June 12, 2012 08:40 PM UTC

Democrats Likely to Hold Giffords' Seat in Arizona

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• by: Colorado Pols

There is a special election in Arizona today to fill the remaining term of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is still recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in January 2011. According to Public Policy Polling, the first available poll in the district has former Giffords staffer Ron Barber holding the seat easily:

Democrat Ron Barber leads with 53% to 41% for Republican Jesse Kelly, with Green Party candidate Charlie Manolakis polling at 4%. Barber is well liked by voters in the district, sporting a 54/38 favorability rating. Kelly, meanwhile, has very high negatives with only 37% of voters rating him positively while 59% have a negative opinion.

This is interesting in that Giffords barely defeated Republican Jesse Kelly in 2010.