There have been no live debates between these two candidates for the AZ Primary coming up on August 28.

Congressman Barber was elected to his seat in June, 2012 in a special general election, facing off with Republican Jesse Kelly, who had challenged previous CD 8 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Nov. 2010. Barber had worked for 5 years as Giffords’ District Director in Tucson, and had been shot twice alongside her on January 8, 2011 at the Tucson Tragedy shooting. Jared Loughner recently plead guilty to the shootings which killed six and wounded 13 others. Campaign website: www.ronbarberforcongress.com.

LD 29 House Rep. Dr. Matt Heinz has served 2 terms in the Arizona House of Representatives, and is a doctor at Tucson Medical Center. He also ran unsuccessfully for LD 28 House in 2006. Campaign website: www.heinzforcongress.com.

Charlie Manolakis, who recently ran for the CD 8 House seat as a Green candidate, has now switched back to a Democrat, and is a write-in candidate for the CD 2 House seat, but was not part of this AZPM debate. He can be contacted at charlesomega@aol.com.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face off in the General election with either retired Colonel Martha McSally, who came in 2nd in the 4-way special CD 8 House Republican primary in April, 2012, or political newcomer Mark Koskiniemi. To view their earlier July 23 debate on AZPM Channel 6, click here.

Vote wisely on or before the Arizona primary on August 28.

Congressman Ron Barber

LD 29 Rep. Dr. Matt Heinz

Eastside Republican Club

Guest Speakers CD2 Candidates Martha McSally and Mark Koskiniemi

Where: Miller-Golf Links Library-Community Room, 9640 E. Golf Links Rd., Tucson (east of Harrison)

When: Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 6:30 PM

All Are Welcome – The Eastside Republican Events are free

More Info: Parralee Schneider, 749-0312 pmstucson@aol.com or Lori Oien, 749-3472 oienjmo@msn.com.

And if you can’t attend, watch the two candidates when they debated on AZPM Channel 6 (click here for earlier blog article with bios & photos).

The winner of this primary on August 28 will face off with the winner of the Democratic primary (either Congressman Ron Barber of CD 8, or LD 29 House Rep. Dr. Matt Heinz. Charlie Manolakis who ran as a Green in that CD 8 House race this Spring is now a Democratic write-in candidate for this race as well).

Ron Barber has won this race with 50.18% of the 414,494 registered voters being reported so far. Jesse Kelly reportedly conceded about 9:30 p.m.

For updates on the SOS website go to http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AZ/37946/85735/en/summary.html. Website says that 100 % of the precincts have reported, but that does not likely include the provisional ballots cast on election day.

Ron Barber

Jesse Kelly

Democrat Ron Barber, Giffords’ District Director of her Tucson office (5 years) ran for this seat with Giffords’ endorsement, against Republican Jesse Kelly who lost to Giffords for this seat in Nov. 2010, by 4156 votes.

Kelly won the Republican special primary for this race on April 17, 2012 over 3 others — LD 30 State Senator Frank Antenori (who had previously run unsuccessfully for this seat in 2006), and political newcomers Martha McSally and Dave Sitton. Green Party candidate Charlie Manolakis also ran.

Results:

Ron Barber (D) 108,260 52.08%
Jesse Kelly (R) 94,209 45.32%
Charlie Manolakis (G) 4751 2,29%

The winner of today’s special election will be sworn in to the U.S. Congress shortly and will serve the unexpired term through early January, 2013. CD 8 will no longer exist in the next Congress, with newly reapportioned CD 2 replacing most of it. The primary for new CD 2 is on August 28 and these are the candidates officially seeking that position to date (subject to change after today’s results):

Democrats:
Ron Barber, newly elected Congressman in special CD 8 House race
Dr. Matt Heinz, LD 28 State House Rep. (2 terms)

Republicans:
Jesse Kelly, has ran twice for CD 8 House, & lost in Nov. 2010 and June 2012; withdrawn from this race on 6/14/12
Mark Koskiniemi, a political newcomer
Martha McSally, lost to Kelly in the April 17, 2012 special primary for CD 8 (came in 2nd in the four way race)

Congratulations to Ron Barber for his victory tonight.

