Gabrielle Giffords for Senate in 2012?
Some Democrats have a dream candidate in mind to succeed Sen. Jon Kyl. Does it matter that she's recovering from a gunshot wound to the head?

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Sen. Jon Kyl's (R-Ariz.) announcement that he won't run in 2012 gives the Democrats an unexpected shot at picking up his Arizona Senate seat. And the Democrat to beat, according to several reports, would ideally be Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. She reportedly expressed interest in Kyl's seat before she was shot in the head, and "she ought to have the right of first refusal," a loyal Democratic source tells Talking Points Memo. Giffords is making a "miraculous" recovery, but is it at all plausible that she could run for Senate? (Watch a report about the Giffords speculation)
Giffords would be a "shoo-in": If Giffords "wants the seat, it's hers," says Valerie Richardson in The Washington Times. With "100 percent name identification and 100 percent sympathy from the public," as Arizona pollster Bruce Merrill notes, at least hypothetically there's simply "nobody who could beat her."
"Giffords is seen as shoo-in for Kyl's seat"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is a "fairy-tale scenario": Giffords is recovering at impressive speed, but a 2012 Senate run is nothing more than "a remote possibility," says Nate Silver in The New York Times. An intense Senate campaign "would presumably require relatively full use of one’s mental faculties," and Democrats will almost certainly have to field a "weaker" candidate in this "somewhat Republican state." All things considered, their odds of taking Kyl's seat is "probably on the order of 20 to 25 percent."
"Under Tucson's shadow, Democrats to search for Senate candidate"
Let her heal in peace: Giffords may have wanted to run for this seat, says Karen Beseth in The Lonely Conservative, but let's face it — that was then. It's barely been a month since Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range, and all this Senate talk seems "a bit distasteful." Democrats should "just let the woman rest and recover."
"Gabrielle Giffords to run for Jon Kyle's Senate seat?"
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
'The United States needs to up its game'
Instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass Published
-
'Accepting defeat is Rishi Sunak's only hope of victory'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week Staff Published
-
Royal family website attacked by Russian hackers
Speed Read Pro-Kremlin group claim responsibility just two weeks after King Charles condemns invasion of Ukraine
By The Week Staff Published
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Will the cannabis banking bill get the Senate's green light?
Talking Point The SAFER Banking Act is advancing to the US Senate for the first time, clearing a major hurdle for legal cannabis businesses. Does it stand a chance?
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries chosen to succeed Pelosi as leader of House Democrats
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
GOP leader Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker may really be in peril
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Are China's protests a real threat for Beijing?
opinion The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web
By Harold Maass Published
-
Who is Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist who dined with Trump and Kanye?
Speed Read From Charlottesville to Mar-a-Lago in just five years
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Jury convicts Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy in landmark Jan. 6 verdict
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published