Ann Kirkpatrick | |
|---|---|
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Martha McSally |
| Succeeded by | Juan Ciscomani (redistricted) |
| Constituency | 2nd district |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Gosar |
| Succeeded by | Tom O'Halleran |
| Constituency | 1st district |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Rick Renzi |
| Succeeded by | Paul Gosar |
| Constituency | 1st district |
| Member of theArizona House of Representatives from the2nd district | |
| In office January 10, 2005 – July 24, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Sylvia Laughter |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Deschene |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ann Leila Kirkpatrick (1950-03-24)March 24, 1950 (age 75) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Roger Curley |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Arizona (BA,JD) |
Ann Leila Kirkpatrick (born March 24, 1950) is an American politician and retired attorney who served as theU.S. representative forArizona's 2nd congressional district from 2019 to 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, she representedArizona's 1st congressional district from 2009 to 2011, and again from 2013 to 2017. Kirkpatrick was a member of theArizona House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007.
First elected to Congress in2008 inArizona's 1st congressional district, Kirkpatrick was unseated in2010. She regained her seat in a close race in2012 and was reelected in2014. Kirkpatrick ran for U.S. Senate in2016 and was defeated by incumbent RepublicanJohn McCain. In2018, she was elected to Congress inArizona's 2nd congressional district; she was reelected in2020. On March 12, 2021, Kirkpatrick announced she would not seek reelection in2022.[1]
Kirkpatrick was born on March 24, 1950,[2][3] and raised on anApache Indian reservation nearMcNary, Arizona.[4] Her parents were European Americans who lived and worked on the reservation. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was a general store owner.[5] When Kirkpatrick was in second grade, her family moved off the reservation toPinetop-Lakeside.[5] Her maternal uncle, William Bourdon, was elected as a member of the State House.[6]
Kirkpatrick graduated fromBlue Ridge High School as the valedictorian.[5] In 1972, she completed her undergraduate degree at theUniversity of Arizona, where she majored in Asian studies and learned to speakMandarin Chinese.[5] After a brief experience as a teacher, Kirkpatrick decided to go to law school.[5] In 1979, she earned a Juris Doctor from theUniversity of Arizona College of Law.[7]
In 1980, she was elected as Coconino County's first woman deputy county attorney. Kirkpatrick later served as city attorney forSedona, Arizona. She was a member of the Flagstaff Water Commission. In 2004, she taught Business Law and Ethics atCoconino County Community College."[8]
In 2004, Kirkpatrick was elected to represent the 2nd legislative district and took office in January 2005. She was reelected in 2006. In the legislature, Kirkpatrick served as the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Education K–12 Committee and Natural Resources Committee.[8][failed verification]
On July 24, 2007, Kirkpatrickresigned from the state House to run for the Democratic nomination in Arizona's 1st congressional district. The seat was due to come open after three-termRepublican incumbentRick Renzi announced that he would not seek reelection in the face of a federal indictment on corruption charges, for which he eventually went to prison. Kirkpatrick won the four-way primary by almost 15 points on September 2.