Stay tuned for final unofficial results once all precincts have reported, including provisional ballots.

Not so, so check out the usual fun happenings on June 9, at 2nd Saturday Downtown’s urban street festival. Click here for full event schedule.

And this Saturday, there’s going to be free admission to a Pink Floyd Tribute by “Atom Heart Mother” at 7 p.m. at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress.

That sounds awesome for you Pink Floyd fans.

More upcomng events (concerts & classic movies) at the Fox, click here.

And for you former CD 8 Congresswoman “Gabby” Giffords fans & friends, she’s supposed to make an appearance over at the Rialto Theater, 318 E.Congress (near the 4th Avenue Underpass):

FREE “GET OUT THE VOTE CONCERT AND RALLY FOR RON BARBER” with Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, Joey Burns & Jacob Valenzuela of Calexico, Salvador Duran, and Kevin Pakulis Band featuring Amy Langley. All ages – free. Doors open at 5 p.m., concert goes to 8 p.m.

Democrat Ron Barber is running to replace Giffords in CD 8 U.S.House, against Republican Jesse Kelly and Green Charlie Manolakis. The special general election is next week on June 12.

Enjoy a hot 2nd Saturdays Downtown on June 9!

Official filing deadline was yesterday at 5 p.m. Here’s a partial listing of candidates for the primary election on August 28. Go to the website below for offices outside of Southern Arizona. I’ll be posting a separate listing for the Pima County elections.

Per AZ Secretary of State website: http://www.azsos.gov/election/2012/Primary/FullListing.htm

U.S. Senate
Richard Carmona (D)
David Ruben (D) – has withdrawn (see comment below)
Sheila Bilyeu (L)
Wil Cardon (R)
Jeff Flake (R)
Bryan Hackbarth (R)
Clair Van Steenwyk (R)

New Congressional District 1
Wenona Benally Baldenegro (D)
Ann Kirkpatrick (D)
Anthony Prowell (L)
Patrick Gatti (R)
Gaither Martin (R)
Jonathan Paton (R)
Douglas Wade (R)

New Congressional District 2
Ron Barber (D)
Matt Heinz (D)
Jesse Kelly (R)
Mark Koskiniemi (R)
Martha McSally (R)

New Congressional District 3
Amanda Aguirre (D)
Manny Arreguin (D)
Raul Grijalva (D), incumbent CD 7
Blanca Guerra (L)
Gabriela Saucedo Mercer (R)
Jaime Vasquez (R)

New Legislative District 2
State Senate: Linda Lopez – D, incumbent LD 29

State House (2 seats):
Andrea Dalessandro – D
Rosanna Gabaldon – D
John Ackerley – R

New Legislative District 3
State Senate:
Olivia Cajero Bedford – D, incumbent LD 27
Maria Garcia – D

State House (2 seats):
Sally Ann Gonzales –D, incumbent LD 27
Macario Saldate – D, incumbent LD 27

New Legislative District 9
State Senate:
Steve Farley – D
Tyler Mott – R

State House (2 seats):
Dustin Cox – D
Mohur Sarah Sidhwa – D
Victoria Steele – D
Ethan Orr – R

New Legislative District 10
State Senate:
David Bradley (D)
Frank Antenori (R), incumbent LD 30

State House (2 seats):
Stefanie Mach – D
Brandon Patrick – D
Bruce Wheeler – D, incumbent LD 28
Todd Clodfelter – R
Ted Vogt – R, incumbent LD 30

New Legislative District 11
State Senate:
Jo Holt – D
Kim Allen – L
Al Melvin – R, incumbent LD 26

State House (2 seats):
Dave Joseph – D
Adam Kwasman – R
Steve Smith – R

New Legislative District 14
State Senate:
Patricia Fleming – D
Gail Griffin – R, incumbent LD 25

State House:
Robert Leach – D
Mark Stonebracker – D
David Gowan – R, incumbent LD 30
David Stevens – R, incumbent LD 25

Corporation Commission (3 seats)
Marcia Busching -D
Sandra Kennedy –D, incumbent
Paul Newman- D, incumbent
Susan Bitter Smith –R
Robert Burns – R
Bob Stump – R, incumbent

So LD 30 State Senator Frank Antenori decided not to run for CD 2 against fellow Republicans Jesse Kelly and Martha McSally, and Democratic LD 28 House Rep. Matt Heinz decided to stay in the race against Ron Barber for that same seat. Senator Antenori will instead challenge former LD 28 House Rep. David Bradley for State Senate in LD 10.

Stay tuned for results from the CD 8 June 12 special general election which will likely affect this CD 2 race. In that race Democrat Ron Barber, Republican Jesse Kelly and Green Charlie Manolakis are facng off, but Manolakis is not running for the seat in CD 2.

And if you don’t know which new CD or LD you are voting in, here’s the link to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission’s final approved maps (click here).

Ron Barber

The Arizona Daily Star, The Tucson Weekly, and The Arizona Republic newspapers have all endorsed Democrat Ron Barber for the vacant U.S.House seat in CD 8 (which encompasses parts of Cochise, Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz Counties).

–The Tucson Weekly article on May 17 (click here), “Voters should pick trusted public servant Ron Barber to complete Gabrielle Giffords’ term”

–The Arizona Republic article on May 19 (click here), “Barber provides steady centrism district needs”

–The Arizona Daily Star article on May 27 (click here), “Barber for CD8: centrist, mature leadership on complex issues”

Congressional District 8 has been without a representative in the U.S.House since Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords resigned from the seat she held for 5 years, on January 25, 2012. She had been shot once in the head on January 8, 2011 and resigned to focus on her recovery.

The special primary for that CD 8 race was held on April 17, and 3 nominees emerged from that election: Ron Barber (D), Jesse Kelly (R), and Charlie Manolakis (G). Barber faced no opposition, Kelly defeated LD 30 State Senator Frank Antenori and political newcomers Martha McSally and Dave Sitton. Manolakis defeated write-in candidate Richard Grayson.

Kelly is the only one who has run for political office before, having won the Republican primary in August, 2010 for this same seat, defeating former LD 30 State Senator Jonathan Paton, political newcomer Brian Miller and perennial candidate Jay Quick. He then lost to 2 term incumbentCongresswoman Giffords by 4156 votes in November, 2012.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (and her retired astronaut husband Mark Kelly) have both endorsed Ron Barber, who was her District Director in Tucson for 5 years, and was also shot twice on January 8, 2011 in the Tucson Tragedy. (Mark Kelly is not related to Jesse Kelly).

Early voting began on May 17 for the special general election on June 12. Early ballots are being returned at a record rate. 187,614 early ballots were mailed out in Pima County, and CD 8 has 424,718 registered voters per AZ Secretary of State’s report of 3/1/12.

For a May 16 online debate/forum between the 3 candidates, log onto PBS-HD 6 (click here for my previous blog).

All 3 candidates Ron Barber (D), Jesse Kelly (R) and Charlie Manolakis (G) will be participating. The MC for the evening will be radio talk show host Bill Buckmaster of the Buckmaster Show (high noon on weekdays on KVOI AM 1030) . Bill was a TV talk show host on “Arizona Illustrated” on KUAT Channel 6 for 23 years.

This debate is sponsored by the Arizona Daily Star and the Tucson Jewish Community Center, and will also be broadcast live on KVOI AM 1030 Tucson and KAPR AM 930 Douglas.

Click here for my previous blog about the CD 8 debates (with photos and campaign websites).

If you don’t want to attend the debate, with want to listen to it with other “liberals”, Drinking Liberally is hosting their weekly meeting with a radio to listen on KVOI. They meet at The Shanty at 6 p.m., 401 E. 9th St. (NE corner of 4th Avenue).

The latest voter registration as of 3/1/12 for CD 8 (parts of Cocise, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz Counties) from the AZ Sec. of State’s website:

Democrats: 133,571
Greens: 852
Libertarians: 2646
Republicans: 159,200
Americans: 27
Others: 128,242

Ron Barber has been endorsed by the Tucson Weekly (click here), and The Arizona Republic (click here). Early voting for this special general election started on May 17, 2012.

The person elected on the upcoming June 12 special general election will only serve out the remainder of Giffords’ term till January, 2013.

