Ron Barber

Ronald Sylvester Barber (born August 25, 1945) is an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2012 to 2015. Barber, a member of the Democratic Party from Arizona, served as district director for U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords before Giffords resigned her seat due to the severe injuries she sustained in an assassination attempt, during which Barber was also injured. He won the Democratic nomination for the special election to finish Giffords's term and was sworn into office on June 19, 2012.

Early life and education Barber was born in Wakefield, England, during World War II. His father was an airman stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Barber graduated from Tucson's Rincon High School in 1963, and earned a B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1967.

Early public sector career Barber worked as director and program manager of the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities in Pima County from 1974 to 2006.

Barber worked as Giffords' district director beginning in 2007. On January 8, 2011, Barber was shot in the thigh and face during an attempt on Giffords' life, in which Giffords was badly injured and six people were killed.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections 2012 special election

In 2012, following the resignation of Giffords, Barber decided to seek election to the seat. On June 12, 2012, he defeated Jesse Kelly, an Iraq War veteran, in a special election.

2012 regular election

On March 19, 2012, Barber announced that he would run for a full term in the district, which had been renumbered as the 2nd District, in the 2012 general election. The district was, at least on paper, slightly more Democratic than its predecessor. However, his race against Republican Martha McSally was one of the closest in the nation. McSally led on election night by a few hundred votes, but the race was initially too close to call due to a large number of provisional ballots. Barber eventually overtook McSally as more ballots were counted. By November 16, most of the outstanding ballots were in heavily Democratic precincts near Tucson. The Arizona Republic determined that as a result, McSally would not be able to pick up enough votes to overcome Barber's lead. By November 17, Barber's lead over McSally had grown to 1,400 votes. The same day, the Associated Press determined there weren't enough ballots outstanding for McSally to regain the lead, and called the race for Barber. McSally conceded the race later that morning. According to USA Today, Arizona's 2nd Congressional District was expected to feature one of the most competitive House races of 2014.

In September 2014, Americans for Responsible Solutions (later merged into Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence), a pro-gun control PAC founded by Gabby Giffords, began running television ads in support of Barber.

With 100% of the votes counted, McSally had a 161-vote lead and declared victory on November 12, 2014, but due to the fact that the margin of victory was less than 1%, an automatic recount was legally required. Barber's campaign had been holding on to hope that 762 rejected ballots from Pima County would be counted during the recount, which began on December 3, 2014. Ultimately, Barber lost the recount to McSally by 161 votes.

Health care policy In May 2013, Barber voted against repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Gun control Barber is a strong supporter of gun control laws. In 2013, Barber co-sponsored a bill that would expand background checks on gun sales.

Gay rights Barber is a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act. He supported the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Immigration Barber has called for increased border security. He supports the DREAM Act. Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee on Readiness Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency (Ranking member)

Personal life Ron Barber and his wife Nancy live in Tucson, Arizona; the couple has two daughters. The Barbers operate a small business.