Debbie Lesko is an extreme
far-right Trumpanzee/MAGA Republican member
of the U.S. House, representing Arizona's
8th Congressional District. She assumed
office on May 7, 2018. Her current term ends
on January 3, 2025. Lesko filed for
re-election to Arizona's 8th Congressional
District in 2024, but withdrew from the race
on October 17, 2023. She will not appear on
the ballot for the Republican primary on
July 30, 2024. The district is in the West Valley
portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area and
includes Glendale, Surprise, Sun City,
Peoria, and part of western Phoenix. Lesko
served in the Arizona Senate from 2015 to
2018. She was president pro tempore of the
Arizona Senate from 2017 to 2018. Lesko also
served as a member of Arizona House of
Representatives from 2009 until 2015. She
became the Representative for Arizona's 8th
congressional district after winning a 2018
special election. Lesko is a member of the
radical pro-insurrectionist "Freedom
Caucus".
"It’s part of what is called
the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a bill
originating with ... Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, working
with Sen. Mark Kelly and Republicans." [ . . . ]
"When the bill came up for a vote in the House, 24
Republicans sided with Democrats to pass it. None of
those Republicans were from Arizona, which would
reap the most benefits from the legislation.
Republican
Reps.
Andy Biggs,
Paul Gosar, Debbie Lesko and
David Schweikert all voted against it."
"Several Republican members of
Arizona’s congressional delegation co-sponsored
legislation that is receiving new scrutiny after the
Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are
children. Republican Reps.
Andy Biggs,
Eli Crane,
Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko co-sponsored
the Life at Conception Act, which would give
constitutional equal protection rights to the
unborn. And Rep.
David Schweikert co-sponsored an identical,
older version of the bill in 2021. Unlike similar
legislation that Republicans ran in the U.S. Senate
in 2017, the House bill, which would ban nearly all
abortions nationwide, does not include an IVF
exception.
The proposal is drawing comparisons to a decision by
the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled that frozen
embryos are considered children under a Civil
War-era state law that lets parents sue over the
death of a child."
"Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko
unexpectedly filed to run on Friday for a reliably
red open seat on the Maricopa County Board of
Supervisors, a move that comes as mainstream
Democrats and Republican election-deniers are each
hoping to take control of the five-member body that
governs the state's largest county. Should Lesko,
who announced her retirement from Congress in
October, follow through and launch a campaign, a win
for her would be a victory for those far-right
forces. The congresswoman belongs to the nihilistic
Freedom Caucus, and she's consistently supported
her party's most extreme positions, including voting
to overturn the 2020 presidential election. By
contrast, the man Lesko is hoping to replace,
Supervisor
Clint Hickman, is part of the GOP majority that
has faced years of harassment from promoters of the
Big Lie. Last year, an Iowa man was sentenced to two
and a half years in prison for sending death threats
to Hickman and other officeholders."
"It SHOULD come as a surprise.
But this is Arizona, so it doesn’t. The argument
made by the likes of Reps.
Andy Biggs,
Eli Crane,
Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko would
probably mimic the claims of Republican House
leadership. That is: Santos has yet to be convicted
in court."
"The U.S. House of
Representatives voted 336-95 to pass a two-step
government funding bill Tuesday, with five Arizona
Republicans opposed to the measure. The Senate has
the rest of the week to pass the measure to avert a
partial government shutdown on Saturday." [ . . . ]
"Reps.
Andy Biggs,
Eli Crane,
Paul Gosar,
Debbie Lesko and
David Schweikert of Arizona were among the 93
Republicans who voted against the measure. Just two
House Democrats opposed it."
"Five Arizona Republican
members of the House voted against a last-minute
deal Saturday aimed at preventing a government
shutdown, but the measure passed anyway. Republican
Reps.
Andy Biggs,
Eli Crane,
Paul Gosar, Debbie Lesko and
David Schweikert were among the 90 members of
their party who opposed the continuing resolution,
which aims to keep federal spending at current
levels for another 45 days while
cutting funding to
Ukraine."
