Ron Barber, Gabby Giffords' Former Aide, Running In Special Election For Her Seat [View all]

[Tx4obama]

With the backing of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), Ron Barber, a longtime aide to the congresswoman, entered the special election to succeed her on Thursday.

Barber, who headed Giffords' district office, has announced his candidacy for the Tucson-area congressional seat she vacated last month, saying that he wanted to carry on Giffords' work and continue solving constituents' problems and border security issues. Barber was wounded in the January 2011 shooting that also wounded Giffords and 11 others and killed six.

"The congresswoman looked at me directly and said, 'Ron, will you run,'" Barber said in a Thursday conference call with reporters, where he said Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, would be supporting his efforts.

As Barber announced his entrance into the race for the seat representing Arizona's 8th district, another Democratic candidate for the seat, State Rep. Matt Heinz, said he would run in the newly drawn 2nd district -- which encompasses much of what had been the 8th district before redistricting occurred -- instead. Heinz's announcement clears the field for Barber, who will no longer face a primary opponent on April 17 and can concentrate solely on the general election, scheduled for June 12.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/ron-barber-gabby-giffords-special-election_n_1266130.html