Arizona: Jesse Kelly Uncommitted to Vote for John Boehner

Republican Jesse Kelly is locked in a tight race to succeed ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

TUCSON, Ariz. — Veteran Jesse Kelly (R) is noncommittal about how he would vote in party leadership races should he be in Congress after the November elections, much like his Democratic opponent in Arizona’s competitive special election.

“It depends on who is running,” he said in an email on Monday when asked if he would vote for Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) to lead his party in the new Congress.

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Arizona: Ron Barber Noncommittal on Vote for Nancy Pelosi

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

TUCSON, Ariz. — Ron Barber, the Democrat running to succeed ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, remains noncommittal on whether he would vote for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to lead his party after the November elections.

“That’s a decision that’s way off in the future, and I wouldn’t know the answer to that question until we know who the candidates are for Speaker,” he said in an interview today. “I think it’s important to make decisions like that, or any decision, based upon what’s in front of you and what the facts are. I don’t know who will be up for Speaker in 2013, and I’ll reserve judgment on who I would vote for.” Full story

Arizona: NRCC Releases New Negative Ad on Ron Barber

The National Republican Congressional Committee has released a new negative television ad against Democrat Ron Barber in the special election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional district to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D).

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Arizona: New Barber Ad Criticizes Kelly On National Sales Tax

Update | 2:53 p.m. Democrat Ron Barber’s campaign put a new television ad on the air that criticizes his opponent, veteran Jesse Kelly (R), for supporting a national sales tax.

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Arizona: New Kelly Ad Hits Barber on Cap-and-Trade

Updated: 10:28 a.m. | Republican Jesse Kelly’s latest TV ad in the hotly-contested Arizona special election to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) hits on a familiar issue from the 2010 elections: Cap-and-trade legislation. The ad criticizes Ron Barber, the Democratic nominee and a former Giffords aide, for supporting the 2009 bill aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

Arizona: Babeu Polling Third Before Dropping Out

Sheriff Paul Babeu (center) withdrew from the 4th district race today. A poll released today showed him in third place in the GOP field. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

State Sen. Ron Gould’s campaign conducted a poll this week of the GOP field in the Arizona 4th district race, and a source said Sheriff Paul Babeu was sitting in third place in that survey.

Babeu announced his withdrawal from the race early Friday morning. His own campaign had conducted a poll as recently as this week, according to his political consultant, Chris DeRose.

“We had a poll that came back Tuesday that showed us within single digits of the lead,” DeRose said.

A January poll from the Babeu camp had him as the frontrunner in the race. But then February came, and the Babeu campaign found itself at the center of a firestorm involving his sexuality and accusations about his ethics.

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Arizona: NRCC Releases New Ad Against Ron Barber

The National Republican Congressional Committee released a new ad targeting Arizona 8th district Democratic nominee Ron Barber that ties him to Medicare cuts, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Barack Obama.

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Arizona: Sheriff Paul Babeu Drops Out of House Race

Sheriff Paul Babeu has dropped his Congressional bid.

The Arizona Republican, whose recent admission that he was gay roiled his campaign, made his announcement in an overnight email to supporters.

“I have decided to end our congressional campaign and seek re-election as Pinal County Sheriff,” he wrote. “Yesterday, I informed my campaign staff and our finance team of my decision to run for re-election.”

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Arizona: Jeb Bush Endorses Matt Salmon; Raul Grijalva Backs David Schapira

State Senate Minority Leader David Schapira (above) picked up the endorsement of Rep. Raúl Grijalva. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Two Arizona House candidates each picked up an endorsement that will likely help them in their contested primaries.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is endorsing former Rep. Matt Salmon in Salmon’s quest to return to Congress in Arizona’s 5th district. And on Monday, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D) announced he is backing state Senate Minority Leader David Schapira in his race for the 9th district seat.

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Arizona: NRCC Releases Ad Slamming Barber

Updated 5 p.m. | The National Republican Congressional Committee upped its ante behind a new ad it is airing in the special election to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D).

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Arizona: NRCC, DCCC Going on the Air in Giffords Special (Updated)

Updated 6:40 p.m. | The National Republican Congressional Committee will begin a $150,000 ad buy beginning Friday in the Arizona special election to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a GOP source confirmed to Roll Call.

The party’s nominee is veteran Jesse Kelly. He will face former Giffords staffer Ron Barber, who went up on the air the day after the primary earlier this month. Kelly narrowly lost to Giffords in 2010. Much of Barber’s political inner circle was involved in Giffords’ campaign that year, and he has the support of the ex-Congresswoman and her husband.

The House campaign committees, as well as outside groups, have been closely watching and preparing for the race and will play dominant roles in the June 12 special election.

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Arizona: Richard Carmona Poll Shows Competitive Race

(Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

A poll done for former Surgeon General Richard Carmona (D) shows the Arizona Senate race is competitive for Democrats this fall, an argument national party strategists have been working to make.

The Anzalone Liszt Research survey found Rep. Jeff Flake (R) ahead of Carmona 43 percent to 39 percent in a general election matchup. The poll did not test Carmona against Flake’s GOP primary rival, real estate investor Wil Cardon.

Carmona, who has never run for office before, had a much lower name identification than Flake, who was first elected to the House in 2000. Twenty-two percent of those surveyed were able to identify Carmona, while 48 percent said they knew who Flake was. Full story

Gabrielle Giffords, Democratic Women Look to Her Future

(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

If there was any message to take from this year’s EMILY’s List dinner, it was that former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-Ariz.) political career is not over.

Female Democratic candidates who back abortion rights, and those who support their campaigns, paid tribute to Giffords at the group’s annual dinner. Amid tears and a sisterly tone, speakers repeatedly alluded to Giffords’ political future.

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Arizona: Ron Barber Goes Up With First TV Ad

Ron Barber, an ex-aide to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), went up with his first ad in the race to finish his one-time boss’s term. The buy came less than a day after the GOP selected veteran Jesse Kelly as its nominee in the race.

Barber’s ad is positive and biographical. He touts his work with the mentally disabled, running a small business and as a Congressional staffer. According to GOP ad trackers, the campaign is putting $40,000 behind the ad.

“I’m Ron Barber, and I’ve seen a lot in my life,” Barber says in the narration.

Arizona: GOP Nominates Jesse Kelly in Race to Succeed Gabrielle Giffords

(Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)

As expected, Jesse Kelly won the GOP nomination Tuesday in the special election to finish out former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D) term. The Associated Press called the race a little before 1 a.m. today with about 55 percent of precincts reporting.

The win sets up a rematch by proxy between Kelly and Giffords. The two faced off in a rough 2010 campaign, and now Kelly will face former Giffords aide Ron Barber in the June 12 special election. Barber, who was unchallenged in the Democratic primary, has the support of the former Congresswoman, her husband and her inner circle.

The special election in the swing seat is expected to be highly competitive, and both parties wasted little time in ratcheting up their rhetoric. Full story