(KFYI News) – Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton announced Thursday that he will resign from the mayor's office to run for Congress.
Stanton, a Democrat, will run for the Ninth District Congressional seat currently occupied by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. The district represents portions of the east valley and Ahwatukee. It's a swing district that leans slightly Republican in terms of voter registration.
Sinema was first elected to the seat in 2012 and has been re-elected twice on the strength of her moderate stances and efforts to find bipartisan cooperation on issues.
Last week, Sinema announced she'll vacate her seat to run for the seat currently held by Republican Senator Jeff Flake. Stanton is the first high-profile candidate to announce for Sinema's seat.
Stanton is midway through his second four-year term as mayor. Under the state's "resign to run" law, he must resign from his current office by the time he files his nominating petitions. The deadline to do that is May 30th.
When he resigns, the city council will appoint an interim mayor who will hold office until a special election can be held.
Here's Stanton's announcement on YouTube: