Lesko wins special election
Ex-state legislator prevails in GOP-leaning district, but relatively narrow margin heartens Democrats
Republican Debbie Lesko defeated Democrat Hiral Tipirneni Tuesday night in the special election to fill a vacant congressional seat that spans the West Valley, but her relatively narrow victory margin Tuesday will do little to calm Republicans nervous about the midterm races.
Unofficial results from early balloting show Lesko comfortably ahead of Tipirneni, her Democratic opponent, though well short of the lopsided results when President Donald Trump and Republican Rep. Trent Franks carried the district two years ago.
The Associated Press called the race for Lesko shortly after she had a 9,000vote lead over Tipirneni.
Richard Herrera, an Arizona State University associate professor of political science, said independents and Re-
publican voters who cast ballots for candidates opposite of their party cannot be discounted.
“They don’t switch easily. It’s a difficult, difficult thing,” he said. “And troubling. If you’re the (Republican) county chair, if you’re the state chair, you’re worried.”
Even so, Lesko, a former state lawmaker, will head to Washington to replace Franks, who resigned his seat in December midway through his eighth term amid sexual-misconduct allegations. She will complete his term, which expires in January, and run for a full two-year term of her own in the fall elections.
Meanwhile, Democrats will point to an unbroken string of nine special federal elections now in which they have improved over their 2016 showing. That performance has the party looking ahead to the November elections with an eye toward regaining control of one or both chambers of Congress.
To do that, they still need to win a net 23 seats in the House after falling short in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
Moments after winning, Lesko gave an emotional speech to supporters at the home of a neighbor who hosted her victory party.
“It’s very surreal,” she said. “Twentyfive years ago, I left an abusive husband. And I sure as heck never would have dreamt in a million years that I would be running for Congress, be a congresswoman.”
Supporters cheered. Moments after the AP called the race, former Gov. Jan Brewer blew a paper party horn and told Lesko she needed to do a “victory walk.”
Others cheered, sipping on wine and beers. The pop of champagne bottles was heard throughout the night.
“I don’t have to say ‘running for Congress’ anymore ... I won!” Lesko said, laughing.
Steve Stivers, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, welcomed his newest member.
“I congratulate CongresswomanElect Debbie Lesko and look forward to welcoming her to our conference,” he said in a statement. “Debbie is a strong conservative whose values truly reflect those of the voters in Arizona’s Eighth District. The NRCC was proud to support her and our targeted and early investments proved to be a difference maker in the race.”
Ady Barkan, the California man with ALS who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake, RAriz., over health-care issues last year, started an organization to oppose GOP health-care policies and raised money for Tipirneni.
“There is no such a thing as a safe Republican seat this year. Dr. Hiral Tipirneni overcame the odds to come within striking distance of victory in a deep red district, because the Republicans put their donors’ greed ahead of the health of families like mine,” Barkan said Tuesday. “My family and I traveled to Arizona and raised more than $100,000 to support Hiral because we believe that voters want leaders who will protect their health care and reverse the Republicans’ tax bill. Tonight’s strong showing proves that message works, and if it works in a district that Trump won by 21 points last year, it can work in every district in America.”
Democrats needed more independent and Republican voters to break for Tipirneni than they could deliver to win, but early results suggest Democrats made significant gains, Herrera said.
That the margin as of Tuesday was 6 percentage points during the first batch of early returns will be considered a substantive win by Democrats, who hadn’t even bothered to run a candidate on the ballot since 2012, he said.
“Democrats are going to run again,” in the district, Herrera predicted. “You don’t want to give up when you come that close. They’re going to get energized, they’re going to be able to attract donors early. I’d be surprised if they give up on it.”
He said the early results signal a shifting Republican electorate that is becoming more comfortable with detaching from the traditional moorings of their party.
That could make Republicans more vulnerable headed into the midterm elections.
“They’re certainly not going to be taking anything for granted, even if they’re running in an area that’s been considered safe,” he said.
Lesko promised voters that she would back the Trump administration, whether it involved hard-line approaches to border security and immigration reforms or making permanent the $1.5 trillion tax cuts that passed in December.