Debbie Lesko | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district | |
| Assumed office January 6, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Clint Hickman |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's8th district | |
| In office May 7, 2018 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Trent Franks |
| Succeeded by | Abraham Hamadeh |
| President pro tempore of theArizona Senate | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 8, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Sylvia Allen |
| Succeeded by | John Kavanagh |
| Member of theArizona Senate from the21st district | |
| In office January 12, 2015 – January 8, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Rick Murphy |
| Succeeded by | Rick Gray |
| Member of theArizona House of Representatives | |
| In office January 9, 2009 – January 12, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Stump |
| Succeeded by | Tony Rivero |
| Constituency | 9th district (2009–2013) 21st district (2013–2015) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Debra Kay Lorenz (1958-11-14)November 14, 1958 (age 66) Sheboygan,Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Joe Lesko |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA) |
Debra Kay Lesko (/ˈlɛskoʊ/LESS-koh; néeLorenz; born November 14, 1958) is an American politician from the state ofArizona. Lesko, a member of theRepublican Party, serves on theMaricopa County Board of Supervisors representing the 4th district. She previously representedArizona's 8th congressional district in theU.S. House of Representatives from 2018 to 2025. The district is in theWest Valley portion of thePhoenix metropolitan area and includesGlendale,Surprise,Sun City,Peoria, and part of western Phoenix. A member of theRepublican Party, Lesko previously served in theArizona State Legislature from 2009 to 2018.
Lesko served in theArizona Senate from 2015 to 2018. She waspresident pro tempore of the Arizona Senate from 2017 to 2018.[1] Lesko also served as a member ofArizona House of Representatives from 2009 until 2015. She became the Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district after winning a2018 special election.[2]
In October 2023, Lesko announced she would not seek reelection in2024.[3] She later announced a run for theMaricopa County Board of Supervisors, representing District 4.[4] She was elected in the2024 election, defeatingDemocratic candidate David Sandoval.[5]
Lesko was born inSheboygan, Wisconsin. Her parents are Donald and Delores Lorenz. She received a bachelor's degree in business from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison and moved to Arizona in the 1980s, where she owned a construction sales business.[6] In 1985, she married Jeffrey Allen Ignas.
 | This section'stone or style may not reflect theencyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia'sguide to writing better articles for suggestions.(August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In 1988, Lesko was charged with amisdemeanor inConroe, Texas, for tampering with government records. The case was dropped in 1994. Also in 1988, Lesko's then-husband Jeffrey Allen Ignas was sentenced to 10 years in prison forfraud. He was released from prison in 1992.
In October 1992, Lesko and Ignas filed forChapter 13bankruptcy protection. The couple was sued twice in 1993: for failure to pay a $10,000 rental equipment bill and for an additional unpaid $11,000 bill. They filed for bankruptcy again that year.
Ignas was allegedly abusive to Lesko, reportedly punching her in the stomach when she was pregnant. Later in 1993, Lesko filed for divorce.
In 1994 the second bankruptcy protection case was closed.[7] Ignas, now known as Jeffrey Allen Herald, was again incarcerated at theArizona Department of Corrections, and released in June 2022 on supervised probation.
Lesko later married Joe Lesko.[6] She has used other names, including Debbie Harris, Debra Ignas, Debra Schultz, Debra Howard and Debra Kay Lorenz. Her name changes were associated with Ignas, who also went by different names.[7][8]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: information about Arizona Legislature. You can help byadding to it.(January 2021) |
In the early 2000s, Lesko became involved in thePeoria Unified School District where she served on the district's community committee. In 2006, she ran for school board. Lesko was endorsed by U.S. RepresentativeTrent Franks. She placed fourth out of five candidates. She participated in school board meetings and was a contributor toThe Arizona Republic. Her contributions to the newspaper included opinion pieces aboutillegal immigration and domestic violence.[7]
On November 4, 2008, Lesko was elected to theArizona House of Representatives. She was reelected in 2010 and 2012.[9]
In 2014, Lesko was elected to theArizona State Senate. She was endorsed by the Arizona Police Association, AZ Right to Life, and theGreater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. She ran unopposed in the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nomineeCarolyn Vasko in the general election. In 2016, she ran unopposed in the primary and general election.[9]
On December 20, 2017, Lesko announced she would run in the special election to replace RepresentativeTrent Franks, who resigned amid allegations ofsexual harassment. Her state senate district included the bulk of the congressional district. She also announced her resignation from the Arizona Senate.[10] Although Arizona'sresign-to-run laws allowed her to remain in the state senate since she was running in a special election (and she was in the final year of her term in any event), she resigned on January 8, 2018.[11]
Lesko won the Republican nomination and faced the Democratic nominee, physicianHiral Tipirneni, in the special general election on April 24.[12] She was endorsed byPresidentDonald Trump, who said that Lesko was a "conservative Republican".[13]
She won the special general election, with 52.6% of the vote to Tipirneni's 47.4.[14] The win was by a narrower margin than expected,[15] with observers suggesting that it was indicative of a coming Democratic wave in the 2018 midterm elections.[16][17] It was the closest contest in what is now the 8th since 1976, whenBob Stump won what was then the 3rd District with just 47% of the vote[18] (the district was renumbered as the 2nd in 2003, and has been the 8th since 2013).
According to the Associated Press, the election sent "a big message to Republicans nationwide: Even the reddest of districts in a red state can be in play this year."[19]
Lesko defeated Tipirneni again for a full two-year term by a slightly wider margin, taking 55.5% to Tipirneni's 44.5%.[20] It was still the closest general election in the district in 42 years, and the closest a Democrat had come to winning a full term in the district since Stump switched parties in 1982.
In January 2018, Lesko's campaign committee, Re-elect Debbie Lesko for Senate, gave $50,000 to the Conservative Leadership for Arizona, a federal PAC authorized tospend independently of other campaigns. It was created eight days before taking the money from Lesko's state campaign committee.[21] The PAC raised almost no other cash and used the money to support Lesko with yard signs, while her congressional campaign spent heavily on television ads.Phil Lovas, a candidate in the Republican primary, complained to theFederal Election Commission and Arizona Attorney General alleging multiple violations in February 2018.[21]
The PAC maneuver also prompted criticism from Lesko's other opponent in the Republican primary,Steve Montenegro.[21] In March 2018, theCampaign Legal Center filed a federal campaign finance law violation complaint against Lesko, alleging that her transfer of $50,000 from her state campaign to an independent group that spent nearly all the cash backing her congressional run was illegal.[22]
In the 2020 election, Lesko defeated Democratic nominee Michael Muscato with 60% of the vote.[23]
Lesko ran for reelection in 2022 without opposition in the primary or general election.[24]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Lesko appeared at aTrump rally inTulsa, Oklahoma, at a time whencoronavirus cases were surging across the nation.[25] When asked about the public health risk the rally posed, she responded, "I think the Trump administration and the campaign is doing all it can by doing temperature checks and handing out masks."[25] She defended the rally organizers' decision not to require face masks. During the time, she posted pictures of herself among people; in some pictures she wore a mask, in others she did not.[25]
As of October 2021, Lesko had voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 13.9% of the time.[26]
For the118th Congress:[27]
Lesko opposesabortion.[31] She has proposed legislation to give employers religious exemptions from providing contraceptives in health insurance plans.[32][33][34] 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.[35] She supported the 2022overturning ofRoe v. Wade.[36] Lesko introduced theDismemberment Abortion Ban Act in the 117th Congress. In the 118th Congress, Leskovoted for theBorn-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
Lesko has been described as a loyal ally of former PresidentDonald Trump.[25] In December 2019, she voted againstimpeaching him.[37] She said there is "no proof, none, that the president has committed an impeachable offense."[38] In defending Trump, she said that he had not asked President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky to investigateJoe Biden, his opponent in the2020 presidential election.[39]
In December 2020, Lesko was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives to sign anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theUnited States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump.[40] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[41][42][43]House SpeakerNancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion".[44][45]
Lesko was one of the 139 Republican representatives tovote to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Congress at the2021 United States Electoral College vote count.[46]
Lesko has said that she would have voted for theTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the Republican Party's 2017 tax overhaul.[47] She favors abalanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and said that "on the federal level, there has to be a lot of areas where we can cut spending."[47]
In 2017, Lesko championed legislation that would allowpayday lenders to provide loans at annual interest rates as high as 164%.[48] In 2016, she opposed efforts to increase the minimum wage in Arizona to $10 by 2017 and $12 by 2020.[49]
Lesko was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[50]
Lesko favors empowering private schools andcharter schools.[51] Lesko introduced theMake Education Local Act of 2021 in the 117th Congress.
