Republican Wendy Rogers -- who lost her bid for a State Senate seat in 2010 -- made it official today that she's joining the Congressional race in Arizona's newly formed Ninth District.
Rogers joins what's becoming an increasingly populated field of candidates, which already includes Republicans Don Stapley, Travis Grantham, and Martin Sepulveda, as well as Democrats David Schapira, Andrei Cherny, and Kyrsten Sinema.
Rogers, a retired Air Force pilot, lost by about seven points to Schapira in her 2010 attempt for a State Senate seat, but she's apparently willing to pick that fight again if it comes down to it.
Meanwhile, Republican Congressmen Ben Quayle and David Schweikert are still acting like they're going to run against each other in a primary in CD6, and neither seems too willing to head over to CD9.
Either way, Rogers is officially in the field.
Here's her announcement:
Dear fellow Americans,
It is time to take action. As such, I have decided to run for the United States Congress in Arizona's newly created 9th District. I honor my father Harry L. Rogers III, Lt Col, US Army (ret) as I begin this challenge.
At this point, I am the only Republican candidate running who lives, owns a business, and raised her children in this district. Many of you know I'm a 5th generation career military officer, trailblazing Air Force pilot, business owner with 10 fulltime employees, wife of 34 years, and have two children and a grandchild.
I am running because as a retired officer I see our national defense in peril with a porous border to our south and a president who ignores the problem. As a business owner, my employees and I suffer from over-regulation and taxation destroying my ability to create more jobs. As a mother and grandmother, I'm afraid for how we have mortgaged my grandchild's future.
All boats must be lifted by economic policy that gets government out of our business. As a business owner, it should be my choice to buy my employees health insurance, not the government's mandate. 2012 is the most critical election in our lifetimes. If we do not get our debt under control, we will drown in our own entitlement spending.
This is your chance to send a principled military veteran and business owner to Washington DC. History-making, I will be the first 20-year-active-duty, career military congresswoman ever to serve in Congress. And from Arizona, I will hail as our first Republican U.S. congresswoman.
