Giffords wins contentious race

Saying she ran a "cactus roots campaign," Giffords promised during a press conference before she officially declared victory that she would "send the values of Southern Arizona to Washington."

Later leading the crowd in a chant of her campaign slogan — "Change can't wait" — Giffords promised to work with both Democrats and Republicans.

"It's not just Democrats but independents and Republicans who want change," she said on a night when Democrats gained enough seats nationally to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Giffords' victory represents an ideological shift in Republican-leaning Congressional District 8, where Democrats have lost every time they've run over the past two decades.

It also brings to an end a nearly yearlong race that has been the subject of constant attention from the national media and political parties.

Giffords received a brief visit from retiring Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, who delivered a hug and a kiss to her at her Midtown celebration.

"I wanted to congratulate the person who's going to take my seat," he said. "I think that's only appropriate."

At times overwhelmed by the crowd, Giffords was treated like a rock star throughout the night, with supporters lining up for pictures with her and reaching out just to touch the soon-to-be congresswoman.

An advertising campaign launched in the final week of the campaign by Graf, trying to tie Giffords to a land deal her parents had made with the city, proved unsuccessful.

So did Graf's efforts to frame Giffords as too liberal for Arizona. She sold herself as a moderate and talked tough on the border, often declaring "no amnesty" for illegal immigrants even though she supports a path to citizenship.

Though Graf talked almost exclusively about illegal immigration, voters said in early polling that they trusted Giffords more than Graf on that issue.

But Giffords indicated Tuesday night that she thought the race was about more than immigration.

"This race wasn't won on one issue alone," she said. "There are so many issues that are important to voters. Immigration is one of those issues. The war in Iraq is another. So is the 50 million Americans without health insurance."

Graf, who spent the afternoon in Sierra Vista, arrived at his East Side celebration event slightly late and was greeted by an excited crowd, too.

He remained upbeat through the night but as results came in, a loss seemed inevitable. Graf himself was surprised by his loss in Cochise County, where illegal immigration — Graf's signature issue — was thought to be a win for him.

At one point, Graf's wife, Cathy, stopped by, put her arm around the candidate and said: "You gave it your all."

And even Kolbe, who didn't endorse Graf, visited the event. Graf had run against Kolbe in 2004. The one-time rivals shook hands and spoke briefly.

Graf said Kolbe congratulated him on the race he ran and "I thanked him for it."

Republican Korina Gregg said the atmosphere was "a little somber." Her husband, John Gregg, was more blunt.

"I don't think it looks good," he said before GIffords had declared victory. "I think it's pretty well done."

Republicans blamed the loss on a different national atmosphere for the party as well as a divisive Republican primary, in which Graf defeated four rivals.

"We had a lot of uphill battles," said Linda White, executive director of the Pima County Republican Party. "He started out on the left foot after the primary."

Graf called Giffords sometime before 11 p.m. to congratulate her but told the crowd: "I'm not a loser this evening. We're not losers this evening."

A former state legislator, Giffords, 36, spent more than $1 million on her campaign.

Early in the race, she lined up the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva in neighboring District 7, as well as those of local and national organizations. The endorsements meant strong grass-roots and financial support.

She often highlighted, both in public appearances and a substantial television blitz, her local roots and involvement in her family's local tire business, El Campo Tire.

In September, she easily beat out five other Democrats, including former TV anchor Patty Weiss.

In debates and attack ads, Graf and Giffords, who served together in the Legislature, traded jabs over each other's voting records.

Delivering his concession speech, Graf said, "I'm not going anywhere," promising to hold elected officials accountable.

He added: "Tomorrow morning we'll do some analysis and figure out what the future holds."

Independent Jay Quick and Libertarian David Nolan were also in the race.

Giffords will be the first woman to represent Arizona in Congress in more than a decade.