# 2012 Arizona's 8th congressional district special election

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A 2012 special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district was held on June 12, with primary elections held on April 17, to fill a seat in the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th congressional district until the 112th United States Congress ends on January 3, 2013. The election was caused by the resignation of Representative Gabby Giffords on January 25, 2012, to concentrate on recovering from her injuries from the 2011 Tucson shooting. The seat was won by Ron Barber, a former aide to Giffords who was wounded in the attempt on her life.

## Background

Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer announced April 17 to be the date for the special primary elections and June 12 for the special general election.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Ron Barber, small business owner and Giffords' District Director

#### Withdrawn

* Matt Heinz, state representative

#### Declined

* Paula Aboud, Arizona Senate Whip.
* John Adams, retired Brigadier General
* David Crowe, software company owner
* Steve Farley, Arizona House of Representatives
* Jeff Latas, former vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party and 2006 primary candidate
* Linda J. Lopez, state senator
* Janet Napolitano, former Governor of Arizona and United States Secretary of Homeland Security
* Daniel Patterson, state representative
* Tim Sultan, program chair of the Democrats of Greater Tucson and 2004 primary candidate
* Ramon Valadez, Pima County, Arizona Supervisor
* Nan Stockholm Walden, Farmer Investments VP and former chief of staff to Senator Bill Bradley
* Bruce Wheeler, state representative

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ron Barber | 44,185 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,185 | 100.0 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Jesse Kelly, Iraq War veteran and nominee for this seat in 2010 Republican

#### Eliminated in primary

* Frank Antenori, state senator and Iraq War veteran
* Martha McSally, U.S. Air Force colonel, first female USAF air combat pilot
* Dave Sitton, businessman, broadcaster, and coach

#### Declined

* Jonathan Paton, state senator and 2010 primary candidate

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jesse Kelly | 27,101 | 35.1 |
| | Republican | Martha McSally | 19,413 | 25.1 |
| | Republican | Frank Antenori | 17,497 | 22.6 |
| | Republican | Dave Sitton | 13,299 | 17.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 77,310 | 100 |

## General election
### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ron Barber (D) | Jesse Kelly (R) | Charlie Manolakis (G) | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | June 9–10, 2012 | 1,058 | ± 3.0% | 53% | 41% | 4% | 3% |
| National Research (R) | April 12, 2012 | 300 | ±5.7% | 45% | 49% | — | 6% |

#### With McSally

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ron Barber (D) | Martha McSally (R) | Undecided |
| National Research (R) | April 12, 2012 | 300 | ±5.7% | 42% | 42% | 16% |

### Results

Arizona's 8th congressional district, 2012 (special) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Ron Barber | 111,204 | 52.32% | +3.56% |
| | Republican | Jesse Kelly | 96,465 | 45.39% | −1.91% |
| | Green | Charlie Manolakis | 4,869 | 2.29% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | '212,538' | '100.0%' | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |