Rep. Matt Heinz first Democrat to announce for the Giffords seat

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Doctor Matt Heinz, Democratic Representative for LD 29, is the first Democrat to announce for the Giffords seat. Petitions must be filed 28 days from today. Arizona Rep. Heinz to run for Giffords' seat:

State representative Matt Heinz of Tucson has become the first Democrat to officially announce his candidacy for the Congressional seat vacated by Gabrielle Giffords.

Heinz said he will be running in both the special election and the November general election. Touting his experience problem solving and creating consensus across party lines in the Legislature and as a doctor at the Tucson Medical Center, Heinz said he’s the best person to fill Giffords’ position. Heinz has served four years over two terms in the state legislature.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can move forward and how we can best honor Gabby’s strength, conviction and leadership,” Heinz said Tuesday morning. “One of the best ways we can do that is by moving quickly and making sure that, in this very short time frame, we get somebody in there to fill that vacancy that is going to carry forward her tradition of common sense, moderate, consensus-building and problem solving.”

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Heinz foresees the economy and health care as two of the most vital issues in the upcoming race.

In the general election, Heinz confirmed he will run in what’s now called Congressional District 2. Many of the voters in what is now Congressional District 8 will see two rounds of primary and general elections this year. The special election will be in the existing district of CD8, in which Republicans have an advantage in registered voters. The regular election will be in the new district lines of what's now called CD2, where the gap between Democrats and Republicans is minimal. That means two different campaign-finance reports and potentially two different campaign strategies.

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While he’s committed to all four elections, Heinz said that if Ron Barber, Giffords’ longtime district director, chooses to fill her seat for the rest of the term, he would modify his plans and run only in the general election.

Heinz does not plan to resign from the state Legislature. Because he is in the final year of his term, he does not have to resign from the Legislature to run for the Congress.

The special election primary is April 17, and the special election is June 12.

The general election primary is August 28, and the general election is November 6.

Note: I am still receiving rumors about others considering entering the race. I still anticipate a primary. All I can say is "tick tock" — 28 days and counting. Time for thinking about it is up.