Lesko-Tipirneni rematch in works for West Valley

Four months after winning a seat in Congress in a special election, Debbie Lesko had a wide early lead as she pursues a chance at a full term.

Unofficial early results Tuesday showed Lesko with a comfortable lead over Sandra Dowling for the GOP nomination — and what would be a rematch against Democrat Hiral Tipirneni in November. "I am so happy to have won the support again of the north and West Valley voters," Lesko said. "Since joining Congress I have kept my pledge to support veterans, secure our southern border and improve education. I look forward to talking to voters about my record in Congress so far."

Things could get competitive again in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

Tipirneni came within 5 percentage points of beating Lesko in April in a district where Republicans have a 17 percentage point registration advantage. Tipirneni was unopposed Tuesday for the Democratic nomination again.

Tipirneni said she was excited to have the chance to face off again against Lesko. She said the race for the special election was only eight weeks long, and she had the momentum and sees that continuing into November.

“I’m really excited to do this again so quickly,” she said. “We are ready to take on that challenge.”

The close result in the special election was seen as evidence that Democrats are competitive in places in Arizona where they haven’t won in years.

Apart from the close finish in April, since last year Tipirneni has raised twice as much as Lesko, $3 million compared to $1.5 million. Tipirneni had $446,000 in cash earlier this month; Lesko had $245,000.