From the
Arizona Daily Star:
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week to focus on her recovery, her staff announced Sunday.
"I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week," Giffords said in a video message. [...]
Giffords vowed to return public service.
"I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country," she said.
Giffords will leave behind a competitive open seat, which may be decided according to the current map, rather than the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission's recently finalized congressional map that reordered Giffords' district from the 8th to the 2nd. Jan Brewer will soon have to set a schedule for a special primary and special general election to fill this seat.
We'll have more updates as information streams in, but until then, we wish Rep. Giffords all the best in her recovery efforts.
11:57 AM PT (David Nir): Minnesota Mike digs up the relevant Arizona statute. In short, because the next general election is more than six months away, both a special primary and a special general must be held to fill Giffords' seat. The primary must take place 80 to 90 days after the "occurrence of the vacancy," and the general 50 to 60 days after that. Since Giffords said she'd step down this week, that would likely put the primary some time in April and the general some time in June.