Debbie Lesko
was an extreme
far-right, MAGA Republican extremist 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. 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". Lesko is running for election
to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
to represent District 4 in Arizona. She is
on the ballot in the primary on July 30,
2024.
"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.
"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."
"Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) caused a stir this week when she took the floor of the House to oppose a gun safety bill and in the process seemed to vow to shoot her own grandchildren. “I have five grandchildren,” the congresswoman began in her Tuesday speech. “I would do anything—anything—to protect my five grandchildren. Including, as a last resort, shooting them, if I had to, to protect the lives of my grandchildren.” Growing more angry, Lesko then accused Democrats of trying to “take away my right to protect my grandchildren” and “the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect their own children.”"
"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."
"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."
"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."
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.
