Hayworth is Gone

Former Tempe mayor refuses to claim victory in U.S. House race until officials count all votes

PHOENIX (By Robbie Sherwood and Billy House, Arizona Republic) November 15, 2006 — Democrat Harry Mitchell can finally call himself Arizona's next congressman from District 5.

U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth conceded Tuesday, one week after the Nov. 7 election that had Mitchell holding a slim lead of about 5,900 votes.

Even with thousands of early ballots still to be counted, it had become apparent that the six-term Republican incumbent had no chance of victory. Hayworth had hoped that he would close the gap as ballots were counted, but at the end of Tuesday, Mitchell's lead had grown to 6,499 votes.

Mitchell, a retired high school teacher who served 16 years as mayor of Tempe and eight years in the state Senate, has waited to declare victory out of respect for the vote-counting process. He said Tuesday night that despite his opponent's concession, he will continue to wait.

"The county recorder is still counting the votes," he said. "I don't want anyone to think their vote did not count."

Still, he said, "I felt all along I was the winner. I was very optimistic."

Mitchell is in Washington this week for orientation for new Congress members. He learned of Hayworth's concession as he headed into an evening reception with incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Hayworth's concession puts at least a temporary end to a 12-year political career. Hayworth issued a written statement Tuesday afternoon that said it was "apparent" he would not pick up enough votes to win.

"Therefore, let me congratulate Harry for his likely victory in what was a tough campaign and wish him the best of luck," Hayworth wrote. "But most of all, I would like to thank the people of Arizona I represented for over a decade. Thank you for the honor of serving in the Congress of the United States."

As of Tuesday, Mitchell had 92,648 votes to Hayworth's 86,149, or a 50.2 percent to 46.7 percent lead.

Maricopa County election officials hope to finish counting by Friday.

When asked what his earliest priorities as a lawmaker will be, Mitchell said, "We've got to do something with illegal immigration."

Hayworth's concession means that for the first time in a dozen years, Arizona's U.S. House delegation will be evenly split. Democrats and Republicans will control four seats each.

The 48-year-old lawmaker's decision also brings to a close, at least for now, a six-term congressional career that began when he was swept into office in the "Republican Revolution" of 1994, defeating then-one-term Democrat Karan English.

Arizona's delegation to Washington will lose one of its most nationally recognizable personalities, a frequent and often booming presence on cable news talk shows. More often, he would be promoting his conservative bent on topics like illegal immigration, border security and the war on terror.

Hayworth also tried his hand at being an author.

Whatever It Takes, published this year, reinforced his positions on illegal immigration and border concerns.

Last November, Hayworth generated national news by telling the Imus in the Morning show on MSNBC that he did not want President Bush to campaign for him. The Arizonan said that just as the president's job approval ratings started to dip under 40 percent in some national polls and public anxiety was rising over the war in Iraq.

In June, Hayworth made news again when he called for the New York Times to be stripped of its credentials to cover Congress from inside the U.S. Capitol because it published a story about a covert government anti-terrorism program that checks the bank records of Americans.

Such episodes, typically marked by absolute conviction, could both inspire and offend.

In September, Washingtonian magazine reported that Hayworth had ended up in second place among House members in its annual survey of congressional staffers - in the "Biggest Windbag" category.

As recently as last year, Hayworth had been entertaining the idea of running against Democrat Gov. Janet Napolitano, but decided against it.

Rumors had also swirled that he was considering leaving Congress for a return to television. But the former sportscaster always denied that.

Whatever the case, Hayworth's decision to seek another House term began to turn sour as his campaign fund and separate political-action committee have been among the largest recipients of political contributions linked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.