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Race for Gabby Giffords’ Old Seat Shapes Up for Hard Fight
ABC News ^ | June 8, 2012 | Elizabeth Hartfield

Posted on 06/10/2012 9:50:53 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued

The race, which has been under way since April, is between Republican nominee Jesse Kelly, a former Marine who ran against Giffords in 2010, and Ron Barber, Giffords’ former district director. Barber himself was injured in the shooting outside the Safeway grocery store on Jan. 8, 2011. He was shot in the leg and the cheek.

Giffords has not been very present in Barber’s campaign. She was featured on a mailer paid for by the Democratic Party of Arizona, and she will be campaigning for the candidate this weekend. However, regardless of Giffords level of involvement, the race was never going to be in the bag for Democrats.

“It’s a district that’s pretty much split right down the middle, and one of the reasons that Gabby Giffords was able to get elected and re-elected was that she was a more conservative Democrat,” said Brinton Milward, director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, who also directs the University of Arizona’s School of Government and Public Policy.

The 8th district, currently located in the southeastern portion of the state and includes part of Tuscan, leans Republican. It has gone red in the past three presidential elections. Giffords narrowly won her re-election in 2010 against Kelly, 30, ultimately defeating him by a margin of about 2 percentage points.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: gabbygiffords; giffords; jessekelly; tucsonshooting
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To: Astronaut
Does everyone who has the misfortune of getting shot deserve to have a United States warship named after them?

WAS she shot?

THIS is the 9mm hydrostatic shock that supposedly happened to her brains and skull, when it's repeated in ballistic gelatin:

Remember, she's a gun-grabbing Democrat, friends from way back with Hillary. And now, only a year later from experiencing what reliably turns every other human being's brains into a red jello mess, she's stumping for a candidate?

Why, it's literally a miracle!

Yeah, sure it is.

:: spit ::

21 posted on 06/10/2012 12:50:42 PM PDT by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: Talisker

You think she is faking it??


22 posted on 06/10/2012 12:57:44 PM PDT by HereInTheHeartland ("The writing is on the wall - Unions are screwed. reformist2 10:04 PM #27"\)
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To: The Great RJ

Is Tim Johnson expected to run for reelection again in 2014? I’ve read that Mike Rounds or Krist Noem may run that year, regardless of Johnson’s condition.


23 posted on 06/10/2012 1:07:14 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued (Obama and Company lied, the American economy died)
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To: originalbuckeye

I live in north Chandler, which is SE of Tempe. My district includes Tempe, Most of central Phoenix barrios and Sunnyslope, which is in north Phoenix (Dunlap)! I won’t see a GOP Rep for a decade.


24 posted on 06/10/2012 1:13:08 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (Obama considers the Third World morally superior to the United States.)
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To: Clintonfatigued
the race has mostly been a polite one.

What ads have you been watching?

25 posted on 06/10/2012 2:44:16 PM PDT by HiJinx (He who controls the water, controls life.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Some liberal acquaintances I follow on Twitter were losing their minds because they saw a Kelly ad where he was carrying an M16 (or maybe M4, I don’t know) and called himself “a warrior.” They were hyperventilating because it HAD A GUN IN IT and was in SUCH bad taste after the Giffords shooting and OH MY GOD HOW COULD HE DO THAT HE’S SUCH AN AWFUL PERSON I HOPE HE DIES!!!1!11!!

Liberals. It’s so easy to make their widdle heads explode.

}:-)4


26 posted on 06/10/2012 3:47:13 PM PDT by Moose4 (...and walk away.)
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To: The Great RJ
I am greatly surprised that Giffords didn't just run again and get elected with a huge sympathy vote.

From what I have seen and read, Giffords is in much worse shape than Johnson. Her appearances have been very carefully scripted and orchestrated. I think she has serious difficulties intellectually and physically. The Dems kept up this charade for a long time even suggesting that she might run for senator to fill Kyl's seat when he retires this year.

IMO Johnson should retire but the Dems don't want to lose the seat.

27 posted on 06/10/2012 4:13:46 PM PDT by kabar
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To: kabar

I saw Giffords on tv today, climbing up on stage for a campaign appearance. It looked like she was very dazed and confused and her husband was physically directing her where to walk by guiding her arm.


28 posted on 06/10/2012 4:21:59 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: originalbuckeye; Republican Wildcat; Cyber Liberty; Clintonfatigued; randita; AuH2ORepublican; ...

You are right, redistricting sucked.

But you overstate it. This district now renumbered the 2nd went from 52% McCain in 2008 to 50%, only slightly worse. Also keep in mind that special election is for the old 8th district seat. Kelly would be helped by incumbency for the November election if he wins the special.

The new 9th went 51-47 for Obama. They have an edge but that’s not a seat we can’t win.

The first district which was abandoned by it’s freshman GOP incumbent for a safe seat went from 54% McCain to 51%. The race will probably be between former State Sen Jonathan Paton and Former Rat Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick.

I would rate the November elections for the new first and second district races as tossups and the ninth district as lean D.


29 posted on 06/10/2012 6:44:29 PM PDT by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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To: catnipman
when the media cries that its a "hard fought" or "close" they usually mean that its in the bag for the rat....

hope I'm wrong....because I'm financially invested in Kelly....

30 posted on 06/10/2012 9:03:27 PM PDT by cherry
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