Sen. Tim Bee

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Ending more than a year of speculation, state Senate President Tim Bee intends to announce Saturday that he is running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, he told the Star Wednesday.

The formal announcement will come Saturday at 10 a.m. at Palo Verde High School, where Bee was valedictorian of his senior class in 1988. A Sierra Vista event will follow later in the day, around 3 p.m.

"We've had an exploratory committee going now since the late fall, and we have given due diligence throughout this whole process," Bee said in an interview Wednesday at the state Capitol.

"We're at a point in time where it's time to make a decision and move on."

So far, Bee is the only Republican looking to challenge Giffords in Congressional District 8, and his campaign would like to keep it that way.

The race is expected to attract national attention and money since the district's mix of Republicans, Democrats and independents place it in the "swing" category.

The potential face-off started heating up in August, when Bee, a Republican, formed his exploratory committee.

But he was mentioned as a potential candidate even before Giffords, a Democrat, had even been sworn into office last January.

"We spent many months exploring, talking to voters; he reached out to the grass-roots," said Meg Econ, Bee's campaign manager.

"He's been overwhelmed by the response to taking a good hard look at this race."

Econ said Bee has raised "well over $300,000." Official figures will not be made public until next month.

Giffords, who won the seat formerly held by Republican Jim Kolbe in 2006, had raised nearly $1.2 million by the end of September.

"We're not under any illusions," Econ said. "We know what we're up against."

Bee, a 38-year-old father of six and native Tucsonan, said he chose Palo Verde for the announcement because of his family's history with the school.

"Palo Verde is a place where my family spent a long time," he said. "My dad taught there for 30 years, and I'm a graduate of Palo Verde myself."

State Democrats, hearing of the announcement, continued to criticize Bee for remaining in the Legislature while launching his campaign for Congress, especially given the state's nearly $1 billion budget shortfall.

"I don't know how he has found the time to solve these complicated problems while also campaigning for Washington, D.C.," said Emily Bittner, spokeswoman for the party.

"It looks like he's already got one foot out the door."

But Bee, who must leave office because of term limits after this year, has said he is committed to remaining in the Senate during the campaign and doesn't see it any differently from Giffords' serving in Congress while running for re-election.

"Obviously I've thought long and hard about that," he said last week.

To follow Bee's congressional campaign and many other political topics,visit the Star's political site at azstarnet.com/politics