Ronald Sylvester Barber ( born August 25 , 1945 ) is an American politician . He 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 Gabrielle 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
assassination attempt
2011 Tucson shooting
Ron Barber