Kirkpatrick defeated Republican Sydney Ann Hay, a mining industry lobbyist, in the general election, with 56% of the vote.[9]
Kirkpatrick was defeated for reelection by Republican nomineePaul Gosar, with 49.7% of the vote to Kirkpatrick's 43.7%. She was endorsed byThe Arizona Republic.[10]
Kirkpatrick announced she would run again for her old congressional seat in 2012.[11] Redistricting made the district significantly more Democratic than its predecessor; Democrats had a nine-point registration advantage. Kirkpatrick was initially priming for a rematch against Gosar, but Gosar opted to run for reelection in the newly created, heavily Republican4th district.[12] Kirkpatrick narrowly won the general election,[13] defeating RepublicanJonathan Paton, a former state senator,[13] with less than 50% of the vote, as a Libertarian Party candidate took more than 6%.[14]
Kirkpatrick was reelected with 52.6% of the vote over state RepresentativeAndy Tobin. She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary.[15] According to a December 2012Washington Post article, Kirkpatrick was one of the 10 most vulnerable incumbents in 2014.[16] She was a member of theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline Program, which was designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents heading into the 2014 election.[17]
Kirkpatrick ran for the seat inArizona's 2nd congressional district to replace outgoing RepublicanMartha McSally, who retired to run for U.S. Senate. Kirkpatrick had to move across the state, from Flagstaff to Tucson, in order to run. She won the election with 54.7% of the vote.[18]
Kirkpatrick was reelected over Republican nominee Brandon Martin.[19][20]
Kirkpatrick announced she would "term-limit" herself and not seek reelection in2022.[1]
Kirkpatrick voted for theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly called the stimulus package.[21][22] She sponsored bill H.R. 4720, the Taking Responsibility for Congressional Pay Act, to lower the salaries of members of Congress. The bill stalled in committee.[23] Kirkpatrick voted for thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010.[24][25]
In May 2013, Kirkpatrick voted against repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[26]
On March 14, 2014, Kirkpatrick cosponsored theGulf War Health Research Reform Act of 2014 (H.R. 4261; 113th Congress), a bill that would alter the relationship between the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses (RAC) and theUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill makes the RAC an independent organization within the VA, requiring that a majority of the RAC's members be appointed by Congress instead of the VA, and states that the RAC release its reports without needing prior approval from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.[27][28] The RAC is responsible for investigatingGulf War syndrome, a chronic multi-symptom disorder affecting returning militaryveterans and civilian workers of theGulf War.[27][29]
Kirkpatrick was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to certify the 2020 presidential electoral votes when theCapitol was attacked by Donald Trump supporters. She and her staff were evacuated from their office around 11 AM due to a report of a suspicious object found in the vicinity. About 45 minutes later, they returned to their office. Shortly thereafter, the building was put on lockdown as rioters breached the Capitol.[30] She called the attack a "cowardly assault on Democracy" and blamed President Donald Trump for inciting it.[31] The next day, Kirkpatrick called for Trump's removal from office, calling him "unfit to hold office".[32] She supported the resolution to have Vice PresidentMike Pence invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.[33] Days later, she voted, for the second time, to impeach Trump.[34]
During her final term in office, Kirkpatrick voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[35]
On May 26, 2015, Kirkpatrick announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by RepublicanJohn McCain.[37] She lost to McCain, 53.7% to 40.8%.
Kirkpatrick characterizes herself aspro-choice.[38] A friend of hers almost died from an illegal abortion beforeRoe v. Wade.[39]She has been endorsed byEMILY's List,Planned Parenthood and theNational Women's Political Caucus. As a member of the Arizona legislature, Kirkpatrick voted against a bill that would have required notarized parental consent for a minor to receive anabortion.[40] She voted against a bill to ban abortions that take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[41] Kirkpatrick opposed the 2022overturning ofRoe v. Wade.[39]
In 2009, as a U.S. Representative, Kirkpatrick voted against theAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman-Markey).[42] In 2015, she voted in favor of HR 2042, which blocked implementation of President Obama's signature climate change policy, theClean Power Plan.[43][44]
Before the2011 Tucson shooting, Kirkpatrick was described as "an ardent gun rights supporter".[45] She voted "to allow guns in national parks and against the reinstatement of a ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons."[46]
