Today, former Arizona Congressman Ron Barber announced that he will not run for Congress again. Barber said he wanted to spend time with family and friends.
Barber said his time in office was a time he will “always treasure.”
“For me, it comes down to family,” said Barber in a statement released after his appearance on a Tucson paid programming show. “Our grandchildren are growing up, and for Nancy and me, these years are precious. We’ll stay in Tucson where I can spend time with my family, and still work on the issues that are important to Southern Arizona, like protecting Social Security and fixing our broken immigration system.”
Despite many requests by supporters for him to challenge Rep. Martha McSally, he said does not want to deal with the fight against dark money again. Barber complained that the negative campaign started one year before the election. He claimed that the total amount spent was over $14 million.
“Much of the money that was spent in our campaign was spent to suppress the vote. To disparage me, telling outright lies. That’s wrong, and yet the money really flows into it,” said Barber referring to McSally’s campaign coffers.
He said that the turnout was key in the race. He lost by slightly less that 170 votes, and due to the failure of the Pima County elections department, hundreds of votes went uncounted.
He will spend time now working with his predecessor, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, on gun control.