee followed suit, a sign that party leaders believed Giffords no longer needed their help to win.
Arizona still is a conservative state, and most candidates for federal office advocate tough border enforcement.
After Graf won, several Republicans stepped up their talk about the need to control the border. They included Sen. Jon Kyl, who faces a tough race for re-election.
But John A. Garcia, a political scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said people seem to realize tough restrictions alone will not solve the problem. He cited polls suggesting voters statewide support allowing some illegal immigrants citizenship.
Napolitano, for example, is still popular despite rejecting several GOP-sponsored bills from the legislature restricting government services for illegal immigrants and making their presence a crime.
Although she faces a challenger who accuses her of neglecting illegal immigration, she is expected to win handily.
Among Republicans, Kolbe, Sen. John McCain and Rep. Jeff Flake have argued for a guest worker program and a way for illegal immigrants to earn legal status.
In the Phoenix suburbs, where voters are reliably Republican, Democratic challengers have gained traction in part by attacking the conservative Republican incumbents' positions on immigration.
Rep. J.D. Hayworth, of Scottsdale, is in a tough race against former Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell, who has accused Hayworth of failing to fix the immigration problem.
Hayworth backs strong immigration restrictions and has written a book, "Whatever it Takes," advocating tougher security at the border.
Although Hayworth is favored to win, some believe his immigration stance might be too stringent even in his district.
Sally Ring, a receptionist in Scottsdale, says she can't support a plan that would force immigrants to return home.
"They have families here, they have established a new home," she said. "I just can't imagine that we would send people away."
___
Staff writer Terry Tang contributed from Scottsdale. Talhelm reported from Washington, D.C.
