RUNNING... FOR RE-ELECTION?: Looking Past Recount, Martha McSally Files For 2016! (#AZ02 McSALLY/BARBER RECOUNT)

Arizona's newest Congresswoman-Elect-pending-recount-and-possible-challenges, Martha McSally, is taking the long view and yesterday became the first person to file for re-election in the ultra-competitive 2nd Congressional District. (Her Statement of Candidacy is posted below.)

McSally is leading current Rep. Ron Barber (D-CD2) by 161 votes as Pima and Cochise Counties conduct an automatic recount.

The Statement of Candidacy does not bind McSally to a campaign, of course.  Nor does it indicate that she is assuming that she will be running for re-election - it is possible that she would be runnng as a challenger.

However, it does permit McSally to raise money for both her 2014 recount and a possible 2016 race. (For example, if someone wanted to hand her a $7,800 check right now, she could accept it and divide it up between the 2014 general(recount), and the 2016 primary and general.)

This is not uncommon for already-elected offcials - Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) already filed, and most of the other Representatives will do so within the next month.  In fact, Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake filed theirs - for 2016 and 2018 - back in 2012 and January 2013, respectively.

  Martha Mcsally 2016 Stmt of Candidacy

(Arizona election law attorney Paul Weich contributed this article.)

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