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PHOENIX -- Jeff Rogers, who is chairman of the Democratic Party in southern Arizona where Representative Gabrielle Giffords is the congresswoman, admits he had his doubts about her political future in the opening moments of her first public interview since she was shot in the head in January. But as the poignant ABC interview progressed Monday night, and Ms. Giffords evolved from a bedridden patient with a jagged scar in her skull to someone struggling with her words but closer to her vibrant former self, Mr. Rogers said he grew more optimistic that she would find her way back onto the political stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Ron Barber, former district director of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has won the race for the Second Congressional District of Arizona. It mentions that Barber won over Republican candidate Martha McSally with 1,402-vote lead in the said district. It says that the victory of Barber gave Democrats a sweep in all three competitive districts in the House of Representatives in Arizona.

TUCSON -- The sun had fallen and a crowd had gathered on a chilly Sunday night on the mall at the University of Arizona, for the last event of a weekend commemorating the first anniversary of the mass shooting here one year ago. The vigil began with the Pledge of the Allegiance. Led by Representative Gabrielle Giffords. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TUCSON -- Representative Gabrielle Giffords is still in the hospital, but some of her most ardent backers are so enamored of the idea of her running for the Senate that they describe the inevitable campaign commercials: the deep-voiced narrator recounting what happened to her, the images of her wounded, then recovering and speaking into the camera alongside her astronaut husband to call on Arizonans to unite. These supporters say they do not want to get too far ahead of themselves, and make clear that Ms. Giffords, who was shot in the head, is still relearning basic tasks and might emerge from the hospital with neither the same political abilities nor aspirations that she had before. And publicly, her closest aides say the only thing they care about is her health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CORRECTION APPENDED Many Congressional staffs are close, but those who work for Representative Gabrielle Giffords in her Tucson office seem especially close. They socialize outside work. They recently held a holiday party at a staff member's home in Tucson. Everyone, including Ms. Giffords, came and exchanged gifts, with a twist -- no gift could be store-bought; each had to come from the giver's home. That was in keeping with what C. J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Ms. Giffords, called her penchant for frugality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TUCSON -- Seconds after gunfire erupted outside a supermarket here last month, Randy Gardner, one of those struck during the barrage, said another potential crisis immediately entered his mind. ''I wondered, 'How much is this going to cost me?' '' he said. ''It was a thought that went through my head right away.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

CORRECTION APPENDED WASHINGTON -- The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others at a neighborhood meeting in Arizona on Saturday set off what is likely to be a wrenching debate over anger and violence in American politics. While the exact motivations of the suspect in the shootings remained unclear, an Internet site tied to the man, Jared Lee Loughner, contained antigovernment ramblings. And regardless of what led to the episode, it quickly focused attention on the degree to which inflammatory language, threats and implicit instigations to violence have become a steady undercurrent in the nation's political culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]