Gabrielle Giffords Supporters Donate $358,000 To Her Re-Election Campaign

WASHINGTON -- Donors from around the country have donated about $358,000 to the re-election campaign of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the event she attempts to seek political office again.

Giffords was critically wounded by a gunshot to the head in January during a shooting rampage in Tucson. She has been undergoing extensive therapy in Houston and it's unknown whether she'll be able to resume her duties or seek elective office again.

But supporters want to be ready just in case. Colleagues organized a fundraiser on her behalf in March.

Her campaign's fundraising report shows that political action committees generated about two-thirds of the donations during the first quarter of 2011. The other third came from individuals, many from the Tucson area.

In all, her campaign has about $556,000 in the bank.

Comments

[dngrwoman]

08:34 PM on 05/25/2011

If there is one thing I want to do, as a true real life singing superheroine, is to do a command karaoke performance for Gabby Giffords and cheer her up! DANGER WOMAN

[Middlemanly]

09:58 PM on 04/19/2011

Let’s be honest, guns are fun. There’s just something wickedly cool about them. Maybe it’s our media, culture, movies and history, that have helped metastasize our national gun fetish. It definitely seems to be wired into our national DNA: how else do you explain toddlers mastering gunplay months before they’re able to hit their tinkle targets? I own guns, and I enjoy hunting and target shooting, but I don’t abide by the lunacy that is our current national gun policy. I’m specifically talking about the ginormous loopholes in most state gun laws whereby anyone, and I mean anyone can go to a local gun show and purchase semiautomatic weapons by simply filling out a form and answering questions like “Have you ever been convicted of a felony? OR Have you ever been diagnosed with mental illness?” to which I’m certain most ambitious felons and committed wing nuts would answer no. Unfortunately we can’t have a civil discussion about gun control without the NRA crowd screaming bloody insurrection. The reason I bring this topic up today is because in Houston a kindergartner brought a gun to school and it accidently went off, hurting 3 of his classmates. Fortunately no one was seriously injured. I realize there's no perfect legislative fix, but we should at the very least make it safe for kindergarteners to go to school, particularly at one named Betsy Ross Elementary. Okay, you can cue the Lee Greenwood now.

[jimbo143]

04:25 PM on 04/16/2011

i have also heard her husband is thinking about running.this would be tragic.lookig to get elected on a sympathy vote for gabby would be a lousy way to get elected.she was a very articulate congressional member.please do not bring her out as a prop,she was/is so much better than that.

[baileywick]

07:08 PM on 06/07/2011

Her husband is no slouch.

[wyb]

03:23 PM on 04/16/2011

It is great to see more support. Jesse "Machine Gun" Kelly the Republican who opposed her in November, using AR-16 machine gun shoots with of Gabbe on the target, is after her job again. Lines of his Bircher ads and targets of Gabbe are still around and in peoples' minds, but he is a loser. Jon "The Factual", is leaving the Senate, even before his fractured,Factual, fractal speech.A good place for her to help refloat the swamped Arizona ship of state.

[Dan Rosenthal]

04:27 PM on 04/16/2011

Minor point: It's an AR-15.

[RTIII]

02:28 PM on 04/16/2011

I'll be supporting here all the way to the SENATE. I think she'll easily take Kyle's seat - I think he's up next, in 2012.

[jimbo143]

03:30 PM on 04/16/2011

first we will have to see what gabbys new normal will be.most people that have had traumatic injuries of theses kinds take years to recover if at all.yes you hear all the good news like she was taking a phone call and such.but was she actually having a conversation with these people or was the phone next to her ear and she was just listening.i want her to fully recover that should be amazing.but to think she should be running in an election with all the travel,debate.etc.etc.is,i feel,is way to much to expect ths soon.

[RTIII]

05:26 PM on 04/16/2011

In an article I read here on HP it said that she was "talking" with an aide of hers who was in D.C. The article was clear to indicate that the conversation was not extensive - it was light on detail - but _clearly_ stated that she was listening, understanding, and responding appropriately with clear, intelligible speach.

[wyb]

02:17 PM on 04/17/2011

I have seen worse head injuries with expanding rifle bullets recover, let alone non expanding pistol ammunition. A note regarding the competition. Barking, "no" for two years, and nothing else has, often has a more guarded prognosis.

