PHOENIX—Jim Kolbe, a Republican congressman who represented a heavily Democratic region of Arizona for more than two decades, has died. He was 80.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement that Kolbe died Saturday. Ducey ordered flags lowered until sunset Sunday.
Kolbe served in the Arizona Legislature before being elected in 1984 to Congress, where he often was at odds with other Republicans over his support for free trade and an immigrant guest worker program.
Kolbe retired from Congress when his 11th term ended in 2006.
Rep. Jim Kolbe, (R -Ariz.) (C) speaks to members of the Mexican delegation during the Mexico-U.S. Interparliamentary Meeting in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, on March 3, 2006. (Gregory Bull/AP Photo)
Kolbe started his political career at 15 as a page for the late U.S Sen. Barry Goldwater in Washington and later served on the board that oversees the page program. He attended Northwestern University and then Stanford, earning a master’s degree in economics….