2012 Arizona's 8th congressional district special election explained

Election Name:	2012 United States House of Representatives Special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district
Country:	Arizona
Type:	by-election
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona#District 8
Previous Year:	2010
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona#District 2
Next Year:	2012
Election Date:	June 12, 2012
Seats For Election:	Arizona's 8th congressional district
Image1:	File:Ron Barber, official portrait, 112th Congress (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Ron Barber
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	111,204
Percentage1:	52.3%
Nominee2:	Jesse Kelly
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	96,465
Percentage2:	45.4%
Map Size:	245px
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Gabby Giffords
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Ron Barber
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

A 2012 special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district was held on June 12, with primary elections held on April 17, to fill a seat in the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th congressional district until the 112th United States Congress ends on January 3, 2013.^[1] The election was caused by the resignation of Representative Gabby Giffords on January 25, 2012, to concentrate on recovering from her injuries from the 2011 Tucson shooting.^[2] The seat was won by Ron Barber, a former aide to Giffords who was wounded in the attempt on her life.

Background

Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer announced April 17 to be the date for the special primary elections and June 12 for the special general election.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ron Barber, small business owner and Giffords' District Director^[4]

Withdrawn

• Matt Heinz, state representative^{[5] [6]}

Declined

• Paula Aboud, Arizona Senate Whip.^[7]
• John Adams, retired Brigadier General^[8]
• David Crowe, software company owner^[9]
• Steve Farley, Arizona House of Representatives^[7]
• Jeff Latas, former vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party and 2006 primary candidate^[10]
• Linda J. Lopez, state senator^[11]
• Janet Napolitano, former Governor of Arizona and United States Secretary of Homeland Security^[12]
• Daniel Patterson, state representative^[13]
• Tim Sultan, program chair of the Democrats of Greater Tucson and 2004 primary candidate^[14]
• Ramon Valadez, Pima County, Arizona Supervisor^[11]
• Nan Stockholm Walden, Farmer Investments VP and former chief of staff to Senator Bill Bradley^[15]
• Bruce Wheeler, state representative^[13]

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jesse Kelly, Iraq War veteran and nominee for this seat in 2010 Republican ^[16]

Eliminated in primary

• Frank Antenori, state senator and Iraq War veteran^[17]
• Martha McSally, U.S. Air Force colonel, first female USAF air combat pilot^[18]
• Dave Sitton, businessman, broadcaster, and coach^[19]

Declined

• Jonathan Paton, state senator and 2010 primary candidate^[20]

Results

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ron Barber (D)	Jesse Kelly (R)	Charlie Manolakis (G)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling^[21]	June 9–10, 2012	1,058	± 3.0%	align=center	53%	41%	4%	3%
National Research (R)^[22]	April 12, 2012	300	±5.7%	45%	align=center	49%	—	6%

With McSally

Results

See also

• List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

External links

• Ron Barber campaign site
• Jesse Kelly campaign site

Notes and References

1. News: Giffords to Resign From Congress . The Wall Street Journal . January 22, 2012 . January 22, 2012.
2. News: Espo. David. January 22, 2012. Rep. Giffords to resign this week from Congress, focus on recovering from shooting injuries. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Associated Press. Washington. dead. January 22, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120124010643/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GIFFORDS_RESIGN?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT. January 24, 2012.
3. News: Brewer Orders Special Election For June 12 . The Huffington Post . January 27, 2012 . January 28, 2012.
4. News: Giffords aide to run for seat in special election . AP . February 9, 2012 . February 10, 2012.
5. Web site: Heinz for Congress. heinzforcongress.com.
6. Rep. Heinz pledged to drop out and endorse Ron Barber if he chose to run in the special election. Heinz will still run in the primary for the general election in the district, which was renumbered the 2nd in redistricting.
7. News: Governor will declare April special election for Giffords' seat . KOLD . January 22, 2012 . January 22, 2012.
8. News: Giffords resignation sets off competitive special election for her Ariz. House seat . The Hill . January 22, 2012 . January 22, 2012.
9. News: With Giffords Stepping Down, Who Might Step Up? . National Journal . January 22, 2012 . January 22, 2012.
10. News: Latas is Back . Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion . January 22, 2012 . January 22, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204543/http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/2012/01/23/latas-is-back/ . March 3, 2016 . dead . mdy-all .
11. News: Arizona Candidates Race for Giffords Seat . Roll Call . January 24, 2012 . January 24, 2012.
12. News: Janet Napolitano Not Interested in Gabrielle Giffords' Seat . Roll Call . January 24, 2012 . January 24, 2012.
13. Web site: What's Next? . January 26, 2012 . January 27, 2012 . . Jim . Nintzel.
14. Web site: Potential candidates for Giffords' seat begin to emerge . January 24, 2012 . January 27, 2012 . .
15. News: Giffords meets with supporters, says she'll run again . Green Valley News and Sun . January 22, 2012 . January 22, 2012.
16. Web site: Jesse Kelly to Run in Arizona Special Election . January 24, 2012 . January 25, 2012 . . Abby . Livingston.
17. Web site: Arizona: GOP State Senator Enters Race to Replace Giffords . January 27, 2012 . January 27, 2012 . . Abby . Livingston . January 29, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120129103303/http://atr.rollcall.com/arizona-gop-state-senator-enters-race-to-replace-giffords/ . dead .
18. News: McCombs. Brady. 1st Female AF Air Combat Vet in Run for Congress. 10 February 2012. Arizona Daily Star. 9 February 2012.
19. News: Politicians Scramble to Fill Giffords' Void . . 3 February 2012.
20. Web site: Paton to seek CD1 seat in Congress . January 25, 2012 . January 25, 2012 . Tucson Sentinel . Dylan . Smith.
21. http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_AZ_611.pdf Public Policy Polling
22. https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/111485-poll-former-giffords-opponent-is-strongest-gop-candidate-for-her-seat/ National Research (R)