Democrats Keep Giffords Seat in Ariz.; George Allen Wins Senate GOP Primary in Va.
A former staffer to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords easily won the special election for her vacant Arizona congressional seat on Tuesday. Democrat Ron Barber cruised to an easy victory over Republican Jesse Kelly, 52 to 45 percent.
The special election drew national attention as the GOP was hoping to pick up an additional seat, as voter turnout is typically low in these types of contests. Notably, Barber chose to run as a moderate, never once mentioning he was a Democrat in his campaign ads. Instead, he framed his GOP opponent as a far-rightwing conservative who wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare in a part of the state with a high retirement population.
Barber believes Democrats should adopt a similar strategy against GOP challengers in the November elections.
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"I think it's been a lingering issue for a long time that's become more focused in the last four months of this campaign, but I think it has national resonance as well," he told Fox News.
Giffords, who was severely injured in a January 2011 assassination attempt, decided to retire from Congress in January, citing health concerns and the need to focus on her recovery. Barber, who was at the time an aide to Giffords, was also wounded in the same incident.
On the other side of the country, former Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen, who is hoping to retain the Senate seat he formerly held, won the GOP primary with 65 percent of the GOP vote. He defeated a former Tea Party president and two other primary challengers. He will face former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine, who also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, in November's general election.
Allen's strategy in the primary was straightforward and he virtually ignored his primary opponents, instead taking aim at President Obama and what he terms as his "failed policies."
"My opponent supports the failed economic policies coming out of Washington and has a record of supporting bigger government and higher taxes, while losing 100,000 private-sector jobs," Allen said in a statement Tuesday night. "I trust the people, not Washington, and have a proven record of reducing tax burdens, cutting regulations and creating jobs in Virginia."
Both Democrats and Republicans view the Virginia Senate seat as crucial to maintaining, or in the case of the GOP, winning control of the Senate in November.
Allen held the very same seat until 2006, when a campaign misstep and name-calling incident caused him to lose the election.
