PHOENIX — Barring any legal challenges, the new legislative and congressional districts have been set for the 2022 elections.
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Committee released the final district maps Wednesday, at 5 p.m.
All of Greenlee County and most of Graham County — except for the San Carlos Apache Reservation — move from Congressional District 1 to CD 6, which also includes almost all of Cochise County, the eastern portion of Pima County, a sliver of northern Santa Cruz County and the southeastern portion of Pinal County.
The district will be wide open in 2022, with Graham and Greenlee counties’ current Congressman, Tom O’Halleran, announcing Thursday his intention to run in CD 2, which includes his home in Sedona. Cochise County’s current representative in Congress, Ann Kirkpatrick, announced her retirement after the current term.
The new Congressional District 6 leans Republican, with just a 2.4 percent vote spread, based on the results of the 2016 and 2020 presidential election; the 2018 and 2020 U.S. Senate elections; and the 2018 Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Mine Inspector elections.
The new legislative district, LD 19, is similar to the current LD 14, with just a few changes. The San Carlos Apache Reservation continues to be slit off into another district from the rest of Graham County, but in this new district, both northern Greenlee County and southern Cochise County are placed in different districts.
Plus the new LD 19 includes a larger portion of southeastern Pima County and northeastern Santa Cruz County.
Incumbent Rep. Gail Griffin, of Hereford, and Sen. David Gowan, of Sierra Vista, are eligible to seek re-election in the new district. Rep. Lupe Diaz, of Benson, who was appointed to fill the final year of Becky Nutt’s term following her resignation, can also run in the new district.
The new Legislative District 19 is a Republican stronghold based on the elections results from 2016 to 2020, with a 22.2 percent vote spread.
