PHOENIX (AP) - Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick says she's running to win back the congressional seat she lost to tea party favorite Paul Gosar in last fall's election.
The Democrat from Flagstaff, Ariz., said Wednesday that she lost to Gosar after just one term because voters were angry over the lagging economy. Gosar was part of a wave of victorious Republican candidates who put the party in control of the U.S. House.
Kirkpatrick says Gosar has proven he's out of touch with the district. She says she'll be more accessible if voters elect her in 2012.
Gosar's campaign said in a statement that voters have already rejected Kirkpatrick's liberal voting record, and will do the same next year. Kirkpatrick says the sprawling district, which covers northern and eastern Arizona, needs a moderate representative.