Giffords Soon to Enter Outpatient Therapy, Might Not Run Again

Almost six months after being shot outside a Tucson supermarket by gunman Jared Lee Loughner, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is almost ready to leave the Houston rehab facility where she's been staying. Where she'll go is still unknown, but friends say she wants to return home.

Meantime, Giffords' chief of staff, Pia Carusone, says her boss is still struggling to communicate and possibly won't be able to run for reelection:




The most critical part of Giffords' recovery process isn't quite half-over, so there's still a possibility that she'll be well enough again by next May's reelection petition deadline. Given how much progress she's already made, it doesn't seem inconceivable.

[Chronicle, Arizona Republic. Image by AP.]