U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, a 5th District Republican, gets help from Elizabeth Atkinson (right), a clerk in the Secretary of State’s Office. Secretary of State Jan Brewer listens. Mr. Hayworth, seeking re-election, filed nominating petitions June 5.

When the Minnesota Republican Party gathered for its biannual convention recently, organizers threw a straw poll.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received an impressive 39 percent, followed by a who’s-who of potential White House candidates. Arizona’s GOP Sen. John McCain finished fourth with just over 10 percent of the vote.
But among the ranks of Mr. McCain, Mr. Gingrich and other perceived front-runners, the names of two Arizona congressmen were also called. Reps. J.D. Hayworth and Jeff Flake each received a few votes, finishing shy of 1 percent. But the fact that their names were scrawled on even one voter’s ballot speaks volumes about the role immigration plays in activists’ minds.
Mr. Flake, who represents Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, and Mr. Hayworth of the 5th Congressional District are by no means household names throughout the country, though lately both have bolstered their reputations by leading the charge on opposite sides of the immigration debate.
Mr. Hayworth, along with Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado, has led the campaign to focus first on border enforcement. A member of Mr. Tancredo’s immigration reform caucus and the author of a book of immigration reform proposals, “Whatever It Takes: Illegal Immigration, Border Security and the War on Terror,” Mr. Hayworth was one of a few conservative Republicans to openly question the administration’s support for a guest worker program during a meeting with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.
Mr. Flake takes a more moderate approach and has called for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. He agrees with President Bush that the inclusion of a guest worker program is essential to any reform effort. Earlier this year, Mr. Flake joined Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe of the 8th Congressional District, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois, to introduce the House version of the Senate immigration reform bill sponsored by Mr. McCain. and Sen. Ted Kennedy, the Democrat from Mass. That bill was widely seen as the most moderate of any serious immigration reform proposal.
Topic is boost for reputations
Though Mr. Flake and Mr. Hayworth have held some sway in Congress — both are members of the increasingly influential Republican Study Committee, a group of conservatives who lately have demanded tighter controls on what they call runaway government spending — immigration has boosted their reputations throughout the country.
Mr. Hayworth has received the most attention from radio and television, having conducted more than 300 radio interviews alone since January and appeared on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” and Don Imus’ and Sean Hannity’s syndicated radio programs.
Mr. Flake’s more moderate views have attracted attention from major media outlets as well, including the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In nearly every article his views are touted as in line with Mr. Bush’s proposals, which polls suggest a majority of Americans support.
Those polls also show that immigration has skyrocketed to the top of the national consciousness. While just 3 percent of respondents to a Gallup poll listed it as the most important issue facing the country in January, 23 percent cited it as the top issue in another Gallup survey taken in late May.
The role the issue plays in Republican politics, though, is evident in races throughout the country. In Arizona in 2004, Mr. Kolbe found himself facing a primary challenge from former state Rep. Randy Graf, thanks partially to his stance on immigration. Mr. Kolbe’s 57 percent-43 percent victory foreshadowed troubles some members are having with the immigration issue in this election cycle.
Utah Congressman Chris Cannon, a conservative Republican, drew a primary challenger who disagreed with his stance favoring a guest worker program. At his party’s convention, delegates made their feelings known when they chose the challenger, businessman John Jacob, a Republican, over Mr. Cannon, forcing the congressman to compete in a primary.
As evidence of immigration’s leap to the top of the list, one could look at Minnesota’s straw poll. “It’s a pretty big issue here,” says Minnesota Republican Party spokesman Mark Drake. Mr. Flake and Mr. Hayworth’s outspokenness on the issue is “one of the reasons why they found support” among convention delegates.
For the moment, neither Mr. Flake nor Mr. Hayworth are letting a few votes in Minnesota go to their heads. Asked about the results, Mr. Flake joked, “I had no idea there were Flakes in Minnesota.” Mr. Hayworth offered perhaps a more optimistic take: “To quote Sheriff Bart in ‘Blazing Saddles,’ I am rapidly becoming a big underground movement in this state.”
Reid Wilson is a political reporter based in Washington, D.C.