Kagan’s recusal creates possibility of tie vote

The last oral argument of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term was an explosive one, as the justices considered whether SB1070 is preempted by federal law.

TUCSON — Democratic congressional candidate Ron Barber says he’ll seek changes to federal health care legislation widely known as Obamacare if he wins the 8th Congressional District seat.

WASHINGTON – Pentagon and Homeland Security officials assured a House subcommittee Tuesday that they can continue border security despite a reduction in the National Guard from 1,200 to 300 soldiers, who will focus on support for aerial border surveillance.

TUCSON — Voter turnout was 28 percent for the special primary election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

Election results from the Secretary of State’s office shows less than 117,000 ballots were cast Tuesday in the district’s 352 precincts.

Voters in southern Arizona’s 8th Congressional District on Tuesday night chose Republican Jesse Kelly to face former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber in a special election to replace the wounded ex-congresswoman.

Barber and Kelly will face off in the special general election in June, but the two opponents have already started the war of words.

Voters in southern Arizona’s 8th Congressional District are heading to the polls to choose who will face former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber in a special election to replace the wounded ex-congresswoman.

Former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Andrei Cherny raised more money than his two opponents combined in the hotly contested Democratic primary for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District.

Cherny’s $431,000, which he raised in about seven weeks, dwarfed Sen. David Schapira’s $131,000 and left former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in a distant second place in the fundraising race with $258,000.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s congressional campaign saw a marked decrease in fundraising after he faced allegations in mid-February that he threatened an ex-boyfriend with deportation, but he still raised more money during the quarter than his two Republican rivals in the race.

Sen. Steve Gallardo, a Phoenix Democrat and a fierce critic of SB1070, has been invited to testify during a Congressional subcommittee hearing about state-level enforcement of immigration laws.

SB1070 architect Russell Pearce, whom Gallardo often clashed with when Pearce served in the Legislature, is also scheduled to testify at the hearing.

Most of the Republican hopefuls in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District started their campaigns with a lot of ground to make up and little time to do it.

When former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced her resignation in January, Jesse Kelly, the Republican nominee who narrowly lost to her in 2010, came in as the undisputed GOP frontrunner in the special election to replace her, and there aren’t any signs he has relinquished that mantle.