Jim Ogsbury

Jim Ogsbury doesn't know whether he'll be the Republican nominee for the 5th Congressional District seat, but at least Tuesday night won't be a complete loss for the former congressional aide, lawyer and lobbyist.

According to an announcement by his campaign, he has been elected a precinct committeeman for Legislative District 17.

From the release:

"Republican Congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury declared victory in his race to become a precinct committeeman for Arizona’s Legislative District 17, Paiute Precinct.  He credited his win to a complete lack of opposition and having secured the requisite number of petition signatures. “'I look forward to working with Arizona Republicans to realize conservative change for a brighter tomorrow,'” Ogsbury declared."

DENVER -- U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) is not worried about the outcome of the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District, which will lead to the selection of his  opponent in the general election.

"It makes no difference," said Mitchell, when asked if he had a preferred candidate to face after the Sept. 2 primary. "We've always run tough races. This is my 17th election. We always run against Republicans in Republican districts. This is no different, we're ready for any of them."

The David Schweikert campaign will report having $244,174 on hand as of Aug. 13, campaign spokesman Michael Juel told PolitickerAZ.com.

The campaign is transmitting its Federal Elections Commission report Thursday, which covers the period from July 1 to Aug. 13. Juel said the campaign will report raising nearly $100,000 over the six week period.

Schweikert's overall fundraising stands at $943,431 over the course of the cycle, which includes $250,000 the candidate lent his campaign. He has so far managed to outraise his opponents substantially, taking in more than three times what Jim Ogsbury raised during the same period.

5th Congressional District Republican primary candidate Jim Ogsbury had $258,730 as of Aug. 13, according to the report the campaign filed with the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday.

According to the report, Ogsbury raised $27,246, after a $150 refund, between July 1 and Aug. 13. His total cash on hand includes $250,000 he lent the campaign at the outset.

Arizona’s 5th congressional district Republican primary was supposed to be one of the most exciting races we have seen in a long time. To date, it has been very quiet in actuality. Things seem to be picking up though as the primary date is quickly approaching. Here are some updates we have received.

TEMPE -- 5th Congressional District Republican candidate Jim Ogsbury used the 30-foot statue of U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) near the ASU campus as the backdrop for an attack against the freshman representative, who he hopes to have the opportunity to unseat, on the topic of energy legislation. 

"This statue has done more to lower gas prices" than Mitchell, said Ogsbury, who spoke before a small gathering of press and supporters.

"In 2006, while running for Congress, Harry Mitchell pledged to do something about the price of gas," said Ogsbury. "But since Harry Mitchell went to Congress, the price of gas has increased 68 percent. And what has Harry Mitchell

SCOTTSDALE -- Jim Ogsbury knows how to walk neighborhoods. He doesn’t mess with marker caps anymore – “I got sick of fumbling with them,” he explains – now he’s got a retractable one to mark off houses on his walk sheet. He also uses it to knock on doors, joking he “must have permanent tissue damage in my knuckles” from all the doors he’s knocked. By his count, that’s now about 16,000.

Today he is taking his quest for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District to a quiet Scottsdale street, rich in what Ogsbury terms “loyal Republican voters.” He plans to spend the afternoon, from 1:30 until dark, introducing himself to residents of house after house, chatting with the voters inside and putting campaign literature into their hands personally.

Jim Ogsbury raised $49,783 during the second quarter of the year, outpacing his previous quarterly fundraising effort by about $9,000, according to his campaign. He has raised close to $500,000 to date in his 5th Congressional District primary campaign for the Republican nomination.

However, Ogsbury's cash on hand total is below what he reported at the beginning of the second quarter. As of now, his campaign has $323,442 - $30,000 less than he had on April 1.

Despite trailing David Schweikert, who leads the six-person 5th District Republican pack by a large margin, the Ogsbury campaign is undeterred.

Jim Ogsbury, the former Congressional aide and lobbyist running for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District, has put out a proposal to balance the nation's budget. The detailed report proposes to eliminate government programs through cuts in discretionaray spending, which he estimates will save taxpayers over $1 trillion over the course of five years.

"My budget will dramatically cut non-essential spending and provide tax relief to all Americans,” said Ogsbury in the statement announcing the plan.

"One of the most important responsibilities of Congress is to formulate a federal budget," he continued. "In sharp contrast to the incumbent, who has voted against every budget presented to him, and who refuses to offer a budget plan of his own, I am releasing my budget for scrutiny by the people of the Fifth District,” said Ogsbury.

5th Congressional District candidate Jim Ogsbury is the first in his field to go up with a TV ad, his campaign has announced.

The 30 second ad, called "Action," has Ogsbury touting how he "helped to cut government spending" as an aide to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee in the 1990s, and speaking of how he plans to "secure the border"