Legislative District 2 Voting History

CURRENT LEGISLATORS

Senate
Albert Hale (D)
Window Rock; attorney.
Termed out in 2010.

House
Tom Chabin (D)
Flagstaff;
former Coconino County supervisor.
Termed out in 2014.

Christopher Descehene (D)
Window Rock; attorney.
Termed out in 2016.

VOTING HISTORY

When the Independent Redistricting Commission drew boundaries of LD-2 in 2002, the historical partisan voting pattern in the district was 75 percent Democrat and 25 percent Republican. In the 2004 presidential election, Kerry received 70 percent of the vote in the district to Bush’s 30 percent. In the 2008 presidential election, Obama outperformed the historical average, polling 72 percent of the vote to McCain’s 27 percent.

Obama’s margin in the district was the largest for any legislative district in the state. Likewise, in the 2006 gubernatorial election, Napolitano’s winning margin in the district (83.6 percent to Munsil’s 13.6 percent) was the largest in the state.
In 2006 this district supported the minimum wage initiative by a margin of more than five-to-one, again the widest margin of any district in the state.

The more expansive 2006 marriage amendment was defeated in the district by 17 percentage points. However in 2008, with an 88 percent greater turnout and narrower language, the marriage amendment was approved by almost 20 percentage points – a swing of 30 points, one of the widest of any district in the state.

The 20-point margin of victory for the 2006 amendment prohibiting punitive damage awards to illegal immigrants was among the smallest in the state.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Native American concerns related to sovereignty have generally not been major campaign issues in state elections, although they occasionally become important on a case-by-case basis. Reservation issues include needs for basic infrastructure (nearly 30 percent are without electricity or running water) and economic development (unemployment rates on the reservations consistently hover near 50 percent). In Flagstaff, environmental issues are often in the fore, especially forest health and water.

This district is considered safely Democrat, and only Democrats have been elected from the district since 2002. Native Americans have usually dominated this district’s legislative representation. Those who are not Native Americans who have been elected from LD-2 (including current legislator Tom Chabin) have usually had a clearly discernible affiliation with one of the tribes.