In 2012, her campaign website stated that Kirkpatrick "pledge[d] to oppose any attempt by the federal government to undermine the Second Amendment and infringe on our constitutional right to bear arms." She said the Tucson shooting caused her to rethink her support of gun rights and that "everything is on the table" as a potential solution to the issue of gun violence.[45][47]
After the 2012Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, theArizona Daily Sun wrote that "Kirkpatrick's position on some firearms laws appears to be changing in light of the mid-December school shooting in Connecticut, her new stance is unclear."[46]
In the wake of the 2016Orlando nightclub shooting, Kirkpatrick participated in a sit-in on the floor of the U.S. House demanding that Congress address gun violence.[48] She also said, "we must also look beyond this terrible moment and decide what we as a nation are willing to do to prevent hatred, gun violence and domestic terrorism," and mentioned "sensible solutions ... that both respect the 2nd Amendment and keep our communities safer."[49]
In 2019, Kirkpatrick voted for HR 8 Bipartisan Background Checks of 2019.[50] In 2020, she introduced HR 5559 The January 8 National Memorial Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a national memorial in Tucson honoring those who were killed on January 8, 2011, when CongresswomanGabby Giffords was shot.[51]
Kirkpatrick voted for theAffordable Care Act (ACA).[52] She has said that her vote for the ACA was "her proudest vote" in Congress.[53] She also voted against numerous attempts to repeal it, and to defundPlanned Parenthood.[54][55] She was one of 106 cosponsors ofPramila Jayapal's Medicare for All bill.[56]
Kirkpatrick has called for "national, comprehensive reform" ofUnited States immigration policy. She supports increased border patrol funding, installation of a ground-based radar system often referred to as a "smart fence", and a temporary-worker program, and temporary protections for some of those living illegally in the United States.[57]
Kirkpatrick says she supports theDREAM Act but did not vote for it in 2010.[38][58]
Kirkpatrick has said that she would have voted against Arizona's controversial immigration measureArizona SB 1070.[59]
In March 2014, Kirkpatrick signed adischarge petition intended to force House leaders to bring immigration reform up for a vote on the House floor.[60]
Kirkpatrick voted forCISPA, which would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[61]
Kirkpatrick supportssame-sex marriage.[62]
After the overturning ofRoe v. Wade in 2022, Kirkpatrick said the Supreme Court was "no longer a legitimate body" and "the courts' conservatives have dismantled separation of church & state."[39]
| Year | Office | Party | Primary | General | Result | Swing | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Total | % | P. | ||||||||
| 2004 | State Representative[a] | Democratic | 7,165 | 32.96% | 2nd | 28,947 | 38.72% | 1st | Won | Hold | [63] | ||
| 2006 | Democratic | 7,488 | 42.75% | 1st | 26,787 | 45.48% | 1st | Won | Hold | [64] | |||
| 2008 | U.S. Representative | Democratic | 26,734 | 47.24% | 1st | 155,791 | 55.88% | 1st | Won | Gain | [65] | ||
| 2010 | Democratic | 46,902 | 100.00% | 1st | 99,233 | 43.73% | 2nd | Lost | Gain | [66] | |||
| 2012 | Democratic | 33,831 | 63.74% | 1st | 122,774 | 48.79% | 1st | Won | Gain | [67] | |||
| 2014 | Democratic | 51,393 | 100.00% | 1st | 97,391 | 52.61% | 1st | Won | Hold | [68] | |||
| 2016 | U.S. Senator | Democratic | 333,586 | 99.85% | 1st | 1,031,245 | 40.77% | 2nd | Lost | Hold | [69] | ||
| 2018 | U.S. Representative | Democratic | 33,938 | 41.85% | 1st | 161,000 | 54.73% | 1st | Won | Gain | [70] | ||
| 2020 | Democratic | 77,517 | 76.33% | 1st | 209,945 | 55.10% | 1st | Won | Hold | [71] | |||
Kirkpatrick is married to Roger Curley and has two children.[5]
On January 15, 2020, Kirkpatrick announced that she was initiating treatment for alcoholism after being injured in a fall.[72] She returned to work on February 26, 2020.[73]
Kirkpatrick is Catholic.[74]
Like many Arizonans over the past few years, I have come to support marriage equality.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 1st congressional district 2009–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 1st congressional district 2013–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 2nd congressional district 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Rodney Glassman | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromArizona (Class 3) 2016 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| Territorial (1863–1912) |
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| Oneat-large seat (1912–1943) |
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| Two at-large seats (1943–1949) |
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| Districts (1949–present) (3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013) |
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| Other | |
