Arizona's 3rd congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

that contains the southwestern portions of the state, sharing the border of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

from Nogales to the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

border. Much of the district's population lives in the western third of

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. It is currently represented by Democrat

Raúl Grijalva Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 20 ...

History

Arizona picked up a third district after the 1960 Census. It encompassed the entire northern portion of the state, essentially wrapping around Phoenix and

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

(the 1st district). After a mid-decade redistricting in 1967, the 3rd absorbed a slice of western Maricopa County, including most of what became the West Valley. Due in part to explosive growth in the Phoenix/Maricopa portion of the district, the 3rd lost much of its eastern portion in the 1970 Census. Although it appeared rural on paper, the great majority of its population lived in the West Valley. By the 1970s, as many people lived in the West Valley as in the rest of the district combined. After the 1990 Census, the district was reconfigured to include the

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

Reservation on the other side of the state. This was a product of longstanding disputes between the Hopi and

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. Since tribal boundary disputes are a federal matter, it was long believed inappropriate to include both tribes' reservations in the same congressional district. However, the Hopi reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo reservation. The final map saw the Hopi reservation connected to the rest of the district by a long, narrow tendril stretching through

Coconino County Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...

. This was the only way to allow the district to remain contiguous without covering significant portions of Navajo land. After the 2000 Census, this district essentially became the 2nd district, while the 3rd was reconfigured to include much of what had been the 4th district. It now contained most of northern Phoenix as well as some of its northern suburbs. Most of that territory became the 6th district after the 2010 Census, while the 3rd was shifted to cover most of what had been the 7th district. That district, in turn, had mostly been the 2nd district from 1951 to 2003. After the 2020 Census, this district covered much of the terrritory covered by the former (2013-2022) 7th district, including much of inner

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, as well as

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

Voting

Competitiveness

From 2003 to 2013, most of the district's population was in middle-to-upper class areas in the northern part of Phoenix. Like the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

in general, the 3rd district leaned

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, although the southern parts of the district in east-central Phoenix and Paradise Valley were more competitive between the parties.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

received 58% of the vote in this district in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

took in 56.47% of the vote in the district in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

while

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

received 42.34%.

List of members representing the district

Arizona began sending a third member to the House after the 1960 Census.

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Notes

Arizona will hold their Primary Elections on August 2, 2022. Due to redistricting, the Congressional District numbers in Arizona have changed for the 2022 Election Cycle. Through this process, the district numbers have changed the following ways: · Arizona's 1st Congressional District will become Arizona's 2nd Congressional District · Arizona's 2nd Congressional District will become Arizona's 6th Congressional District · Arizona's 3rd Congressional District will become Arizona's 7th Congressional District · Arizona's 4th Congressional District will become Arizona's 9th Congressional District · Arizona's 5th Congressional District will remain Arizona's 5th Congressional District · Arizona's 6th Congressional District will become Arizona's 1st Congressional District · Arizona's 7th Congressional District will become Arizona's 3rd Congressional District · Arizona's 8th Congressional District will remain Arizona's 8th Congressional District · Arizona's 9th Congressional District will become Arizona's 4th Congressional District There are currently nine declared candidates for Arizona's new 3rd Congressional District for the 2022 Election Cycle. ''The incumbent office holder is denoted by an *. Any rumored candidates are denoted by an +.''

References

;General ;Specific
Demographic data from census.gov

2002 Election data from CBSNews.com

2000 Election data from CNN.com

External links

Maps of Congressional Districts first in effect for the 2002 election

Tentative Final Congressional Maps for the 2012 election
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona's 3rd Congressional District 03 Government of Maricopa County, Arizona Government of Pima County, Arizona Government of Yuma County, Arizona Government of Tucson, Arizona Constituencies established in 1963 1963 establishments in Arizona