Fearing a loss for GOP, Lesko is challenging Murphy’s Senate seat
Glendale Rep. Debbie Lesko is running to replace Sen. Rick Murphy, saying she fears his entanglement with Child Protective Services could cost Republicans the Senate seat.
Lesko, who made the announcement Nov. 20, said it was a difficult decision to challenge Murphy, whose four adopted daughters were removed by CPS in July.
It was even harder, she said, to make her intentions known at last week’s District 21 GOP meeting, with Murphy sitting in the audience. But she said she wants to prevent a Democrat or “more liberal-leaning Republican” from winning the West Valley seat, which also includes Peoria, Sun City, Surprise, El Mirage and Youngtown.
“It was uncomfortable for me, and it was uncomfortable for the people there,” said Lesko, who is in her third House term. “He was not happy.”
Murphy, R-Peoria, told the GOP group that he is planning to run for re-election. He didn’t address his CPS case or his pending divorce, except to say that he will be able to provide more information in two months, Lesko said.
Murphy did not return calls seeking comment.
Lesko said constituents and others have been urging her to run for Murphy’s seat since shortly after Murphy’s troubles began last summer.
“I was very reluctant. I said I don’t want to hit a guy while he’s down,” Lesko told
“But as I spoke to more and more people, and more and more people approached me, I felt that running for the state Senate was in the best interest of our district.”
Peoria police and CPS launched a joint investigation in June after Murphy’s adopted son alleged repeated incidents of abuse by Murphy going back at least six years. The report prompted police to reopen a 2011case involving Murphy and another boy, a foster child who was 13 years old at the time.
A month later, police announced that they would not seek charges against Murphy and were putting the investigation on hold after the son told police he was retracting his allegations and no longer wanted to talk about it. They added that there were no witnesses or physical evidence of the alleged incidents.
Police also said the Murphys refused to allow their adopted daughters to be interviewed by police or CPS. That prompted CPS to remove the four youngest children in midJuly, and they have been in state custody ever since.
At the time, Murphy, a frequent critic of CPS during his legislative career, lashed out at the agency, saying CPS removed his children in retaliation, pressured the girls to make statements against him and violated state law by failing to notify him of court dates in the case.
In a statement, he denied all of the allegations and said he’s never abused a child, “much less one who lived in his home.”
Murphy is in his second Senate term following six years in the House. He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and had been co-chair of a CPS oversight committee until last month, when Senate President Andy Biggs replaced him with Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix.
Murphy and his wife, Penny, were licensed as foster parents in 2005. He told earlier this year that they have cared for 35 children. They have adopted five children from CPS. Penny Murphy filed for divorce in September.
Lesko said she spoke with Murphy about two weeks ago and told him she intended to run for his Senate seat. She called him last Wednesday, the day before the District 21 meeting, to say she would be making her announcement.
“I told him I felt bad for him. I hope that he is successful in reuniting his family,” she said. “There was just too much uncertainty.”