U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick denounced a fundraising email sent out by one of her would-be opponents in next yearโs election.
The Tucson Democrat, serving her first term in the House representing Congressional District 2, released a statement earlier this week about the letter sent out by Republican Brandon Martin.
In the email, Martin said he needed help overcoming Kirkpatrickโs sizable lead in terms of fundraising to defeat her in 2020.
โAnn Kirkpatrick sits on the Appropriations Committee. ($$$ Big money donations $$$) Sheโs going to have a war chest in November 2020. I need โammunitionโ to remove her from office,โ Martin wrote. โWill you load me up with a donation of $5, $10, $25 or more so I can train my sights on Ann Kirkpatrick and remove her from office in 2020?โ
Kirkpatrick represents the district once held by Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in a shooting during a constituentsโ event on Jan. 8, 2011, on the northwest side. Six people were killed and 13 were wounded in the shooting.
Alex Alvarez, a Kirkpatrick campaign spokesman, said Martin went too far.
โThreatening gun violence is disqualifying for anyone seeking to represent Arizonaโs 2nd district,โ said Alvarez. โFor Southern Arizona, gun violence is personal. In just 19.6 seconds, 33 bullets were fired at a congressional event in Tucson hosted by Rep. Gabby Giffords. She and her district director, Ron Barber, were shot, alongside 17 others, six of them murdered.โ
Martin rejected Kirkpatrickโs narrative.
โAnn Kirkpatrickโs claim that my fundraising email is โthreateningโ or promotes โviolenceโ is just that, a claim. Any reasonably intelligent person, which I can now only assume Ann is not, would understand that โammunitionโ is clearly a euphemism for monetary campaign contributions,โ Martin said. โI noted she did not bother to call attention to the portion of my email where I made it clear I wanted to โpolitically remove her from office.โโ
Martin added Kirkpatrick is using his emails to deflect from her records on guns.
Martin ran for Congress in 2018, but finished second in the Republican primary behind Lea Marquez Peterson.
OโRourke in Tucson on Sunday
Democratic presidential candidate Beto OโRourke will come to Tucson on Sunday, holding a public gathering near the University of Arizona campus.
Tucson will be the second location the former Texas congressman will visit Sunday, stopping in Phoenix earlier in the day.
OโRourke is expected to denounce what he calls inhumane treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers, demand urgent congressional action on gun violence, and speak out on corruption inside the Trump administration.
OโRourke will also talk about former Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who left office in 2017, a campaign news release says.
The now 87-year old Republican, who was pardoned by President Trump, recently announced he wants his old job back and will run for office in 2020.
The mid-afternoon event featuring OโRourke will be at Gentle Benโs Brewing Co., 865 E. University Blvd. Doors open at 3 p.m.
Those who want to attend need to RSVP through OโRourkeโs campaign website, betoorourke.com
Republican write-in candidate for mayor drops out
Albert Pesqueira, the sole Republican running in Tucsonโs mayoral race, has ended his write-in campaign, acknowledging he lacked the support he needed to win.
Pesqueira, a former social worker and youth pastor, also conceded he filed candidate paperwork too late to be a viable candidate.
โI officially resign from the mayoral race. I make this decision with much reflection and thought on several matters. I greatly appreciate all the verbal support and social media posts I received. I realized the disadvantage I had starting this so late in the election,โ Pesqueira wrote on Facebook.
He thanked those that supported him, including his wife.
โI thank the five donors we had for their donations,โ Pesqueira added. Pesqueiraโs GoFundMe campaign had six donors and raised $750.
He urged voters to back former Democrat-turned-independent Ed Ackerley in Novemberโs general election against Democrat Regina Romero.
Deadline to register to vote is Monday
Those who want to vote in next monthโs general election who have recently moved, changed their names or are not registered to vote in Pima County only have a few days left.
The deadline to register to vote is midnight Monday.
As the elections for the Sunnyside Unified School District, Flowing Wells Unified School district, Amphitheater Unified School District, Altar Valley School District, and Golder Ranch Fire District as well as the city of Tucson will be conducted entirely by mail, those who plan on voting next month need to update their mailing address before the deadline.
County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez urges those wanting to register to use servicearizona.com and complete the registration form online.
Printed forms are available at multiple locations throughout the county, including the Pima County Recorderโs Office, all post offices, public libraries, political party headquarters and city/town halls.
But those forms must be turned in no later than Monday night at one of the two recorderโs offices: the downtown office, located at 240 North Stone Ave., or the eastside office, 6920 E. Broadway.
