Iraq war veteran and state Sen. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson, announced Friday he will run for Congress in a special election for the seat vacated by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Antenori made the announcement at a meeting of the Green Valley/Sahuarita Republican Club in southern Arizona, where the district is located.

He is the second Republican to join the race. Jesse Kelly, the former Marine who narrowly lost to Giffords in 2010, has also filed to run.

Antenori said in a statement he’s running because “now more than ever leadership … is needed in Washington, D.C.”

“The (D)emocrats will simply not cut spending, and we continue to grow the type of debt that is currently destroying a host of European economies,” said Antenori. “Our $16 trillion debt is now a matter of national security.”

Antenori said “an economic suppression blanket” has been cast over the country, “designed to turn our republic into a failing European socialist nation.”

He said the Obama administration wants to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline and add regulations, rather than create a robust economy and jobs.

Antenori said he has a record of fiscal responsibility, government transparency and smaller government. The Green Beret is a Bronze-Star winner, with deployments in Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan, and serves as Arizona Senate majority whip.

Antenori plans to remain in the Legislature until the budget process is over and then will re-evaluate whether to resign to focus on campaigning.

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