John Verkamp is a veteran

Veteran

A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

and former Republican state senator who ran for the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 as a Democrat in 2006.

Biography

He is descended from the Verkamp family who have operated a store at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...

 since 1906.

Career

John Verkamp was a Republican state senator representing the Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

 area. He was last elected to that seat in 2000. In 2002, following redistricting in which Flagstaff was removed from its former district, which had included Sedona, Arizona

Sedona, Arizona

Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona...

 and Kingman, Arizona

Kingman, Arizona

Kingman is located in a desert climate on the edge of the Mojave Desert, but its higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley tempers summer high temperatures and contributes to winter cold and rare snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F ...

, and placed in a new district containing the heavily Democratic Navajo Nation

Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...

, John Verkamp decided against running for re-election. His former State Senate seat has been held by a Democrat ever since. An opponent of the Iraq War and supporter of single-payer health care

Single-payer health care

Single-payer health care is medical care funded from a single insurance pool, run by the state. Under a single-payer system, universal health care for an entire population can be financed from a pool to which many parties employees, employers, and the state have contributed...

, Verkamp recently left the Republican Party over those issues and announced his decision to run as a Democrat for U.S. Senate. Verkamp was a late entry in the race and he did not gather enough petition signatures to qualify for the September 12 primary election ballot. His opponent in the primary would have been Jim Pederson

Jim Pederson

James "Jim" Pederson , is an American businessman, co-founder of the commercial development firm The Pederson Group, and was the Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party from 2001 to 2005...

, who was defeated by incumbent Jon Kyl

Jon Kyl

Jon Llewellyn Kyl is the junior U.S. Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. In 2010 he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.The son...

in November.

External links

• http://www.johnverkamp.com/