Arizona Republicans say reports that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-Ariz.) 2010 challenger has been inquiring about special election procedures in the state are false.
According to a report in the subscription-only Arizona Capitol Reports, a representative fromJesse Kelly's (R) campaign contacted Arizona Republican Party legal counsel Lee Miller to ask about the process of filling the seat if Giffords couldn't serve.
According to a report in the subscription-only Arizona Capitol Reports, a representative fromJesse Kelly's (R) campaign contacted Arizona Republican Party legal counsel Lee Miller to ask about the process of filling the seat if Giffords couldn't serve.
Following the Jan. 8 shooting at Giffords' "Congress on Your Corner" event that critically wounded the congresswoman and killed six others, Giffords has made remarkable progress and was transferred from her Tucson hospital to a Houston rehabilitation facility today.
But Miller told The Hotline that he was mischaracterized in the story, and that he had no idea if that call was from someone in Kelly's campaign or someone seeking just general information.
"Not surprisingly, whenever there's a significant event in the life of a members of Congress, folks sort of want to know what the potential consequences of that might be. That question was asked," Miller said. "It was an assumption on the reporter's part that it was asked by a representative of Kelly's campaign."
"The day after the election, everybody's campaign sort of went out of business," Miller added. "At this point in time I don't know who's a Kelly representative."
Kelly spokesman John Ellinwood said that the call wasn't from anyone associated with Kelly.
"I don't know who he spoke with, but no one from the campaign contacted Lee Miller," said Ellinwood. "He's just not really thinking about [an election]. We're hoping that the victims, including Gabrielle Giffords, make a full recovery."
Kelly had been slated to make an announcement many expected to be the kickoff for another congressional bid on Jan. 15, but in the wake of the shooting he cancelled event.
Ellinwood wouldn't confirm that Kelly had planned to launch another campaign on that day, and said it was too early to speculate whether Kelly would run again in two years.
"It's just not the time to even discuss that," said Ellinwood. "We're just not there at this time, and I have no idea when or if that would happen."
Miller said that among Arizona Republicans there "was an expectation that Mr. Kelly had some future plans that he intended to announce, and I think several issued motivated him to rethink the desirability of moving forward now."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/01/giffords-challenger-hasn-t-inquired-about-her-seat-21
But Miller told The Hotline that he was mischaracterized in the story, and that he had no idea if that call was from someone in Kelly's campaign or someone seeking just general information.
"Not surprisingly, whenever there's a significant event in the life of a members of Congress, folks sort of want to know what the potential consequences of that might be. That question was asked," Miller said. "It was an assumption on the reporter's part that it was asked by a representative of Kelly's campaign."
"The day after the election, everybody's campaign sort of went out of business," Miller added. "At this point in time I don't know who's a Kelly representative."
Kelly spokesman John Ellinwood said that the call wasn't from anyone associated with Kelly.
"I don't know who he spoke with, but no one from the campaign contacted Lee Miller," said Ellinwood. "He's just not really thinking about [an election]. We're hoping that the victims, including Gabrielle Giffords, make a full recovery."
Kelly had been slated to make an announcement many expected to be the kickoff for another congressional bid on Jan. 15, but in the wake of the shooting he cancelled event.
Ellinwood wouldn't confirm that Kelly had planned to launch another campaign on that day, and said it was too early to speculate whether Kelly would run again in two years.
"It's just not the time to even discuss that," said Ellinwood. "We're just not there at this time, and I have no idea when or if that would happen."
Miller said that among Arizona Republicans there "was an expectation that Mr. Kelly had some future plans that he intended to announce, and I think several issued motivated him to rethink the desirability of moving forward now."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/01/giffords-challenger-hasn-t-inquired-about-her-seat-21