Lesko Wins, Tipirneni Plans 2nd Challenge This Fall

If you thought yesterday’s election for the vacant seat in Arizona’s Congressional District 8 (CD8) meant the end of campaign signs around Anthem, Tramonto, New River and Desert Hills, think again. Republican Debbie Lesko beat Democrat Hiral Tipirneni in, to fill a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives created by the resignation of Trent Franks in December. But Lesko will have to run for the seat again in the regular November election.

As of the latest count by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office this morning, Lesko had 91,390 votes (52.6 percent) to Tipirneni’s 82,318 votes (47.7 percent). The win was not the landslide some had expected early in the race.

Because this was a special election, Lesko must run again for the seat this fall, as an incumbent. She may face a challenge from other Republicans in the primary, analysts say. And Tipirneni has said she plans to run again. “I congratulate Debbie Lesko on a hard-fought campaign, and wish her good luck in Congress,” Tipirneni said in a statement today. “Now, on to November.”

Robert Roy Britt

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. .