Republicans' Internecine Wars
Immigration Debate
In Arizona Primary
Could Imperil House Seat
By SARAH LUECK
September 7, 2006; Page A6
TUCSON, Ariz. -- As Republican leaders work to retain control of Congress, a number of primaries around the country are pitting their party's conservative base against its moderates.
One such fight can be found in this socially moderate border district, where the National Republican Congressional Committee has spent more than $200,000 to help Steve Huffman -- a state representative who favors abortion rights and federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research -- win Tuesday's primary.
But a recent poll of likely primary voters showed Mr. Huffman lagging in the five-candidate race behind Randy Graf, a socially conservative candidate who has advanced by taking a hard line on immigration.
Mr. Huffman warns that a Graf primary victory means that in November, his party could lose the seat held for 22 years by departing Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe. "This district is not going to elect an extreme candidate like Randy Graf," Mr. Huffman says.
Mr. Graf, a former state representative and golf pro, says only a candidate with a security-focused immigration position can keep the seat in Republican hands. He says Mr. Huffman was "handpicked" by the Washington political establishment at a time when many voters are dissatisfied with the status quo. "I am the anti-establishment guy," says Mr. Graf.
Arizona's Eighth District mirrors intramural fights occupying Republicans throughout the country before Sept. 12, when 10 states hold primaries. Beyond Arizona, primaries for open House seats in Vermont and Wisconsin are pitting the party's moderates against its right wing.
In Rhode Island, Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee faces a strong primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, aided by the Club for Growth. The economic-conservative advocacy group is trying to punish the incumbent for opposing some of President Bush's tax cuts -- even as the National Republican Senatorial Committee has backed Mr. Chafee, arguing Mr. Laffey couldn't win the heavily Democratic state in November.
Beyond the specific seats at stake, the intraparty primary fights could bode ill for Republicans in the general election, signaling disaffection among conservatives who may be less inclined to turn out in November.
Democrats, too, have had their share of internal challenges from the left, most notably Ned Lamont's victory in the Connecticut senatorial primary last month after attacking incumbent Joseph Lieberman over supporting the Iraq war. But those fights tend to be in places that are safely Democratic. Republican leaders fear that in many of their battles, a more conservative candidate could lose.
The irony in Arizona is that Mr. Graf's success comes in part by taking the same security-only immigration stance that many House Republicans have staked out -- and by arguing that Mr. Huffman is soft on the issue.
Mr. Graf would be right at home with House Republicans who railed against illegal immigration during field hearings over the summer. Like them, Mr. Graf backs increased border security and workplace enforcement, and opposes new guest-worker programs and amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Mr. Huffman says immigrant labor is critical to Arizona's economy, and he supports a guest-worker program as part of an immigration overhaul. The race represents a battle between the two disparate views Republicans hold on immigration, and the outcome will signal to party leaders which policies work politically.
A victory by Mr. Huffman would signal that even voters concerned about illegal immigration can be persuaded to support a more moderate policy. It would also be a triumph for business groups that are pushing for expanded legal immigration and are accustomed to the business-friendly Mr. Kolbe, who supports a guest-worker program, along with increased border security and a worker-verification system. Mr. Kolbe also wants a route for illegal immigrants working in the U.S. to eventually become citizens. In this, Mr. Huffman diverges from the incumbent, saying he doesn't support such a "path to citizenship."
A win for Mr. Graf, on the other hand, would confirm that voters want the government to crack down on illegal immigrants. "If this issue can't be won in this district" by hard-liners, says Mr. Graf, "the argument can be made that it can't be won anywhere in the country."
This week, Mr. Graf is getting some support from a surprising source. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $190,000 on a television ad criticizing Mr. Huffman on immigration -- a sign that Democrats, like Republican leaders, view the moderate as a tougher opponent. The ad accuses Mr. Huffman, a state representative, of missing votes on border security and immigration. "If we can't trust Huffman to show up to work, how can we trust him to protect us?" the ad says. Mr. Huffman, in a statement, called it a "false and reckless" attack.
Mr. Graf's immigration campaign is longstanding. In 2004, he challenged Mr. Kolbe in the Republican primary, using immigration as a focal point. Mr. Graf lost, but got 43%, compared with the incumbent's 57%, which he says proved that immigration had traction.
In a sign that Mr. Graf's immigration position indeed has political traction, Mr. Huffman has tried to blur the differences with his chief opponent. His campaign brochure puts "secure our border" at the top of the list of things he would do if sent to Washington; alongside it is written: "No Amnesty!"
At a forum for Republican candidates last week, Mr. Huffman backed increased border security, and then explained his support of a temporary worker program. He said he favors an approach on immigration that "both protects our national security and keeps our economy moving forward."
Mr. Graf said he wants to root out illegal immigrants at the border and in the workplace. "We need to make sure they don't get jobs, make sure they don't get benefits," Mr. Graf said. "If we do that, I'm convinced 75% will either go home or be deported." He also noted his support for Proposition 200, a state ballot measure that passed in 2004 that requires proof of citizenship at polls, and requires state and local governments to verify that applicants for public benefits are citizens. Mr. Huffman opposed it.
The forum left some voters in the audience undecided. "Immigration is the biggest thing here. It's got to be," says Larry Chapman, a 76-year-old retired school superintendent who is an independent but plans to vote in the Republican primary. "They're all saying the right things" on border security, he adds.
Ralph Duchin, a 74-year-old petroleum geologist, says he is leaning toward Mr. Huffman, in part because he agrees with him on abortion rights and stem-cell research. On immigration, "I'm a hard-liner," Mr. Duchin says. But "evicting 12 million people, it's not going to happen." Mr. Huffman's position is "more realistic," he says. |
