Arizona's 8th Congressional District special election, 2012
The 8th Congressional District of Arizona held a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives on June 12, 2012. The election was to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D). The primary election was held on April 17, 2012, and the general election was held on June 12, 2012.[1]
Candidates
June 12, 2012 general election candidates
April 17, 2012 primary results
Democratic Primary
- Note: Matt Heinz initially declared but he withdrew and endorsed Barber once the former Giffords aide entered the race.[4]
Republican Primary
Green Party Primary
- Richard Grayson (Write-in)
- Charlie Manolakis
Race background
This election was held to replace Gabrielle Giffords who resigned in early January. Ron Barber (D), a former aide to Representative Giffords, defeated Jesse Kelly (R), who unsuccessfully challenged Giffords for her seat in 2010 and narrowly lost by 1.5%.[7] Charlie Manolakis also ran as a Green Party candidate.
Debate
Democrat Ron Barber and Republican Jesse Kelly clashed during their first debate, while Green Party candidate Charlie Manolakis stayed out of their way for the most part. The debate was taped and aired on May 16, 2012.[8]
Kelly said he hoped Barber had told his last lie of the campaign when during the debate Barber brought up Kelly calling oil a “renewable resource.” Kelly made the comment during a speech earlier in the year when talking about the large U.S. oil reserves and claimed that it was a joke. "A man of your stature just lied. How embarrassing," Kelly said.[8]
Barber responded by saying that Kelly was "making things up" and "misinforming" voters, referring to a radio interview where Kelly denied comments he had made about his desire to eliminate the minimum wage. “You need to tell the truth. Then we’re going to have a more civil campaign,” said Barber.[8]
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Post, "Ariz. governor sets dates for primary, general special elections to pick Giffords replacement," January 27, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post, "Voters in Arizona's 8th Congressional District pick Kelly as GOP candidate for Giffords' seat," April 18, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Republic, "Newcomer Konst is 3rd Dem to join race for Giffords’ seat," February 14, 2012
- ↑ The Hill, "Arizona lawmaker who replaced Giffords in state Senate to run for her House seat," February 13, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Green Valley News and Sun, "UPDATED: Antenori, Kelly promise civil race for Giffords' seat ," January 27, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Republic, "Tucson broadcaster Dave Sitton vying to replace Giffords," February 2, 2012
- ↑ 2010 Congressional election results
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Tucson Citizen, "Ron Barber, Jesse Kelly clash at Tucson debate," May 16, 2012
