Former USAF pilot wins Arizona House seat after recount
By Bob Christie, The Associated Press 3:20 p.m. EST December 17, 2014
PHOENIX — Republicans will have their largest U.S. House majority in 83 years when the new Congress convenes next month after a recount in Arizona gave the final outstanding race to the Republican challenger.
Martha McSally won a House seat over Democratic incumbent Ron Barber by 167 votes out of about 220,000 cast, according to results released Wednesday.
Barber was a staffer for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords when he and the congresswoman were wounded during a political event in Tucson in January 2011. Barber then won a special election to fill out the remainder of Giffords' term. He defeated McSally in 2012 to win a full term in Congress, in a race separated by fewer than 2,500 votes.
McSally, a former Air Force combat pilot, won their rematch in a year that saw the GOP make big gains across the country. The results of the mandatory recount mean Republicans will hold their largest House majority since the administration of President Herbert Hoover, controlling 247 seats to 188 for Democrats.
The 2nd District was the last outstanding congressional race from the Nov. 4 general election.
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The Tucson-area district is one of the most competitive in the nation. Giffords narrowly won her 2010 race over a Republican challenger in the months before she was wounded in the shooting that killed six and wounded her, Barber and 11 others.
McSally led Barber by 161 votes after all ballots were counted last month. But the margin was so tiny that it triggered an automatic recount, which added six votes to her margin.
"There's no getting around that this was an incredibly close and hard-fought race. After what's been a long campaign season, it's time to come together and heal our community," McSally said, according to a statement posted to her campaign website. "That's why my focus will be on what unites us, not what divides us, such as providing better economic opportunity for our families and ensuring our country and community are kept safe."
Judge Katherine Cooper announced the results in court Wednesday before lawyers for both candidates. There were no objections.
Barber had fought in several venues to get additional votes counted but was turned away at every effort. He tried to get the board of supervisors from Pima and Cochise counties and the secretary of state to order rejected provisional and early ballots counted. When that failed, he turned to a federal judge to get the provisional ballots counted.
Separately, a group of voters tried to get the state Supreme Court to halt the recount because of the computer program used. That too was rejected.
McSally's win gives the GOP a 5-4 advantage in the Arizona congressional delegation.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/capitol-hill/2014/12/17/former-air-force-pilot-wins-arizona-house-seat-after-recount/20545195/
