By Ronald J. Hansen | The Republic
Former congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick is entering the Democratic race to challenge U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, setting up what could be among the nation’s fiercest House fights next year.
Months after losing handily to Sen. John McCain, Kirkpatrick has moved from the rural northeastern Arizona district she represented in Congress for six years to the southern district that includes parts of Tucson, the state’s second-most populous city.
She joins an already-crowded field of Democrats, suggesting early energy on the left to face off with McSally, a Republican who easily won a second term in November only to see her approval rating sink after tying herself to the unpopular GOP health-care plan.