Indianz.Com > News > Cronkite News: Republican lawmaker from Arizona won’t run again
Heated race likely to succeed Lesko, who will leave ‘broken’ Washington
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Declaring Washington “broken,” four-term Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, made the surprise announcement Tuesday that she will serve out her current term but will not seek reelection next year.
The announcement shocked political observers who said Lesko’s departure opens the door to what will likely be a crowded, and costly, GOP primary to replace her in what has been called a solidly Republican district.
“It’s going to be one of the most watched races in the state, all of a sudden,” said Paul Bentz, senior vice president of research and strategy for Highground Inc. “This is a pretty shocking announcement that creates a very competitive race that a lot of people are going to jump into.”

Lesko won the seat after defeating 11 other candidates in a Republican primary to succeed former Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale, who resigned in the face of a House Ethics Committee investigation of allegations that he sexually harassed female staffers. She won election to the full term just months later, and has been reelected by comfortable margins ever since. The 8th District, which covers much of the Valley northwest of Phoenix, has been rated a “solid Republican” seat. Noble predicts that the race to replace Lesko will not just be crazy, but it’s “unequivocally going to be a mad dash, insane primary.” “I think it’ll be another expensive race and a very bloody race to say the least. But it should make for good news and entertainment,” Noble said. Within hours of Lesko posting her announcement, failed 2022 GOP attorney general nominee Abe Hamadeh had thrown his hat in the ring, saying he will run for the 8th District seat. And experts say he definitely will not be the last. Other names that have been mentioned include Blake Masters, the 2022 GOP Senate nominee who lost to Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and who was reportedly considering another Senate run, in a race that already has two Republicans running. “It’s a pressure release valve for some of these Republicans to go to this congressional race which is wide open right now, instead of being in some of these other spots,” Bentz said. J. Miles Coleman of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics said the 8th District is a safe Republican seat – for now. But he said a nominee from the fringes of the party might not do as well as Lesko has. “This is an area where Republicans, they may end up going with a riskier nominee, say a Masters or a Hamadeh. But they probably do have some candidates who are more in the mold of a Lesko who would be more of a less-rock-the-boat type of Republican,” Coleman said. Bentz described Lesko as a “strong conservative fighter” – she has a lifetime rating of 92.18% from the Conservative Political Action Conference for her voting record – but he, along with other experts, agree with her that Washington is “broken.” “Getting things done, especially in a very intransigent and very partisan environment has been very difficult,” Bentz said. For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.A statement from Congresswoman Debbie Lesko ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ziBheGVDbz
— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) October 17, 2023
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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