Thursday, May 20, 2021
Daniel Hernandez Joins Congressional District 2 Race
State Rep. Daniel Hernandez (D-announced today that he was launching a campaign for the
congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who announced earlier
this year that she would retire after this term.
“As a lifelong Arizonan from a working
class family, I know firsthand that people in Southern Arizona want results
from their representatives, and as our community recovers from this pandemic,
that’s never been more important,” said Hernandez in a prepared statement
announcing his campaign. “In the
Arizona State House I have fought for investments in our schools, our
hospitals, and our roads and bridges. I have worked across the aisle to pass
laws protecting survivors of sexual assault and repealing discriminatory laws
against the LGBTQ Arizonans. I’m running for Congress to keep up that fight for
our values and deliver real results to make our community stronger.”
Two
other state lawmakers, State Sen. Kirsten Engel and State Sen. Randy Friese, have
already launched campaigns in the district.
Hernandez
is best known for being the first person to administer first aid to Gabby
Giffords after she was shot through the head by a crazed gunman at a Congress
on Your Corner event in January 2011. Hernandez was then an intern for
Giffords, but in 2016, he won a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives in
Legislative District 2, which includes downtown Tucson, Green Valley, Sahuarita
and Nogales.
Congressional
District 2 now includes the Catalina Foothills, central and eastern Tucson and all
of Cochise County and has been one of Arizona’s most competitive districts,
being held by Democrat Ron Barber for one term, Republican Martha McSally for
two terms and now Kirkpatrick for two terms. But with redistricting underway,
the boundaries will change ahead of the 2022 election.
The spelling of state Sen. Kirsten Engel's name has been corrected in this article.
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