Paton weighing 2010 race

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State Sen. Jonathan Paton told the Insider he has been heavily lobbied to get into the 8th Congressional District contest against Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,and is "giving it some thought."

The race has been seen up to now as Giffords' to lose against little-known Republican challengers Jesse Kelly and Andy Goss.

Paton, R-Tucson, was elected to three terms in the state House and Senate and took the lead on high-profile issues such as reform of the state's child-welfare system and human trafficking. He's also a U.S. Army captain and Iraq War veteran (as are Kelly and Goss).

The district favors Republicans by about 90,000 registered voters but generally swings on its more than 915,000 independents. Moderate Republican Jim Kolbe represented the district for 11 consecutive terms, retiring in 2007. Giffords has entrenched herself since then, forging a reputation for her attentiveness to the district, strong campaigning and adept fundraising. As of the end of September, she had nearly $1.4 million in her campaign account.

But Paton said he views Giffords as vulnerable given her votes in favor of President Barack Obama's economic-stimulus plan, climate-change legislation and health-care reform. Following the health-care vote, the Cook Political Report changed the 8th District from "solid" to "likely" Democrat.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/22/20091122politics-insider1122.html