"Eleven GOP senators
and 58 members of the House filed a brief
supporting U.S. District Judge Matthew
Kacsmaryk’s decision to suspend the Food and
Drug Administration’s approval of
mifepristone, one of two drugs taken in pill
form in medication abortions." [...] "Kacsmaryk
based his decision on an 1873
anti-pornography law called the Comstock
Act, claiming that abortion drugs are
“nonmailable” and that the FDA didn’t follow
proper procedure in granting approval all
those years ago. Among the Republicans
looking to set back women’s reproductive
freedom roughly a century and a half are
Arizona Republican Reps.
Andy Biggs,
Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko."
"Promoting her
proposed legislation to “save” America’s gas
stoves from a supposed ban by the Biden
administration, Rep. Debbie Lesko
(R-AZ) thanked Fox News anchor John Roberts
on Wednesday for supplying her with “talking
points” on this latest culture war battle."
Lesko
opposes
abortion.
She has
proposed
legislation
to give
employers
religious
exemptions
from
providing
contraceptives
in
health
insurance
plans.
She has
proposed
legislation
that
would
allow
health
officials
to
conduct
warrantless
and
unannounced
inspections
of
abortion
clinics,
which
critics
said
undermined
the
privacy
of the
clinics'
patients.
She
supported
the 2022
overturning
of
Roe v.
Wade.
Lesko
introduced
the
Dismemberment
Abortion
Ban Act
in the
117th
Congress.
In the
118th
Congress,
Lesko
voted
for the
Born-Alive
Abortion
Survivors
Protection
Act.
Donald
Trump
Lesko
has been
described
as a
loyal
ally of
former
President
Donald
Trump.
In
December
2019,
she
voted
against
impeaching
him. She
said
there is
"no
proof,
none,
that the
president
has
committed
an
impeachable
offense."
In
defending
Trump,
she
claimed
that he
had not
asked
President
of
Ukraine
Volodymyr
Zelensky
to
investigate
Joe
Biden,
his
opponent
in the
2020
presidential
election.
In
December
2020,
Lesko
was one
of 126
Republican
members
of the
House of
Representatives
to sign
an
amicus
brief in
support
of
Texas v.
Pennsylvania,
a
lawsuit
filed at
the
United
States
Supreme
Court
contesting
the
results
of the
2020
presidential
election,
in which
Biden
defeated
Trump.
The
Supreme
Court
declined
to hear
the case
on the
basis
that
Texas
lacked
standing
under
Article
III of
the
Constitution
to
challenge
the
results
of an
election
held by
another
state.
House
Speaker
Nancy
Pelosi
issued a
statement
that
called
signing
the
amicus
brief an
act of
"election
subversion".
Lesko
was one
of the
139
Republican
representatives
to vote
to
overturn
the
results
of the
2020
presidential
election
in
Congress
at the
2021
United
States
Electoral
College
vote
count.
Education
Lesko
favors
empowering
private
schools
and
charter
schools.
Lesko
introduced
the
Make
Education
Local
Actof
2021
in the
117th
Congress.
Environment
and
energy
Lesko
rejects
the
scientific
consensus
on
climate
change,
which
states
that
climate
change
is
progressing,
dangerous,
and
primarily
human
caused.
She has
instead
claimed
that
"certainly
not the
majority
of it"
is
human-caused.
Gun
policy
Lesko
opposes
changes
to
existing
gun
laws,
saying
"I think
there's
enough
laws.
The laws
need to
be
enforced."
She has
received
an "A"
rating
from the
National
Rifle
Association.
Health
care
Lesko
opposes
universal
health
care and
favors
repealing
the
Affordable
Care Act
(Obamacare).
She
opposed
Arizona's
expansion
of
Medicaid
coverage
and sued
former
Arizona
Governor
Jan
Brewer
after
she
expanded
the
program.
Lesko
has said
that
COVID-19
vaccine
distribution
should
prioritize
American
citizens
over
those
who are
in the
country
illegally.
LGBT
rights
Lesko
strongly
opposes
the
Equality
Act, a
bill
that
would
expand
the
federal
Civil
Rights
Act of
1964 to
ban
discrimination
based on
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity.
She
urged
Congress
members
to vote
against
the
bill.
