Arizona Holds Special Election to Fill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Seat - East Idaho News
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Arizona Holds Special Election to Fill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ Seat

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Getty 020812 GabbyGIffords?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1339496501976Alex Wong/Getty Images(PHOENIX) — Arizonans in the state’s 8th Congressional District will cast their votes Tuesday in a special election to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ retirement.  The race between former Giffords district director Ron Barber and retired Marine Jesse Kelly is expected to be close, and the outcome is anyone’s guess.

The district is located in the southeastern portion of the state and encompasses parts of Tucson.

Barber, 66, has had the endorsement of his former boss from the beginning of the race.  He ultimately ran uncontested in the primary, and  has had relatively strong fundraising, taking in about $1.2 million, according to his Federal Election Commission filings.  Barber was also injured in the assassination attempt on Giffords in January 2011 and has recovered from being shot in the leg and cheek.

Kelly, 30, faced a contested primary against three opponents.  His fundraising has lagged behind Barber’s, raising about $700,000, according to FEC filings.  But the political demographics of the district give the advantage to Kelly.  The district leans Republican, going red in the presidential elections in 2008 and 2004 and boasting a higher number of registered Republicans than Democrats going into the special election.

Republicans, Democrats and respectively aligned super PAC’s have invested in the race.  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which oversees Democratic House races, has spent a little more than $425,000 on ad buys, while their Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, has spent a little more than $840,000 on media, according to their respective financial disclosures.

The Democratically aligned super PAC House Majority PAC, and the Republican aligned American Crossroads have both waded into the race, as has the Tea Party-affiliated FreedomWorks, and the establishment GOP group American Action Network.

Giffords campaigned for Barber this weekend leading up to the election, appearing alongside him at a get-out-the-vote event Saturday in Tucson.

Polling indicates the race will likely be close.  Many votes, more than 132,000, have already been cast through early voting, which began on May 17.  The district boasts 414,494 registered voters, meaning that more than one-quarter have voted.  State officials expect that early voting could account for almost two-thirds of the total votes.

Whichever candidate emerges victorious from Tuesday’s election will have little time to get acclimated to his new job.  The congressman will have to run again in the general election in November, this time in a new district — Congressional District 2 — which is viewed as more favorable to Democrats.  

Before November rolls around though, the then-congressman must face an August primary.  Both men have already filed for the August 28 contest, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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