Walden won't run for CD 2 Congress seat

Nan Stockholm Walden won't run for Congress, she said Tuesday, a day after former Giffords aide Ron Barber said he'll seek a full term in the fall race.

The Southern Arizona pecan grower decided against using her Washington connections and deep pockets to jump into the race.

"I am looking forward to continuing my work in the public and private sector on behalf of Arizona.  I plan as well to work hard to get Rich Carmona and Ron Barber elected, and for Raúl Grijalva’s re-election," she said in a brief news release.

"While all elections are important, this year we have an unparalleled opportunity to move Arizona away from the divisive extremist politics of the last few years and elect representatives in the mold of Barry Goldwater, Dennis DeConcini, Mo Udall and Gabby Giffords that collaborate on behalf of our entire state," she said.

Barber, who was wounded in the Jan. 8 attack that led to Giffords' resignation in , announced Monday that he will run in the fall election cycle for a full term representing the newly drawn Second Congressional District.

Barber announced in February that he was running in the special election to fill the vacant CD 8 seat, but held off until now on declaring his candidacy for the fall.

Walden explored running in both the special election and the regular cycle, but drew back from both.

The local political chattering class says that a long-standing disagreement between Walden and Giffords over whether Border Patrol checkpoints should be permanent or mobile kept the former congresswoman from endorsing Walden.

Instead, Giffords backed Barber, first in the special election, and now in November's contest as well.

Walden, who worked in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s, was mooted as a challenger to U.S. Sen. John McCain in 2010, but did not enter that race. McCain went on to handily defeat former Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman.

Also stepping out of the fall race is state Rep. Steve Farley, who said Monday that he'll instead seek a state Senate seat.

Farley, who'd previously declared for the congressional race, said he supports Barber "100 percent."

Early voting in the April 17 special primary — in which only the Republicans have a contested election — begins Thursday.

The winner of the June 12 special general vote will fill the CD 8 seat through next January. In the succeeding Congress, most of the current CD 8 will be represented by the winner of the vote in the new district.