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No need to check your calendar.

It's still 2007 — but as far as political types are concerned, it's already 2008.

That's why this weekend you might catch some television commercials supporting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who isn't up for re-election for another 16 months.

The ads are paid for by the Service Employees International Union, which is spending $400,000 nationwide this weekend on ads supporting 12 incumbent Democrats. The focus: health-care and minimum-wage accomplishments.

SEIU, one of the nation's most prominent and fastest-growing unions, isn't the first national group to jump into Southeastern Arizona's next congressional race, which will likely pit Giffords against a Republican challenger.

In May, the National Republican Congressional Committee pumped thousands of dollars into radio ads and automated "robo" calls criticizing Giffords and attempting to link her to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"We feel like the 2008 election has started much earlier than previous elections," said Stephanie Mueller, SEIU spokeswoman. "We think that people are already focusing on other races."

According to a copy of the ad provided by SEIU, an announcer says, "Last year, we sent Gabrielle Giffords to start cleaning up the mess in Washington.

"Already she's been able to raise the minimum wage, provide expanded health-care coverage for children, and to fully fund veterans' health care so that no veteran will go uncared for."

The ad, which shows a photo of Giffords, also says she is "working to force the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices."

If the sound bites sound a little canned, it's because they are. Just like the approach national Republicans took, the 12 ads across the country are all identical, with photos of different Democratic representatives plugged in depending on the market.

Mueller would not release the names of any other members of Congress being supported by the union. She also would not say whether the candidates are all freshmen, but she did confirm they are all Democrats and that Giffords is the only member of Arizona's congressional delegation receiving the treatment.

"These are people we wanted to highlight," Mueller said.

Giffords was elected in November with 54 percent of the vote in the 8th Congressional District, replacing Republican Jim Kolbe, who retired after 22 years.

She has already raised more than $400,000 for her re-election campaign. No Republican candidate has announced a run against Giffords, but a move is afoot to draft state Senate President Tim Bee.

SEIU has a history of involvement in Arizona elections. Last year, the union spent $600,000 supporting the ballot initiative to raise Arizona's minimum wage. In 2004, the union helped campaign against Proposition 200, which blocked illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits.