Wounded Giffords aide to run for her seat

PHOENIX -- A top aide to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the leg and face in the Tucson rampage that also left the congresswoman severely wounded announced yesterday that he will seek to replace her in a special election.

Democrat Ron Barber declared he would run this spring to serve the last six months of Giffords' term. His announcement comes after she stepped down last month to focus on her recovery.

He said Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, asked him to run.

Kelly posted on Facebook that he and Giffords support Barber and urged donations to his campaign. "Ron is a leader who puts politics aside and brings people together," Kelley also said in an email seeking donations for Barber.

Because of goodwill in Tucson for Giffords and Barber after the shooting, the joint endorsement by Giffords and Kelly stands to help Democrats keep the seat, said William Dixon, a University of Arizona political science professor. "The Republicans are going to have a real hard time with this endorsement."

Barber is likely to be a strong candidate for a full term and, if he doesn't run, his endorsement and one by Giffords would provide potent support for another Democratic candidate in the fall, Dixon said.

Barber was Giffords' district director and had worked with her since 2006.

-- AP