With the exception of Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who had won the open seat in District 1 during the previous election, all members of the delegation were incumbents who had served for at least a full term in Congress.

Also, with the exception of retiring Republican John Shadegg of District 3, all incumbent members of the state's delegation ran for re-election.

Mining industry lobbyist Sydney Hay, who had been the Republican nominee to run against Kirkpatrick in 2008, finished second in the primary behind dentist Paul Gosar.

On January 14, 2010, 8-term incumbent Shadegg announced his retirement at the end of his current term, making the third district an open seat.

[25] Gorman gained national attention during the campaign for an ad showing her firing a Thompson submachine gun,[33] and for her cosponsorship of the highly controversial SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration bill.

[34] Quayle, the initial frontrunner in the race, faced criticism for his prior involvement with the controversial rumour and gossip website "DirtyScottsdale.com".

[35] Quayle initially denied the rumors,[36] before admitting several weeks later that he did, in fact, write material for the site under the pen name Brock Landers.

[35][37][38][39] Newcomer Steve Moak's strong fundraising[40] and television advertising blitz against Quayle saw him to be viewed as the new frontrunner, however he faced allegations that he illegally profited from a charity he had set up, hurt his campaign.

[54] Statewide officials David Schweikert defeated Democratic incumbent Harry Mitchell on November 2, 2010, returning the seat to the Republicans.

Despite the Democratic lean of the district, Grijalva faced a tougher than expected re-election campaign following his suggestion that businesses should boycott the state in response to the passing of the highly controversial SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration bill.

Both Grijalva and challenger, 28-year-old physicist Ruth McClung, benefitted from outside spending in the final weeks of the campaign, in addition to the national environment favouring the Republicans.