State Sen. Frank Antenori, who has been weighing a congressional run in the Southern Arizona district now represented by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was surprised by her announcement today that she would resign later this week.
Antenori, who had been anticipating that Giffords would announce that she was not seeking reelection but would finish out her term, said he “taken off balance by her stepping down.”
Antenori said he is meeting with his campaign team this evening to determine if he should run in the special election to replace Giffords. The primary for the special election will be sometime in April and the general special election will be sometime in June. Then candidates who want to keep the seat next year will have to win a primary election in the new Congressional District 2 in August and a general election in November.
“I’m looking at it,” said Antenori. “It changes the political calculus.”
Antenori did not anticipate making any announcement about plans to run for office for at least a few days, while Giffords is finishing her final days in office.
“She took a bullet for her country, just like many other people that I know, and she’s to be commended for that,” said Antenori, who served in the Army Special Forces. “Whether it’s a veteran or a congresswoman, they’re to be respected for that degree of sacrifice. We may disagree on politics, but the respect for being wounded is exclusive of political affiliation.”
John Ellinwood, who served as the campaign spokesman for Jesse Kelly, the Republican candidate who came within a few thousand votes of unseating Giffords in 2010, said that Kelly did not know if he would run in the special election.
Kelly has been working in Texas in recent months for his father’s construction company, Don Kelly Construction, but he still owns a home in Arizona.
“He is busy with work and family and only God knows what his future will hold,” Ellinwood said.
Sports broadcaster Dave Sitton, who has established an exploratory campaign for the congressional seat, could not be reached for comment.
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2012.
Give it up Frank. Your friends from out of State won’t be able to vote for you and I don’t think that you have that many actual friends in CD8.
Antenori? Good grief, why don’t they just cut the BS out of full cloth and run Al Melvin?
We don’t need another angry white guy, this guy is good at destroying not at anything positive which makes the world a better place
Antenori has always been a government worker, I just do not want that shallow base of experience reprinting us.
Go Frank! My vote, and my checkbook is at your disposal. Let’s do this.
Antenori Si!
Glassman No!
I believe that this will me a major vanishing point of Antenori’s funds and egg-shell sanity. What’s your next rant Frank, how the liberals of Tucson made you eat brussel sprouts?.
Antrnori?? If he were the last person in the world I would rather have no one.
The only person I would want to see run for Gabby’s seat is Tim Bee. He worked even
handed when in the legislature and across the aisle. My only concern is that the party has him wrapped up in no man’s land.
Throw Frankie a hunk of freshly dead cow, that should keep him distracted from trying a run.
Giffords Opponent Had M16 Shooting Event, ‘Help Remove Gabrielle Giffords From Office’
Back in June 2010, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s (D-AZ) Republican opponent Jesse Kelly had an event at which voters could shoot an assault rifle with the candidate, promoted as thus:
Get on Target for Victory in November Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.
In another example, Kelly’s website had also cross-posted a local news article that carried the headline “Kelly places the crosshairs squarely on Rep. Giffords”.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01…
Has Jesse Kelly been attending school and trying to learn anything?
I can not believe that he does not have an education in days like this.Did he learn to speak any Spanish?
Would be good to know!
Jim D
OH Pls NO! I am a firm subscriber to the ABF club. (Anyone But Frank)
AZ has enough of a bad rep as it is.
Well, there’s something that will get me out to vote. I’m also a member of the ABF club.
does Giffords not realize that she is about to cost all of the taxpayers of pima county millions of dollars forcing a special election so someone can be in office for a few months only to have another election?. no wonder pima county is broke. Her party should have to foot the bill for this. All she has to do is wait one month to resign.
Count me among those voting against Antenori. In fact, if he runs, I’ll definitely work hard with the opposition to defeat him. The words I’d use to describe him would probably be censored. He has never looked out for the best interest of the majority of his constituents.
Frank Antenori has been slavering at the mouth for the CD8 position for some time, his expression of interest obviously brings no surprises. He has been a terrible Arizona senator and I would expect no better from him if he became a U.S. Representative. Count me in the ABF vote.