CD2 candidate Heinz holding town hall Monday night
Matt Heinz, the state legislator who's challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Barber in the Democratic primary in Arizona's new 2nd Congressional District, will hold a town hall Monday night. Heinz, a medical doctor as well as state representative, will answer questions from the public and press.
In a press release, Heinz said he and his campaign team "look forward to a lively discussion about the issues that matter to the district."
The Q&A will be held at the Pima Medical Society building, 5199 E. Farness Dr., just south of Grant Road near Tucson Medical Center.
Heinz was the first Democrat to announce his attention to fill the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who stepped down in January. He and other candidates later dropped out of the race in CD8, as Democrats gave Ron Barber an uncontested primary on his way to beating Republican Jesse Kelly to take the seat.
After Barber's victory, Heinz vowed to press on with his congressional campaign.
I wanted Ron to finish out Gabby's term," Heinz said the day after Barber won the special election, explaining why he withdrew from the CD8 race after Giffords' former district director announced his candidacy.
"I'm glad he's in—Jesse Kelly would have been a disaster," Heinz said.
"But the voters in CD2 deserve a choice about the future," he said.
"I don't think people are going to consider Ron a real incumbent," Heinz said, explaining his campaign strategy.
"The biggest hurdle in the next 7 weeks before early (primary) ballots go out is communicating with the high-efficacy voters," he said.
Martha McSally is running on the Republican side, along with political novice Mark Koskiniemi. Jesse Kelly, defeated for the second time in less than two years in the CD8 general election, announced after the election that he would not continue to seek the CD2 seat.
Most of the current 8th District will be in the new 2nd District, created through the congressional reapportionment process held every decade.