Democrat Jevin Hodge, left, faces off against Republican Rep. David Schweikert, right.
Matt York/AP Photo; Insider
Rep. David Schweikert has defeated Democrat Jevin Hodge in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District.
The 1st District is located in the region east and northeast of Phoenix.
Trump-endorsed Schweikert is the only Republican in Arizona’s congressional delegation who voted to accept the state’s election results.
Republican Rep. David Schweikert faces off against Democrat Jevin Hodge in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District.
Polls closed in the state at 7 p.m. local time, or 9 p.m. EST.
Arizona’s 1st Congressional District candidates
Democratic Rep. Schweikert is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He was the incumbent in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, but is running in the 1st due to redistricting. Schweikert surprised the GOP base when he clinched former President Donald Trump’s endorsement ahead of the primary — he’s the only Republican in Arizona’s congressional delegation who voted to accept the state’s election results.
The six-term congressman, first elected in 2010, grew up under adoptive parents after his unwed, teenage birth mother decided against abortion and put him up for adoption, an experience he’s said has shaped his opposition to abortion.
Prior to his time in Congress, the 60-year-old Republican served two terms in the Arizona House of Representatives and worked for several years as the Maricopa County Treasurer. In Congress, Schweikert has advocated for tribal communities in Arizona, having lived alongside them for most of his life.
Hodge, Schweikert’s challenger, is the president of the board of directors for the Booker T. Washington Child Development Center, a local nonprofit dedicated to child development. If elected, Hodge, 28, would be the state’s first Black congressman and the second youngest Black congressman in the country. In June, he was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program.
Voting history for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District
Arizona’s 1st Congressional District includes Scottsdale and parts of north and central Phoenix. It’s the only competitive House race in the state that’s currently held by the GOP.
Trump had a 4 percentage point margin of victory over Joe Biden under the district’s previous boundaries in the 2020 presidential election. The district was redrawn to take in nearly 75% of the region that was part of its previous boundaries in redistricting following the 2020 Census, reducing the Republican tilt.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Schweikert has raised $1.6 million, spent $1.5 million, and has $244,577 on hand, as of September 30. His opponent, Hodge, has raised $1.9 million, spent $1 million, and has $855,517 cash on hand, as of September 30.
As of late October, several dozen super PACs, national party committees, politically active nonprofits, and other non-candidate groups have together spent about $2 million to advocate for or against candidates in this race, including during the race’s primary phase.
What experts say
The race between Schweikert and Hodge is rated as “lean Republican” by Inside Elections, a “toss-up” by The Cook Political Report, and “leans Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.