A Minuteman Boosts Border Overhaul Reform
An Arizona win puts immigration back in play
Graf faces stiff competition from former state Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat who says she fits the district's moderate profile: She was a Republican until 1999. "I jumped into this," she says from her volunteer-filled Tucson office," because I think the country is in trouble." Giffords emphasized healthcare and education in her primary, but as a Fulbright scholar who studied in Mexico in the early 1990s, she's credible on immigration and plans a push for more sanctions for illegal-alien employers and reform that includes a guest-worker program.
But many experts say if Republicans want to keep the seat, they'll have to unite behind Graf and convince Arizonan swing voters to do so as well. Graf did a victory lap through Washington last week and picked up the endorsement--and a $5,000 check--from his former foes at the Republican congressional committee. Though Kolbe has refused his support, that didn't deter a delighted Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, the toughest immigration reformer in Congress. "I don't just want to work with Randy," Tancredo told U.S. News; "I want to someday pass the baton to him." And if Graf and the other hard-liners win, it will surely be an even bigger baton.
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