A poll commissioned by the National Republican Congressional Committee shows potential GOP challenger Martha McSally in a dead heat with Democratic Congressman Ron Barber.

Though U.S. Rep. Ron Barber won the election for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, Republican operatives have reasons to be hopeful in 2014 because of his narrow margin of victory and his loss in key precincts won by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

When Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission finished redrawing the state’s political districts, it quickly became clear that none would be as watched as the new 9th Congressional District.

Its partisan breakdown and performance models foreshadowed practically even odds for Republican or Democratic candidates.

And yet, while Democratic candidates were able to capture all three of the state’s competitive congressional districts in 2012, none won by as large a margin as Kyrsten Sinema did in CD9, defeating Republican Vernon Parker.

Attorney General Terry Goddard announced that campaign manager Rodd McLeod is leaving his gubernatorial campaign.