AZPM political correspondents Christopher Conover and Andrea Kelly (no relation to the candidate with same last name) facilitated this debate between:

–Democrat Ron Barber, former District Director for Congresswoman Giffords; he was shot twice on January 8, 2011 at the Tucson Tragedy mass shooting

–Republican Jesse Kelly, ran unsuccessfully for this seat in Nov. 2010 & lost to Giffords by 4,156 votes

–Green Party Charlie Manolakis, political newcomer; former Democrat & recent Green party member (March 12, 2012)

Click here for the video of this 3-way debate.

My previous blog about the CD 8 debates, with photos and campaign website info (click here).

Early voting for this June 12 special election in CD 8 starts tomorrow.

Who’s running:
Ron Barber (D), former Tucson District Director for Congresswoman Giffords (5 years), former State Director of AZ Division of Developmental Disabilities, www.ronbarberforcongress.com, political newcomer

Jesse Kelly (R), project manager of family construction firm, former Marine, Republican nominee for CD 8 House in Nov. 2010 (lost to Giffords by 4156 votes), www.votejessekelly.com

Charlie Manolakis (G), community activist, political newcomer, former Democrat turned Green on March 12, 2012; website under construction?

Two debates coming up between these candidates:

–May 16, Arizona Public Media (AZPM) Arizona Illustrated, on PBS-HD Channel 6, 6 to 7 p.m.
all 3 candidates will be debating,
simulcast on the radio NPR 89.1 FM

If you have any questions for the candidates for the AZPM forum, submit them by going to this link (click here), and by giving your name & city you live in.

–May 23, hosted by Arizona Daily Star & Tucson Jewish Community Center (TJCC),
at the TJCC Ballroom , 3800 E. River Road, 7 p.m.,
all three candidates are scheduled to attend.

This debate will aired live on KVOI AM 1030 Tucson and KAPR AM 930 Douglas. 1030 AM Radio talk show host Bill Buckmaster (www.buckmastershow.com) will be the MC for the evening.

If you want to submit questions for the May 23 debate, send them to politics@azstarnet.com and include your name, phone number, address. Deadline is May 21.

An earlier May 14 debate, hosted by Vail Academy High School has been cancelled via their Facebook page:

Unfortunately, VAHS was unable to secure all three candidates therefore we are canceling the debate scheduled for May 14th. Thank you for all of your support and apologies for the inconvenience; oh, and by the way, the Class of 2013 is already working on the upcoming General Election.

My understanding on that Vail Academy HS debate was that Kelly and Manolakis agreed to participate, but Barber declined.

View separate interviews of each CD 8 House candidate previously done by AZPM reporters:

Ron Barber:http://www.azpm.org/yourvote/story/2012/4/25/184-cd8-democratic-candidate-ron-barber/

Jesse Kelly:http://www.azpm.org/yourvote/story/2012/4/25/182-cd8-republican-candidate-jesse-kelly/

Charlie Manolakis: http://www.azpm.org/news/story/2012/4/27/1454-cd8-candidate-charlie-manolakis/

Vote wisely on or before June 12.

Ron Barber

Jesse Kelly

Charlie Manolakis

352 precincts have reported completely. See Secretary of State’s website: http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AZ/37929/78541/en/summary.html

Ron Barber

Jesse Kelly

Barber, Giffords’s former Tucson District Director for 5 years, ran unopposed and got 42,801 votes. Barber was also shot twice on January 8, 2011 in front of that Safeway at Ina/Oracle, and now walks with a limp.

Charlie Manolakis of Tucson, a Green Party candidate prevailed with 113 votes in their primary, easily defeating write-in candidate Richard Grayson of Apache Junction. According to the Pima County Recorder’s Office, Manolakis has been registered as a Democrat since September 1979, and only became a Green on March 12, 2012.

In the heated Republican primary where four candidates ran, here’s the latest results from the Arizona Secretary of State:

LD 30 State Senator Frank Antenori 15,732 (21.88%)
Jesse Kelly 25,679 (35.71%)
Martha McSally 17,943 (24.95%)
Dave Sitton 12,261 (17.05%)

There are 414,694 registered voters in CD 8 (Cochise, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz Counties), voter turnout was at 27.92%. Stay tuned for any updates.

Charlie Manolakis