FULL, UPDATED RUNDOWN on Candidates To Replace Retired Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

And, now there are SEVEN. That's how many Democrats and Republicans have now announced their intention to run in the April 17 Special Election primaries to replace now-retired Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-CD8). The flurry has happened faster than this ex-reporter can cover in between his current responsibilities - and certainly, the full-time reporters at the Star, the Tucson Weekly and the broadcast media are keeping us abreast pretty well - but, let me go ahead and compile some basic info in one place about all of the announced candidates. Hopefully, it will be helpful for all of us. (Listed randomly, as determined by assigning each of them numbers based on alphabetical order and then using random.org to pick a starting place. Hey, being in the middle of the alphabet will leave you sensitive to that kind of thing. ;-) )

MATT HEINZ (D): State Rep. Heinz (D-LD29) does not yet have his website up, but he does have this ad up on YouTube:
OK, well, strike that first statement because the YouTube does lead one to his website, heinzforcongress.com, even though it weirdly did not come up on a Google search.

JOHN LERVOLD (R): Mr. Lervold was a sergeant in the Army until 2008 and has been training and certifying new DOD interrogators at Ft. Huachuca since then. He describes himself as "a lifelong supporter of the Constitution" (we will see if any of the other candidates say that they have not shared that degree of support). His website is jlforcongress.org.

MARTHA MCSALLY (R): Ms. McSally has had a very interesting history, well-described in this article in the Daily Star. She was the first female to fly fighter combat in U.S. history for the Air Force and the first to command a fighter squadron in combat. She refuses to classify herself as either a moderate or a conservative, telling the questioner, "I consider myself a leader." She does not have a website up yet.

DAVE SITTON: (R): Mr. Sitton has been a familiar name and voice in Tucson for a long time for his broadcasting (disclosure: I worked with him occasionally in that context) and community work. His website is davesitton.com, and here is his introductory video:


FRANK ANTENORI: (R) Sen. Antenori




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