[wyb]

12:15 PM on 04/17/2011

Same here. The problem will probably be a Palin run for Kyls' seat. She sent her stage dance manager and child prodigy to Mesa last year to set up residence. The unholy trinity of McCain, Palin, and McBrewer would put the right wing extremists into a state of other world rapture.

[RTIII]

11:50 PM on 04/17/2011

A recoverd Gabby - even just a _coherent_ Gabby - will "clean their clock."

At least, so says I.

And yes, I have _direct_ and "intimate" ties with her district, though I realise that Senate race is statewide.

[Charles Hamel]

02:28 PM on 04/16/2011

Why don't most politicians use their campaign money for personal charitable contributions?

Your comment is absurd.

[Bude]

01:57 PM on 04/16/2011

Even in her present condition she's a better representative than most.

[pathofhumanity]

01:58 PM on 04/16/2011

This is a heartless comment.

[Charles Hamel]

02:28 PM on 04/16/2011

Living up to your namesake i see.

[techjockey]

01:22 PM on 04/16/2011

Wow,
All the comments here diagnosing her are really ridiculous.
Her devastating injury happened only a few months ago & she has come quite a long ways. None of us here know to what extent she will recover, but the fact that she is talking & very responsive are very good signs.

[Okieborn]

01:16 PM on 04/16/2011

I do hope Rep. Gifford is doing well, I haven't heard any updates as of late.

[Don Stalvino]

01:02 PM on 04/16/2011

There is already too much money in politics, why would people donate too her campaign when they don't know if she will be well enough to serve?

[RTIII]

02:31 PM on 04/16/2011

Because they've now learned about her - through her injury - and they like what they've learned. She's also progressing VERY well for this sort of thing, ahead of even the most optimistic professional opinions in terms of timeline toward a full recovery. And there are notable examples of people who have been through what she has and have fully recovered, so we know that it's at least possible.

Finally, I personally am very excited at the prospects of her taking Jon Kyle's seat - and I imagine I am not alone.

[Cream of the PLANETEARTH]

12:44 PM on 04/16/2011

Just curious, what happens to that money if she decides against running?

[RTIII]

02:31 PM on 04/16/2011

It'll be returned.

[T-Haight]

10:59 AM on 04/16/2011

Maybe I'm being a little silly here, but I find it hard to believe she will face a challenger in the 2012 election if she decides to stand. I strongly suspect the RNC will say that the (very) unlikely pickup of a single house vote isn't worth the nasty attention it would bring running against her.

People who want to help should hold onto their money until she declares (because she will have to return it if she decides not to run), and if not, donate it to the DNC or to a local charity.

[TMS3100]

12:39 PM on 04/16/2011

All districts should be free of progressive members of congress :)

[SSING]

01:05 PM on 04/16/2011

Charity elections?

[den1953]

10:29 AM on 04/16/2011

I always knew their had to be a compassionate voting block in AZ, everything coming out of the State lately was radical right wing nonsense, nice to know all is not lost get well Congresswoman and a speedy recovery..........

[chavo]

11:04 AM on 04/16/2011

Yes, but as the article states only 33% came from Arizona. Most of the large money has come from PAC's and out of state funders.

[den1953]

11:33 AM on 04/16/2011

Setting all politics aside on this story she is recovering and that is a good thing regardless of political views this is about saving a human life, the sorrow this tragic event took place and all those that lost loved ones needs a good ending.

[luvthyneighbor]

11:08 AM on 04/16/2011

I used to live in Tucson and it's actually pretty liberal. It's anywhere North of Tucson you have to worry about, especially the retirement communities in Phoenix. I will say the state now seems to draw extremists. Real shame...

[goldengirl43]

11:52 AM on 04/16/2011

Northern Arizona is SCARY....and I'm from dear ole Dixie!

[wyb]

12:35 PM on 04/17/2011

Drawing extremist and the educated professionals leaving. Arizona cannot now, and will not be able to attract national businesses in the future. Gun shows and and no retirement overhead is the staple.

[CapitalismIsCancer]

10:10 AM on 04/16/2011

C'mon, Tech Outsourcing Lobbyists! You can do better than THAT! She made you guys billions sponsoring those pro-Bangalore bills.