Antenori: GOP special down to two candidates

As the CD8 special election looms, GOP candidate Frank Antenori declared that the primary field is essentially down to two candidates.

Antenori said some of his challengers are already inside the Beltway and ready to compromise with House Democrats.

The conservative state legislator implied that the Republican primary is a two-man race between him and Jesse Kelly.

Amid hoots and assentive grunts from about 50 supporters at McMahon's Steakhouse on Wednesday night, Antenori railed on state and local lawmakers who advance a liberal agenda that he said will bankrupt America.

He asked the crowd, "Do you want to send a yippy little dog to Washington, or do you want to send a pit bull?"

"When the big arm of government reaches for your wallet, I want to bite it off," he said.

The evils of bipartisanship and government go beyond Washington, according to Antenori.

"The [Arizona] Daily Star wants a representative they can control to do their will. A lot of people in Washington want the same thing," he said.

Antenori also accused the Tucson newspaper of calling him a "mean guy." Antenori self-identifies as a "team player."

"A couple of people from Washington came out here ... and asked me whose team I'm on. I'm on America's team. I'm on the taxpayers' team," Antenori said.

He cited his track record in the Legislature as the reason voters should send him on to face Democrat Ron Barber in the general election.

"I went to Phoenix, and I balanced the budget by cutting 22 percent to fix a $3 billion problem," Antenori said. Laws in nearly all 50 states (thrifty Vermont being the exception) require them to maintain balanced budgets.

Antenori's staff declined to comment on their fundraising to this point, but Antenori did ask the crowd for $25,000 to "close the deal."

Antenori is in a four-way primary against Jesse Kelly, Martha McSally and Dave Sitton for the seat vacated by Gabrielle Giffords in January. The primary election is April 17, but early voting began last month.