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Possibility of Giffords running again

Posted: Aug 2, 2011 10:57 PM
Updated: Aug 3, 2011 8:59 AM

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TUCSON - With the shock of Gabrielle Giffords appearance in Washington a day old, the speculations have begun.

Giffords has until May to put her name in the hat for the seat about to be vacated by Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. Then there's her own re-election campaign for the House of Representatives for which her staff and friends have already begun raising money for just in case.

Gabby pushing the green button on the floor of congress was no doubt an amazing moment but critics quickly questioned if she really knew what she was doing.

Her long time co-worker Ron Barber said she knew exactly what she was doing. He said, "She had it emailed to her before she left. She read the whole thing on the plane to D.C. so she can walk in there an absolutely say she knew what was in it plus she had studied the main points before she went. "

But just because she voted once doesn't mean she's back for good.

Giffords' communication director CJ Karamargin said, "The Congresswoman is focusing her efforts on recovery. She wants to return to work full time and when she's able she will."

So if she wants to work full time, what does that mean about her future and the possibility of another run next year?

Physically doctors said she still has some limitations but mentally she's ready. Dr. Peter Rhee, her former surgeon at UMC said, "There's no real reason she wouldn't be able to hold office but it's not about her capabilities its purely one that is personal and what her desires are. I'll support her in whichever way she goes."

Then there's the money. It's hard to ignore the roughly 800-thousand dollars that friends have already raised for her possible campaign.

Still staffers are sticking to their guns. Karamargin said, "No decision has been made for 2012. That's still a while off."

Karamargin said part of the reason they continue to say it's too soon to tell is because of her recent past. With the way she's recovered over the past seven months, he said if she continues at that rate who knows how well she'll be doing when it comes decision time.

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