Randy Graf

Randy L. Graf (born 1957) is a former member of the Arizona State House. He was the Republican nominee for ushr|Arizona|8| in 2006. The district occupies most of Tucson, all of Cochise County, and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.

Background

Graf was elected in 1994 to serve on the governing board of the Continental School District. In 1998 he was elected Board President. He also served as the government relations liaison to the Green Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Graf grew up in Green Bay, WI and graduated from Southwest High School in 1977. Graf has worked as a golf pro and is a former member of the Professional Golfers' Association.

In 2000, Graf was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives from the 30th District. He served there from 2000 to 2004. During his second term in the legislature, Graf was elected as House Majority Whip. He also served as the state chairman of the American Legislative Exchange.

In 2004, Graf ran for the 8th District House seat. He lost in the Republican primary to the incumbent, Republican U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe.

In 2004, Graf appeared on The Daily Show as the butt of a mock interview titled "A Round of Shots." Ed Helms asked him about his introduction of a bill in the Arizona legislature that would allow people to bring concealed handguns into bars [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=114903&title=a-round-of-shots ] .

2006 congressional campaign

Kolbe did not run for re-election in 2006. Graf won a bitterly-fought primary with a plurality of the vote against four other Republicans, including a Republican candidate endorsed by Kolbe and national GOP leaders.

Graf faced Democrat Gabrielle Giffords and Libertarian David Nolan in the November 7, 2006, general election. During his post-primary campaign, national Republican leaders were for the most part cool towards Graf's candidacy.

In both 2004 and 2006, Graf campaigned with a "get tough" message on illegal immigration, a "hot button" issue, especially for residents living along Arizona's border with Mexico, which has become a major crossing point for smuggling. He also aligned himself with U.S. Representatives Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Steve King of Iowa, who proposed enhanced border security. Graf was also a senior advisor for Proposition 200, an initiative passed by Arizona voters in 2004 to prevent welfare and voter fraud.

Graf describes himself as pro-life, against same-sex marriage, in favor of continued U.S. support for Israel, and in favor of tort reforms and medical care choice as a way of lowering health insurance rates.

Graf was defeated by Giffords in the general election by a 54.1%-42.2% margin. [http://www.votegraf.com/randygraf/results.php]

(http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=114903&title=a-round-of-shots)