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Mary Rose Wilcox Vies for Arizona’s 7th District (Video)

Wilcox, D-Ariz., candidate for Congress from Arizona's 7th district. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Wilcox, D-Ariz., candidate for Congress from Arizona's 7th district. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
By Bridget Bowman
Posted August 22, 2014 at 7:45am

Former Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, a Democrat, hopes her community ties and political experience will boost her to victory in Tuesday’s primary in Arizona’s 7th District.  

In an interview with CQ Roll Call in Washington, D.C., Wilcox laid out what she believes will be a winning strategy for the primary. “We’re targeting, we’re making sure that we’re getting the voters out,” said Wilcox in late July. “I know my community. My community has shared with me many of their concerns, and so the message is one that is resonating. And that’s how we win.” Out of Wilcox’s three primary opponents, her top rival is former state Rep. Ruben Gallego, whom CQ Roll Call interviewed earlier this summer . The candidates are vying to replace Rep. Ed Pastor, a Democrat who
announced his retirement
 this year after serving 11 terms.  Pastor has backed Wilcox in the race to fill his seat, along with EMILY’s List. Gallego, a former Marine, has received support from liberal veterans group VoteVets and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz.  

There’s a Hispanic-majority in the Phoenix-based district, and Wilcox said immigration is a major issue for the constituents, along with gun violence. Wilcox was shot by a gunman in the mid-1990s during her tenure as a top county official.  “He had the gun at my back and I was very lucky. I screamed, he got frightened, and it went off in my upper hip. I still have a lot of fragments from it. It was terrible,” said Wilcox, also noting that she fought against illegal guns prior to being shot.  

But, Wilcox said, “After I got shot and was a victim myself, I rededicated myself, came back into political office.”  

The candidate who wins next week’s primary will likely head to Congress next year because the district is heavily Democratic. The contest is rated Safe Democrat by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.  

Wilcox’s Team: 
Mike Muir (direct mail), Anna Greenberg & Missy Egelsky (polling), Brandon Hall and Dan Kully (media), Rodd McLeod (general consulting), Brian Weeks (campaign manager) and Sam Castañeda Holdren (communications director). 
 
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  Previous candidate interviews:

 

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