Great Democratic Victory in Arizona : Ron Barber, a former Giffords aide who was also wounded in the shooting, wins her seat in the U. S. House that she had resigned - In a district where Republicans benefit from a 26,000 voter registration advantage, Barber 66 ran as a moderate

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POLITICO.COM
Ron Barber wins Arizona special election
By ALEX ISENSTADT
June 12, 2012


Ron Barber wins Arizona special election


Some excerpts :

TUCSON — Ron Barber gave Democrats a much-needed boost Tuesday by winning an Arizona special election that came just one week after the party suffered a demoralizing loss in Wisconsin.

In a House contest to finish the term of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Barber defeated Republican Jesse Kelly to win a southern Arizona-based seat that has been vacant since Giffords announced her resignation in January to focus on her recovery following a January 2011 assassination attempt.

The special election ranked as the highest-profile contest on a day when six other states cast ballots in House primaries.

Running in a district where Republicans benefit from a 26,000 voter registration advantage, Barber, a 66-year-old former Giffords aide who was also wounded in the shooting, ran as a moderate, never identifying himself as a Democrat in his commercials that rotated heavily on the TV airwaves here.

The thrust of his campaign focused on hammering Kelly over entitlements, casting his Republican foe as a far-right conservative who wanted to phase out Social Security and Medicare. It was an attack that echoed the approach Democrats used with success in an upstate New York special House election last year, when the party launched a heavy assault on a Republican nominee over her support for Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s controversial budget proposal.

Barber said Tuesday he believed the entitlements-focused message he used could serve as a template for Democratic candidates across the country.

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