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    Gabrielle Giffords plans public appearance to campaign for former aide

    By | The Ticket – Mon, Jun 4, 2012

    Gabrielle Giffords (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

    Gabrielle Giffords, who has made scarce public appearances since she was shot in the head at a town hall attack in January 2011, will campaign this weekend for the Democrat seeking to succeed her in Congress.

    The former Arizona congresswoman plans to appear at a June 9 get-out-the-vote concert for candidate Ron Barber, her former district director, Barber's campaign announced Sunday evening.

    [Related: Competency hearing for alleged Tucson shooter]

    "Gabby is eager to get back home to Tucson and help get out the vote for Ron," Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, said in a statement. "We need Ron Barber in Congress to stand up for Southern Arizonans and to help rebuild Arizona's middle class."

    Giffords resigned her seat in January of this year, amid her continued rehabilitation, prompting a June 12 special election to choose a successor to serve out the remainder of her current term in Arizona's 8th District, which includes part of Tucson.

    Barber faces Republican nominee Jesse Kelly, a businessman who ran as the district's 2010 Republican nominee, in next week's election.

    Due to redistricting changes, much of Giffords' former district will become the redrawn and renumbered 2nd District in the next Congress. Barber and Kelly are also campaigning for their respective primaries on Aug. 28 to run for the new seat in the fall.

    The House Majority PAC on Monday released an ad that paints Jesse Kelly as disrespectful of Giffords. "And now she stands there with that smile and pretends to be some kind of hometown hero," he states in a clip used for the attack ad. "She's a hero of nothing." The clip was from 2010, and the ad states it was recorded two years ago, but the negative connotation is clear. The group plans to air the ad through June 12.

    Click to see more images of Gabrielle Giffords

    (Photo By Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

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