Gay Legislator Will Run for Giffords' Seat

An openly gay state representative from Tucson, Arizona has announced
that he will run for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords, who resigned in January as she focuses on her recovery.

Matt Heinz, the first Democrat to announce his candidacy and one of four openly gay members of the Arizona state legislature, told
the Arizona Daily Star he plans to run for both the special election,
which includes a primary on April 17 and election on June 12, and the
formal November general election. He previously served for four years 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.”

Heinz said if Ron
Barber, Giffords’ district director, plans to fill her seat for the
remainder of her term, Heinz will only run for the general election.