Former Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker took the lead in early election results Tuesday night in the Republican party’s race to be on the November ballot for Congressional District 9.

A national Democratic group is pumping millions into congressional races across Arizona and large swaths of the East Valley, giving its candidates a huge financial advantage over their Republican rivals.

The waiting game continued Wednesday for David Schweikert and Susan Bitter Smith, the top two finishers in the Republican primary for Arizona's 5th Congressional District race.

Tuesday was the deadline for candidates for federal, state and county offices (Maricopa, Pinal) to submit their voter signatures and qualify for the September primary ballots. Petition challengers have nine days left to file their court cases in an attempt to get individual candidates knocked off the ballot; it’s a little political dance Arizona does every two years in June.

Arizona Corporation Commission member Jeff Hatch-Miller is dropping out of the crowded Republican primary race for the GOP nomination in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District.

Republican state Rep. Russell Pearce took the first formal step toward running for Congress on Wednesday, saying he will offer voters a clear voice against “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon declared victory in his battle against former state House Speaker Kirk Adams for the East Valley’s Fifth Congressional District.

PHOENIX (AP) — In Arizona's brand-new 9th Congressional District, three Democrats and seven Republicans are vying to win the upcoming primary so they can move on to what could turn out to be a nasty fight for the seat, given that it's one of few toss-up races in the state and the field is so wide.

After a somewhat-controversial redistricting process Ahwatukee Foothills has been included in a newly formed Congressional District, and now the race is on to see who will represent it in 2013.

After a somewhat-controversial redistricting process Ahwatukee Foothills has been included in a newly formed Congressional District, and now the race is on to see who will represent it in 2013.

Former Republican state Sen. Chuck Gray has withdrawn from the race for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, endorsing former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon. Gray made the announcement Tuesday, citing the new Congressional district lines that are proposed for the 2012 election. 

Arizona's congressional delegation is heading for a major realignment in the fall, with replacements for Reps. Rick Renzi and John Shadegg at a minimum, and possible successors for Sen. John McCain, and Reps. Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords, too.

Former Democratic state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has been elected to represent a new Phoenix-area congressional district, emerging victorious after a bitterly fought race that featured millions of dollars in attack ads.

The son of former Vice President Dan Quayle plans to announce his candidacy Wednesday for the U.S. House seat that's now held by retiring Republican Rep. John Shadegg.

Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick defeated Republican Sydney Hay for the open seat in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, giving U.S. House Democrats a 5-3 edge in Arizona, their first majority in decades.

Voters changed the balance of Arizona's congressional delegation from heavily Democratic to majority Republican on Tuesday.

The son of former Vice President Dan Quayle won a tough battle against a Democratic challenger on Tuesday to represent Arizona's 3rd Congressional District.

TEMPE --  A divided Independent Redistricting Commission late Tuesday adopted a plan for the state's nine congressional districts that Republicans contend is not only politically unfair but unnecessarily splits up communities with common interests.

TEMPE --  A divided Independent Redistricting Commission late Tuesday adopted a plan for the state's nine congressional districts that Republicans contend is not only politically unfair but unnecessarily splits up communities with common interests.

TEMPE --  A divided Independent Redistricting Commission late Tuesday adopted a plan for the state's nine congressional districts that Republicans contend is not only politically unfair but unnecessarily splits up communities with common interests.

The Chandler Chamber of Commerce is inviting prospective voters to attend a candidate forum for the upcoming U.S. Congressional District 9 race. The forum is scheduled for Monday at the Chandler City Council Chambers, 88 E. Chicago Street.