January 23, 2012 10:10 AM

Gabrielle Giffords' resignation prompts special election

By
Stephanie Condon
Topics
Congress ,
Campaign 2012
Giffords mulling re-election bid: husband

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, leads the Pledge of Allegiance accompanied by her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, at the start of a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors of the shooting that wounded Giffords, 12 others and killed six one year ago Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz.

(Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Now that Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona is stepping down from Congress, her potential successors will have just about a month to decide whether to run in a special election to fill her seat.

Three-term Democrat on Sunday announced that she'll leave her seat this week, just over a year after she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt.

Once she officially steps down, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will have 72 hours to announce the date of a primary special election, according to state law. The primary must be held between 80 to 90 days after the vacancy is announced, and the special general election must be held between 50 to 60 days after the special primary. That means that the special primary election would likely take place in April and the special general election would take place in June.

Candidates will have 30 days after the election date is announced to file nomination papers and petitions for candidacy.

Giffords narrowly won re-election in 2010, and the race to fill her seat is expected to be competitive. The candidates will be in a particularly challenging situation, since in addition to running in the special election for Giffords' seat in the 8th district, they'll also have to campaign for the newly-drawn 2nd district if they plan on serving past this year, the Arizona Republic notes. More than 90 percent of the voters in the new 2nd district, drawn up after the 2010 Census, come from the old 8th district.

A handful of Republicans have filed papers to possibly run for the 2nd district seat, including Arizona State Sen. Frank Antenori and sports broadcaster Dave Sitton. Antenori is expected to announce today whether he'll run in the special election, the Arizona Daily Star reports.

On the Democratic side, some potential candidates include state legislators Paula Aboud, Steve Farley and Matt Heinz, according to the Republic.

Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement Sunday, "We look forward to working with a Democratic candidate who fits this district and shares those values that Gabrielle holds dear to carry on her work."

While she's not finishing out her term, Giffords today is reconvening the "Congress at your corner" event she was hosting on January 8, 2011, when a gunman open fired and shot 19 people, including Giffords. The congresswoman is meeting privately with some of the people who were at the tragic event, including some of the wounded and some who helped the victims.


Add a Comment
by haroldamaio January 23, 2012 5:02 PM EST
Giffords would be an excellent advocate for " 'the' mentally ill."

You assume we are generic? Curious communication, CBS. Once "the" Blacks, now this?

Did you perhaps mean "a mental health adovcate?" You did.
Reply to this comment
by Smokey75 January 23, 2012 12:30 PM EST
I think you will see a rise in liberal suicides if this seat goes republican! Liberals are so mentally unstable something like this has the potential to push many over the edge. Seek help before it is to late. lol
Reply to this comment
by carroll6 January 23, 2012 12:23 PM EST
I am sorry for what happened to her, but did not like her political stance.. a "Blue Dog". I am sympathetic to her medical plight.. what Mr. Loughner did was not very nice.
Reply to this comment
by REDBEAR57 January 23, 2012 11:50 AM EST
God bless her and I wish her continued speedy recovery. I cannot imagine what it has been like for her both emotionally and physically to go through this horrible ordeal.

That having been said... she has been absent from voting for over a year now (for a very understandable and good reason), but now just when she may be able to return to work she is quitting???

Her district has in effect had no representation for the last year, and now she will leave them in flux for another 3 months. I think she should have stepped down back then...
Reply to this comment
by REDBEAR57 January 23, 2012 11:49 AM EST
God bless her and I wish her continued speedy recovery. I cannot imagine what it has been like for her both emotionally and physically to go through this horrible ordeal.

That having been said... she has been absent from voting for over a year now (for a very understandable and good reason), but now just when she may be able to return to work she is quitting???

Her district has in effect had no representation for the last year, and now she will leave them in flux for another 3 months. I think she should have stepped down back then...
Reply to this comment
by magik1369 January 23, 2012 11:07 AM EST
God forbid a republican takes Gabby Giffords seat. The republicans and their Tea Party murderers are liable for her disability. Sarah Palin is liable. Sure, the crazy gunman Loughner acted alone...however, it was Palin and the Tea Party that drew gun site circles around Gifford's face. It was Palin and the Tea Party pushing voters buttons and inciting them to violence. A crime that the media and the public never held Palin accountable for. However, Palin will always hold this on her conscience and this will forever remain part of Palin's karmic makeup for years and years to come. It's a shame that we are losing Gabby Giffords in that seat. It would be indicative of a morally repugnant country is Giffords is replaced by a republican.
Reply to this comment
by credibility2 January 23, 2012 11:27 AM EST
....you conveniently omit the fact that the perpetrator was stalking her for years and was a declared Democrat...it's your vitriol and hate-speech that encourages violence...all one has to do is look at stats in major urban areas to realize which constituency is responsible for the majority of crimes...those identifying with the Dem party...
by OIF_to_USC January 23, 2012 5:28 PM EST
magik1369, you are a simple idiot if ever there was one. Jared Loughner was "anything" but a Republican -- or in the Tea Party. The guy had no real political affiliations that any of us here would recognize. He wasn't even from this planet. He could have been stopped if local law enforcement had simply arrested him for just one of his ... many ... incidents of pot use and possession, or threatening conduct toward others. Any arrest would have led to a mental health assessment that would have further led to a diagnosis of severe schizophrenia -- complete with red flags in the NCIC data base if and when he tried to legally buy a gun. Those laws and procedures are not some liberal inspired "loophole" either - Those procedures already exist.
by OIF_to_USC January 23, 2012 10:36 AM EST
Jared Loughner ought to be hung from a beam and skinned alive for what he did to Ms. Giffords and the murders and maiming he committed to so many others.
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