Aboud ends Congress race, endorses Barber
Heinz remaining in race
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paulaforarizona.com
State Sen. Paula Aboud ended her run for Congress and issued a statement Friday endorsing Ron Barber for the new CD 2 seat.
Aboud, who was picked to replace Gabrielle Giffords in the Legislature when Giffords resigned to run for Congress in 2006, had sought to follow the same path into the U.S. Capitol.
Instead, Aboud dropped out of the fall race for the Democratic nomination in the new Second Congressional District, which covers nearly the same area as old CD 8, which Giffords represented.
Aboud did not indicate any future political plans. Because of term limits, she cannot run again for her state Senate seat.
Barber, a former Giffords staffer who was shot twice in the Jan. 8 attack, is running in both the upcoming special election to fill the seat that the former congresswoman held, and in the fall cycle for the new district.
Other Democrats who had declared for the special election stepped back in Barber's favor, including Aboud and state Reps. Steve Farley and Matt Heinz.
When Barber announced he would also run in the fall, Farley left that race and endorsed him.
Heinz said Friday that he's remaining in the race.
"I believe I'm the best long-term candidate to represent the new district," he said in an interview.
"Paula's a good friend and I respect her decision," Heinz said.
"My fundraising has been going better and better," he said. Heinz, a doctor, said much of his support has been from the medical community.
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