We love you, Gabby

by David Safier

If you haven't seen it already, watch the video below. It's moving — beautiful — to hear Gabby tell us her decision to step down herself.

If I read the statute correctly (it's posted below the video), we'll have a primary to fill her seat in 80 to 90 days and a general 50 to 60 days after that. That reads as five months, max — June — before we'll have a new rep.

I'm guessing it will be a CD-8 election, not one based on the new congressional boundaries. That makes sense to me, but it's only a guess.

UPDATE: From Giffords' Media Release:

Giffords will submit her letter of resignation later this week to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. The governor will set the date for special primary and general elections to determine who will serve the remainder of Giffords’ term.

Before she leaves office, Giffords will finish her Congress On Your Corner event that was interrupted by a gunman on Jan. 8, 2011. In a private gathering in Tucson, Giffords will meet with some of the people who were at that event.

She will also meet and thank representatives of her advisory councils and others who have worked with her on issues of importance to her constituents.

She will visit the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. The center, which opened in September, was established after people donated more than $215,000 in Giffords’ honor after the shooting.

As one of her last acts as a member of Congress, Giffords will attend the State of the Union speech Tuesday evening at the Capitol.