The
Arizona
Republic
via The
Rose Law
Group
Reporter
Jul. 15,
2022
"Elected
officials
and
candidates
for
office
in 2022
continue
to
challenge
and
question
the
results
of the
2020
presidential
election
in
Arizona.
The
results
have
been
examined
and
re-examined,
challenged
in court
and in a
monthslong
ballot
review.
No
evidence
has been
found of
widespread
fraud or
error in
the
results.
Yet
candidates
deny the
outcome.
Others
don't
quite go
as far.
But they
raise
questions
about
potential
irregularities
they say
could
have
influenced
the vote
and
should
be
examined.
The
Arizona
Republic
is
listing
candidates
by
category
by the
race
that
they are
entered
in. This
list is
not
complete
and will
be
updated
throughout
the 2022
election
season.
Election
deniers
These
candidates
in
Arizona
races
deny
that Joe
Biden
won the
2020
presidential
election,
either
in
Arizona
or
nationwide."
Position Sought:
U.S.
House of
Representatives
CD-8
Question 4: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” and “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in nondiscrimination law.
Candidates' Position: Oppose.
Question 9: Protecting individuals and businesses from being required to provide services or use their artistic expression in a manner that violates their moral or religious beliefs.*
"Scottsdale detectives
interviewed Lesko, then known by her maiden
name, Debra Lorenz, and a series of aliases,
in a 1985 case that sent her husband to
prison, police records show. Authorities
suspected she may have helped craft
documents in connection with his fraudulent
activity"
"Arizona Republican
Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, who represents
the state's 8th Congressional District, was
heckled and exited the stage during a
commencement speech at a high school
graduation ceremony on Friday. The Arizona
Virtual Academy’s ceremony was held in
Glendale, close to Lesko’s district.
Graduate Juliana Butler was upset at Lesko’s
speech. “I thought it was very
inappropriate, and I was honestly really
shocked that that was even allowed. I don’t
know who OK'd that,” said Juliana Butler.
She says Lesko failed to mention the
graduates and their accomplishments, and
polled the audience on school choice and
federal student loan forgiveness. “I have
heard other commencement speakers make
speeches, and they were just very
motivating. Nothing to do with politics, or
religion or anything. It was just about the
graduates. And she seemed to not grasp that
and not put that like in her speech at all,”
said Juliana Butler."
"Testimony to the Jan.
6 select committee puts Republican Lesko,
along with
Andy Biggs and
Paul Gosar, at one
of the White House meetings aimed at
overturning the 2020 election."
"Kari Lake, a former TV anchor who's running for governor, began her speech with the theme of some of the other speakers, praising America under Trump and listing its problems under Biden. As did others, she called Trump “president” and slammed the 2020 election as “rotten to the core.""
[ . . . ]
"We are so blessed to have Donald Trump with us here today. We know the election was stolen,” state Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, said when she took the stage, echoing the sentiments of other speakers and crowd members, who cheered her in response."
[ . . . ]
"Arizona Republican U.S. Reps. Debbie Lesko, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, the latter two national leaders in the spread of falsehoods over the 2020 election, also spoke at the rally"
"Three of Arizona's
four House
Republicans voted
Tuesday against
banning Confederate
statues from the
U.S. Capitol in an
issue shaped by the
Jan. 6 riot and GOP
pushback on
discussing systemic
racism."
"House Democrats, aided by 35 Republicans,
voted 252-175 to pass a bill to create a 10-member commission.
[...] Biggs was joined in voting no Wednesday by fellow Arizona
Republicans Paul Gosar,
Debbie Lesko and
David Schweikert, all
three of whom are Freedom Caucus members."
"After the nation and the world expressed
shock and horror when an angry mob of supporters of President
Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol yesterday, some
Arizona Republicans are now claiming, with no proof, that
leftist agitators caused the mayhem [...] There is no
significant evidence that anti-fascist activists caused
yesterday's attack on the Capitol despite the litany of baseless
online rumors and conspiracy theories. But the statements by
Arizona Republicans attributing the violence to leftist
agitators is part of a broader effort by pro-Trump conservatives
nationwide to deflect blame away from the president and his
supporters."
