2006 Arizona's 8th congressional district election

2006 Arizona's 8th congressional district election
	County results; Giffords: 50–60% ; Graf: 50–60%
U.S. Representative before election; Jim Kolbe; Republican	Elected U.S. Representative ; Gabby Giffords; Democratic

The 2006 Arizona 8th congressional district election was an election for the United States House of Representatives for the open seat of incumbent Republican Jim Kolbe, who was not running for re-election. The primary was held on September 12, 2006, and the two major party winners were Republican Randy Graf, a former state Representative who challenged Kolbe for the GOP nomination in 2004, and former State Senator Gabby Giffords. Libertarian Dave Nolan, who was uncontested in the primary, was also in the November 7, 2006 general election. Graf was considered too conservative for the district: Kolbe withheld his endorsement, and towards the end of the election the National GOP pulled their support. By election time, most non-partisan analyses considered this race the most likely district to switch hands, which it did, as Giffords won a decisive victory, 54% to 42%.