Pelosi, top Dems to raise funds for Giffords aide running for her seat

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and top House Democrats will raise funds for Ron Barber, the district director for former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) who has filed to run in the special election to replace her.

Pelosi will join House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) and Assistant Minority Leader Jim Cyburn (D-S.C.) for a reception in Washington Tuesday benefiting Barber's campaign, according to an invitation obtained by The Hill.

Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva (D) and Ed Pastor (D) will also attend.

The DCCC event will bring in between $250 and $1,000 per individual and between $1,000 and $5,000 for each PAC that attends the fundraiser.

Barber has received broad bipartisan support in Arizona and Washington since announcing he would run in the special election to replace Giffords, who resigned in January, one year after being wounded in a shooting spree in Tucson, Ariz. Barber was also shot twice in that shooting.

Barber said when he announced his campaign that he had not yet decided whether he would seek a full term or just serve the remainder of Giffords's term, which ends at the beginning of January.

But on Tuesday, Arizona state Rep. Steve Farley (D) announced he would run in the regular election in the Fall for the new term that starts in 2013, with former Giffords aide Daniel Hernandez serving as his campaign manager. The support for Farley by another Giffords aide appeared to signal that Barber would be unlikely to run for a full term in the fall.

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