Representative Ann Kirkpatrick

Ann Leila Kirkpatrick (born March 24, 1950) is an American politician and retired attorney who served as a Representative from Arizona in the United States Congress from 2009 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented Arizona’s 1st congressional district from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2017, and Arizona’s 2nd congressional district from 2019 to 2023, contributing to the legislative process during five terms in office. Her congressional service occurred during a significant period in American history, during which she participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of her constituents in a large, geographically diverse state.

Kirkpatrick was born in McNary, Arizona, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, and grew up in the small town of White River. She is of part Native American descent and was raised in a family that operated a general store, giving her early exposure to the economic and social issues facing rural and tribal communities in northern Arizona. Her upbringing in this remote region, closely connected to the White Mountain Apache community, would later inform her political focus on rural development, infrastructure, and Native American affairs.

Kirkpatrick attended the University of Arizona, where she earned her bachelor’s degree, and went on to receive a Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law. After law school, she worked as an attorney, building a career in private practice and public service. She served as a prosecutor and later as a city attorney, gaining experience in criminal law, municipal governance, and the practical application of state statutes. This legal background provided a foundation for her later work in the state legislature and in Congress, particularly on issues involving justice, public safety, and regulatory policy.

Kirkpatrick entered elective office at the state level as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, serving from 2005 to 2007. Representing a largely rural district, she focused on education, economic development, and infrastructure needs in northern Arizona. On July 24, 2007, she resigned from the state House to run for the Democratic nomination in Arizona’s 1st congressional district. The seat was due to come open after three-term Republican incumbent Rick Renzi announced that he would not seek reelection in the face of a federal indictment on corruption charges, for which he eventually went to prison. In the Democratic primary held on September 2, 2008, Kirkpatrick won a four-way contest by almost 15 points, and in the general election she defeated Republican Sydney Ann Hay, a mining industry lobbyist, with 56 percent of the vote.

First elected to Congress in 2008 in Arizona’s 1st congressional district, Kirkpatrick took office on January 3, 2009. During her first term she represented a vast district encompassing much of northern and eastern Arizona, including tribal lands, rural communities, and small cities. She supported major national legislation advanced by the Democratic majority and worked on issues such as veterans’ services, transportation, and health care access in remote areas. In the 2010 midterm elections, amid a strong national swing toward Republicans, she was defeated for reelection by Republican nominee Paul Gosar, receiving 43.7 percent of the vote to Gosar’s 49.7 percent. During that campaign she was endorsed by The Arizona Republic.

Kirkpatrick announced she would run again for her old congressional seat in 2012. Following redistricting, Arizona’s 1st district became significantly more Democratic than its predecessor, with Democrats holding roughly a nine-point registration advantage. She initially prepared for a rematch against Gosar, but he opted to run for reelection in the newly created, heavily Republican 4th district. In the 2012 general election, Kirkpatrick narrowly won the seat, defeating Republican Jonathan Paton, a former state senator, with less than 50 percent of the vote, as a Libertarian Party candidate drew more than 6 percent. She returned to Congress in January 2013 and was reelected in 2014 with 52.6 percent of the vote over state Representative Andy Tobin, facing no opposition in the Democratic primary. A December 2012 Washington Post article listed her among the 10 most vulnerable incumbents in the 2014 cycle, and she was included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Frontline Program, designed to protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

In 2015, Kirkpatrick sought higher office. On May 26, 2015, she announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Senator John McCain. Foregoing a bid for reelection to the House in 2016, she ran statewide in a high-profile race that focused on national security, health care, and Arizona’s economic future. In the November 2016 general election, she was defeated by McCain, who won 53.7 percent of the vote to Kirkpatrick’s 40.8 percent. After this loss, she stepped away from Congress for a term but remained active in public affairs and Democratic Party politics in Arizona.

Kirkpatrick returned to the House of Representatives in the 2018 election cycle, this time as a candidate for Arizona’s 2nd congressional district, based in Tucson in southern Arizona. She ran for the open seat being vacated by Republican Martha McSally, who retired from the House to run for the U.S. Senate. To pursue this opportunity, Kirkpatrick moved across the state from Flagstaff to Tucson. In the 2018 general election, she won the seat with 54.7 percent of the vote and took office on January 3, 2019. She was reelected in 2020 over Republican nominee Brandon Martin, continuing her work on issues including veterans’ affairs, border security and immigration policy, health care, and infrastructure, while representing a district that included a major urban center and surrounding communities.

On March 12, 2021, Kirkpatrick announced that she would not seek reelection in 2022, effectively term-limiting herself and bringing her congressional career to a close at the end of the 117th Congress on January 3, 2023. Over the course of five terms in the House, she represented two different Arizona districts at different times, reflecting both the state’s rapid growth and shifting political landscape. A retired attorney as well as a former state legislator and member of Congress, she has remained a notable figure among women in the United States House of Representatives and in the modern political history of Arizona.