(Reuters) – A Democrat injured in a Tucson, Arizona shooting spree and a Tea Party Republican face off in a special election on Tuesday to fill the seat vacated when wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords stepped down earlier this year.
Ron Barber, Giffords’ hand-picked successor and a former aide, takes on Jesse Kelly, a construction project manager and Iraq War veteran, in the Arizona contest that has gained broad national attention.
Giffords, a Democrat, resigned in January to focus on her recovery a year after she was shot through the head at a meet-and-greet event outside a Tucson grocery store. The shooting killed six people and injured 13 others, among them Barber, who was shot in the face and thigh.
Giffords was seen as a rising Democratic star in the U.S. House of Representatives. The winner of Tuesday’s election in the Tucson-based 8th Congressional District will serve out the six months left in her term.
Barber, 66, has focused his run on rebuilding the middle class, protecting Medicare and Social Security, bolstering veteran’s services and reforming the nation’s immigration efforts. He wants more agents at the Arizona-Mexico border, not miles away.
“We need to start talking about fixing our broken immigration system,” Barber told Reuters. “We need a legal guest worker program. That’s one important issue where I believe there’s wide agreement.”
Barber also wants the nation to be more energy independent, and is preaching for Tucson to become the “solar capital of the country”.
On Saturday, Giffords appeared at a Barber rally before about 800 people in Tucson. Giffords, still limited in her speech, thanked the crowd and was pictured with Barber in a show of support. She also appeared in a message sent out by the campaign to voters.
Kelly, 30, came within 2 percentage points of unseating three-term incumbent Giffords in November 2010, in the southern Arizona district where Republicans now hold a 25,000-voter edge. Independents also play a big role, accounting for roughly 30 percent of registered voters.
A conservative Iraq War veteran, he is campaigning on job creation, lowering taxes and strengthening the economy. He is a strong advocate for building a double-layered fence on the Mexico border. He declined a request to be interviewed.
His campaign has lashed out at the Obama administration, criticizing the president’s healthcare reforms and job creation efforts. He maintained that Barber would blindly follow along if elected.
BARBER AHEAD IN POLLS
Buoyed by sympathy for Giffords, analysts and polls indicate Barber has a strong edge ahead of the vote.
A poll released Monday by Public Policy Polling showed Barber leading Kelly by 53 percent to 41 percent. The survey polled 1,058 likely voters over the weekend and has a margin of error of 3 points.
David Wasserman, who monitors U.S. House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said it would be “remarkable” if Kelly were able to win the special election after having narrowly failed in 2010 when he ran against Giffords.
“Her story has been a national saga over the last year and that’s why people are watching,” Wasserman told Reuters. “The Democrats have made her legacy a part of the race.”
The contest has attracted big dollars, with independent political committees pumping in $2.2 million into the race, according to the Federal Election Commission. The latest filings show Barber with $390,000 in available cash and Kelly with $83,000.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer called the special election in January after Giffords resigned to focus on her recovery.
After the special election, voters will head to the polls again in November to elect a representative for a full two-year term.
The redrawn District 2 encompasses most of Giffords’ old district and closes the voter gap between Republicans and Democrats.
(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Andrew Hay)