Democrat

Arizona since: 1985.

Occupation: 17th Surgeon General of the United States, U.S. Public Health Service, 2002-2006; Dept Surgeon, SWAT team leader and deputy, Pima County Sheriff’s Dept, 1986-2002, since 2006; vice chair, Canyon Ranch, since 2006; president, Canyon Ranch Institute, since 2006; distinguished Professor of Public Health, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, UofA, since 2006.

Marital: Married (Diana).

Children: 4.

Religious preference: Catholic.

Education: Master’s degree, public health, UofA, 1998; medical degree, University of California San Francisco, 1979; Bachelor’s degree, biology and chemistry, University of California San Francisco, 1976; Associate’s degree, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, 1973.

Memberships: Bd of directors, American Red Cross; surgical consultant, bd of directors, American Heart Assn, AZ affiliate; chair, Pima County Emergency Planning Committee; Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Committee; advisory bd, AHCCCS; bd of directors, Southern AZ Child Advocacy Center; EMS medical dir, Tucson Airport Authority; medical dir, Rural Metro Corporation; chair, Regional EMS Council State of AZ; bd of directors, AZ Medical Assn; advisory bd, Nat’l Domestic Preparedness Office; bd of directors, Nat’l Tactical Officer’s Assn; nat’l chair, Nat’l Foundation for Infectious Diseases; nat’l chair, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; nat’l chair, Stop Obesity Alliance; nat’l chair, Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition; Dept of Defense, Health Policy Bd; bd of advisors, Nat’l Hispanic Medical Assn; bd of directors, UofA Dept of Surgery; bd of directors, Vascular Disease Foundation.

Political influence: My grandmother and mom who pushed my siblings and myself to get an education. Their willingness to put their kids above themselves still informs my views, especially when it comes to fostering opportunity for kids today.

Top priority: My top priority will be helping Arizona’s economy recover, but we can’t get there unless we restore reason and civility to the political process. Without that, we won’t be able to solve problems.

Respected opponent: C. Everett Koop, Ronald Reagan’s Surgeon General, taught me a lot about how you can accomplish things in Washington if you’re willing to work with both parties and don’t need to take credit for accomplishments.

Job creation measures: We need short-term and long-term approaches to encourage job growth. In the short-term, we need hiring incentives for small businesses to hire the long-term unemployed and veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the long-term, we need to keep student loan interest rates low and start getting control of the spiraling cost of tuition. People won’t have the capital to start a business with the kind of debt burden too many of our graduates face today.

Illegal immigration: We need to overhaul our immigration laws and have a system that is tough, practical, and fair. First and foremost, we need to ensure our borders are safe and secure. Second, massive deportation is just not possible or realistic. Of course, those with a criminal record cannot be allowed to stay, and government efforts should be focused on removing these dangerous people from our communities. For the others who have been contributing to our community for years, we need a workable system that would allow them to earn citizenship. They need to pay taxes, respect our laws, and learn our language. But they cannot cut in front of others already in line, and instead must wait at the back of the line.

Federal deficit: By tackling the waste and fraud in government, we can make our government more efficient without eliminating services Arizonans rely on. Medicare spending is unsustainable, but rather than pushing benefit cuts, we should be looking for ways to spend smarter on our entire health care system by focusing on preventative care, eliminating fraud and abuse, and allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. And we should simplify our tax code and eliminate the giveaways and loopholes for corporations.

President Obama’s qualifications: No, and it’s sad the question needs to be asked.

Republican

Arizona since: Birth.

Occupation: Member of Congress since 2001; executive director, Goldwater Institute, 1992-1999.

Marital: Married (Cheryl, homemaker).

Children: 5.

Religious preference: LDS.

Education: M.A., 1987, B.A., 1986, BYU.

Political influence: Former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater has had a profound impact on the development of my political philosophy. Senator Goldwater was able to articulate the case for limited government and personal freedom in a way that shaped my ideology and moved me to action. In the Senate, he demonstrated that it is just as important to block bad legislation as it is to pass good legislation.

Top priority: There is no issue as serious and pressing right now as addressing our debt and deficit. The implications of inaction will affect every other federal issue. Not only does the federal debt make our current economic recovery difficult, but it makes sustained economic growth impossible. The inability and unwillingness of Congress to address the federal debt jeopardizes everything from Social Security and Medicare to defense spending. Reducing the federal debt and tackling our fiscal crisis will be my top priority in the U.S. Senate.

Respected opponent: I’ve always admired former Arizona Congressman Mo Udall. Despite a long career in the U.S. House, Congressman Udall never lost his reformist streak and, just as importantly, he never lost his sense of humor.

Job creation measures: The federal government needs to create a tax and regulatory environment that allows the private sector to create jobs. Tax reform is badly needed to provide U.S. business with certainty and make them more competitive in the global economy. A dysfunctional Congress has allowed various federal agencies to hamper economic growth with cumbersome regulations. An overhaul of the tax code and more oversight by Congress with regards to overzealous federal regulators will spur job creation by the private sector.

Illegal immigration: Arizonans are justifiably skeptical that the federal government will actually secure the border if other elements of immigration reform are addressed before the border. Until the federal government can demonstrate operational control along the entire border, as it has in the Yuma Sector, other components of immigration reform, like addressing the illegal population, will have to wait.

Federal deficit: Congress will be unable to tackle our fiscal crisis without reforming entitlement spending, like Social Security and Medicare. If these programs are reformed now, it could be done in a way that will not affect the millions of Americans currently receiving benefits or nearing retirement. Congress will also have to address discretionary spending, which means that nearly every area of the federal budget is going to have to be reduced. However, given the explosion in federal spending over the last decade (under both Democratic and Republican leadership), reducing spending levels will be not as draconian as it may be portrayed.

President Obama’s qualifications: While I have serious questions about President Obama’s performance, I do not doubt his eligibility.