"Trump Zone Cult Residents and Perennial
Right-Wing Reactionaries Debbie Lesko and
Andy Biggs, along with
104 members of the Trump National Fascist Party, have signed on
to support legally and ethically challenged Texas Attorney
General Ken Paxton’s Hail Mary petition to the Supreme Court to
“nullify” the Presidential Election results of Georgia,
Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin."
Position Sought:
U.S.
House of
Representatives
CD-8
Question
5: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” and “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in nondiscrimination law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose
Question
12: Adding Protecting individuals and businesses from being required to provide services or use their artistic expression in a manner that violates their moral or religious beliefs.*
"The Equality
Act would
add sexual
orientation and
gender identity to
existing federal
civil rights
laws...opponents
have tried to
characterize the
bill as a threat to
women’s rights
because of its
transgender-inclusive
provisions."
"Lesko relented after ARMPAC,
the Arizona Medical
Political Action
Committee, which has
endorsed her, told
Lesko
in a meeting they
viewed the "campaign
signs as an insult
to the medical
profession,
discounting the
education and
training required of
physicians to become
licensed and
credentialed."
"Tipirneni has had a valid medical license since 1997. She spent 10 years working as a doctor in Valley emergency rooms and currently works in cancer research advocacy. The signs say they are paid for by
Debbie Lesko for Congress."
Oct. 8, 2018
Center
for
Arizona
Policy
2018 Survey
Questions For
Arizona Candidates
Position Sought:
United States
Representative CD-8
Question
4:
Protecting
individuals and
businesses from
being required to
use their artistic
expression in a
manner that violates
their conscience
Candidates'
Position:
Support*
Question
9:Adding “sexual
orientation,”
“gender identity,”
or “gender
expression” to the
protected classes of
race, religion, age,
sex, and ancestry in
nondiscrimination
law
"Debbie Lesko, the
Republican candidate for Tuesday’s special
election to Arizona’s 8th Congressional
District, cut her teeth in the state
legislature, where she has long served as
the point person for corporate lobbyists to
shape public policy. Lesko’s work attending
to corporate interests was mainly carried
out through her position as a senior member
of the American Legislative Exchange
Council, also known as
ALEC. [...] State legislative records
show that Lesko, a board member of ALEC,
routinely sponsored ALEC model bills, often
without changing more than a few words."
"Republican Debbie
Lesko is Arizona’s crusader for conservative
“school choice”—and, unless Democrats can
stop her in April's special election, she’s
about to go national."
Question
4:
Adding "sexual orientation,"
"gender identity," or "gender
expression" to the protected
classes of race, religion, age,
sex, and ancestry in
nondiscrimination law.
Candidates'
Position:
Oppose
Question
6:
Prohibiting government from
discriminating against an
individual, organization, or
small business based on their
beliefs about marriage.*
Candidates'
Position:
Support
Question
10:
Implementing policies to allow
students and faculty to use the
restroom, locker room, and
shower room that aligns with
their gender identity.
Question
9: Arizona’s voter-approved constitutional definition of marriage should be defended to the fullest extent legally possible.
Candidates'
Position: Support
Question
11: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in antidiscrimination law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose
Question
15: Protecting individuals and businesses from being required to provide services or use their artistic expression in a manner that violates their moral or religious beliefs.*
PLEASE NOTE:
A "Yes" vote would
allow ranch dogs to
be neglected or
abandoned, killed
and tortured. It
would allow the owner of a ranch dog
to inflict
unnecessary injury
to the animal and
not provide medical
attention.
Question
9: Amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Candidates'
Position: Support
Question
11: Adding
“sexual
orientation,”
“gender
identity,”
or
“gender
expression”
to the
protected
classes
of race,
religion,
age,
sex, and
ancestry
in
nondiscrimination
law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose
Question
15: Protecting professionals from being required to provide services that violate their moral or religious beliefs.*
Question
9: Amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Candidates'
Position: Support
Question
12: Adding
“sexual
orientation,”
“gender
identity,”
or
“gender
expression”
to the
protected
classes
of race,
religion,
age,
sex, and
ancestry
in
nondiscrimination
law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose
Question
15: Protecting professionals from being required to provide services that violate their moral or religious beliefs.*
