He won the Democratic nomination for the special election to finish Giffords's term[1] and was sworn into office on June 19, 2012.

[4] Barber worked as director and program manager of the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities in Pima County from 1974 to 2006.

McSally led on election night by a few hundred votes, but the race was initially too close to call due to a large number of provisional ballots.

The Arizona Republic determined that as a result, McSally would not be able to pick up enough votes to overcome Barber's lead.

The same day, the Associated Press determined there weren't enough ballots outstanding for McSally to regain the lead, and called the race for Barber.

[15] In September 2014, Americans for Responsible Solutions, a pro-gun control PAC founded by Gabby Giffords, began running television ads in support of Barber.

Barber's campaign had been holding on to hope that 762 rejected ballots from Pima County would be counted during the recount, which began on December 3, 2014.

[16] Barber characterizes himself as pro-choice, and has voted against legislation that would prohibit federal funding for health plans that include abortion services.

[29] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress