After redistricting for the 2012 general election, the new 8th district encompasses most of the Maricopa County portion of the old 2nd district, while most of the former 8th district became the 2nd congressional district.[4] It is the geographic and demographic successor of the old 2nd; while the 4th district contains most of the old 2nd's land, more than 92 percent of the old 2nd's constituents were drawn into the 8th.[5]
Arizona picked up an eighth congressional district after the 2000 census. It originally encompassed the extreme southeastern part of the state. It included all of Cochise County and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties. For all intents and purposes, it was the successor to what had been the 5th district from 1983 to 2003.
Longtime Republican incumbent Jim Kolbe retired in 2007, and was succeeded by DemocratGabby Giffords, who was shot and severely wounded at a public event on January 8, 2011. Giffords resigned her seat on January 25, 2012. In a special election held on June 12, 2012, Democrat Ron Barber was elected as the new congressman.[6]
For the 2012 election, Barber was redistricted to the 2nd district, which includes the bulk of the old 8th district. The 8th was redrawn to include nearly all of the Maricopa County portion of the old 2nd district–as mentioned above, more than 92 percent of the old 2nd's population. The district had previously been the 3rd district from 1963 to 2003. That district's congressman, Republican Trent Franks, won the election for the new 8th.
After the 2022 redistricting, the 8th was one of only two districts, the other being the East Valley-based 5th, that retained essentially its same boundaries.
Arizona began sending an eighth member to the House after the 2000 Census. Prior to this time, most of the 8th's current territory was in the 5th district.
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