ARIZONA: “The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January has left Democrats in Arizona without a candidate for next year's U.S. Senate race even though party officials in Washington have declared the state a tremendous opportunity to pick up a seat,” the AP writes. “Giffords would be the unquestionable favorite to represent the Democrats if she were able to run. As she undergoes therapy to recover from the January shooting, an alternative candidate has yet to emerge -- in part, because of the uncertainty surrounding her political future.”

“Supporters of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords are getting mixed messages about the Arizona Democrat’s political future,” Roll Call writes. “Just a day after Giffords’ chief of staff offered a blunt assessment of the Congresswoman’s recovery from being shot in the head Jan. 8, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz painted a far rosier picture.”

CALIFORNIA: A 14-member citizens commission charged with drawing new Congressional and legislative districts in the state announced its first proposed district maps on Friday, the New York Times reports. “Across the state, members of Congress or state legislators found themselves thrown into the same district, or representing districts that went from safe to perilous.”