Behind the Ad: Ann Kirkpatrick gets a challenger

By Richard K. Barry

Who: Andy Tobin

Where: Arizona 1st congressional district

What's going on: Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick has represented the district since 2013 and had previously represented the same district from 2009 to 2011. She was defeated by Republican Paul Gosar in the 2010 election. George W. Bush got 54% of the vote in this district in 2004. John McCain also carried the district in 2008 with 54.42% of the vote while Barack Obama received 44.25%. It's generally considered a swing district. 

Republican Andy Tobin, who is currently the Arizona House Speaker, began his candidacy by attacking Kirkpatrick in a press release:

There could be no harsher reminder of why we need new leadership in Washington. Arizona is under attack by the federal government, and Ann Kirkpatrick is part of the problem. Kirkpatrick is so committed to protecting ObamaCare and supporting Nancy Pelosi, she has literally voted to shut down the Grand Canyon.

The Tuscon Weekly describes the race like this:

CD1 is now represented by Democratic Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, who won a close race against Republican Jonathan Paton last year. While the district has Democratic edge, some of those Democrats are conservative rural types who might cross over for the right GOP candidate, so it's a competitive district.

The ad is of the general "here's who I am, and here's why I'm running" variety: