WASHINGTON - Arizona Republicans in a crowded House primary denounced the national GOP Tuesday for taking sides in the race. "They're idiots," one candidate said.

The National Republican Congressional Committee last week backed a candidate in the primary, launching a $122,000 advertising campaign for state Rep. Steve Huffman. The party contends Huffman is a moderate candidate who could win the district in November.

On Tuesday, Huffman's four GOP opponents took the unusual step of holding a joint news conference and delivering a message to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

"Stay the hell out of southern Arizona," said Mike Hellon, one of the candidates and a former state party chairman, in an interview following the news conference.

The four contend the NRCC had split the party, handing an advantage to the Democrats. They urged the NRCC to pull its ads and stay quiet until after the Sept. 12 primary.

"This is the granddaddy of unintended consequences," Hellon said in the interview. "They're idiots."

"Noted," responded NRCC spokesman Ed Patru, who would not comment further about the division the party may have created.

Some of the other four candidates contend Huffman does not share their conservative values — an assertion Huffman says is wrong. Besides Hellon, Huffman faces Randy Graf, a former state lawmaker, Frank Antenori and Mike Jenkins.

Huffman was hand-picked by retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe (news, bio, voting record), a moderate Republican who has held the House seat for 22 years. While Huffman has led the pack in fundraising, there is no clear favorite in the race.

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