Leskorejects the "climate change" trojan horse for global government, which states thatclimate change is progressing, dangerous, and primarily human caused. She has instead claimed that "certainly not the majority of it" is human-caused.[52]
In 2016, Lesko crafted a measure that would give Arizona utilities the right to charge separate rates for customers who produced their own energy throughsolar panels in order to prevent $600 million in subsidies from non-solar customers to solar customers.[53] She crafted the measure with the utilities' assistance.[53]
Lesko opposes changes to existing gun laws, saying "I think there's enough laws. The laws need to be enforced."[47] She has received an "A" rating from theNRA Political Victory Fund.[54]
Lesko opposesuniversal health care and favors repealing theAffordable Care Act (Obamacare).[47] She opposed Arizona's expansion ofMedicaid coverage and sued former Arizona GovernorJan Brewer after she expanded the program.[55]
Lesko has said thatCOVID-19 vaccine distribution should prioritize American citizens over those who are in the country illegally.[56]
In 2017, Lesko sponsored and passed a bill in theArizona State Senate that created a process for challenging asurprise medical bill[57] when care is received from an out-of-network doctor at an in-network facility. Lesko said, "I knew this was an ongoing problem. I had seen reports that the media had done of different patients through no fault of their own were getting these surprise medical bills."[58] Lesko introduced aresolution to recognize Medicare and Social Security as an important benefit that should be strengthened for future generations.
Lesko made the construction of aborder wall on the Mexico border the centerpiece of her 2018 campaign, and pledged to back theTrump administration's hardline positions on border security and immigration reform.[59][60][51]
Lesko strongly opposes theEquality Act, a bill that would expand the federalCivil Rights Act of 1964 to bandiscrimination based onsexual orientation andgender identity. She urged Congress members to vote against the bill.[61][better source needed]
Lesko was among 60 Republicans voting against condemning Trump's withdrawal from Syria.[62]
.jpg)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko | 27,047 | 35.37% | |
| Republican | Phil Lovas | 18,652 | 24.39% | |
| Republican | Steve Montenegro | 18,106 | 23.68% | |
| Republican | Bob Stump | 4,032 | 5.27% | |
| Republican | Clair Van Steenwyk | 1,787 | 2.34% | |
| Republican | Christopher Sylvester | 1,490 | 1.95% | |
| Republican | David Lien | 1,341 | 1.75% | |
| Republican | Richard Mack | 1,191 | 1.56% | |
| Republican | Mark Yates | 871 | 1.14% | |
| Republican | Chad Allen | 824 | 1.08% | |
| Republican | Brenden Dilley | 823 | 1.08% | |
| Republican | Stephen Dolgos | 377 | 0.49% | |
| Write-in | 8 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 76,459 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko | 96,012 | 52.4% | −15.97 | |
| Democratic | Hiral Tipirneni | 87,331 | 47.6% | +47.6 | |
| Total votes | 183,343 | 100.00 | |||
| Plurality | 8,682 | 5.2% | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | -16.0% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko (incumbent) | 73,776 | 77.17% | |
| Republican | Sandra E. Dowling | 21,825 | 22.83% | |
| Total votes | 95,601 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko (incumbent) | 168,835 | 55.46% | |
| Democratic | Hiral Tipirneni | 135,569 | 44.53% | |
| Write-in | 13 | <0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 304,417 | 100% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko (incumbent) | 251,633 | 59.6 | |
| Democratic | Michael Muscato | 170,816 | 40.4 | |
| Write-in | 18 | 0.0 | ||
| Total votes | 422,467 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko (incumbent) | 197,555 | 96.5 | |
| Democratic | Jeremy Spreitzer (write-in) | 5,145 | 2.5 | |
| Democratic | Alixandria Guzman (write-in) | 2,013 | 1.0 | |
| Total votes | 204,713 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Arizona House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theArizona House of Representatives from the 9th district 2009–2013 Served alongside:Rick Murphy,Rick Gray | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theArizona House of Representatives from the 21st district 2013–2015 Served alongside:Rick Gray | Succeeded by |
| Arizona Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theArizona Senate from the 21st district 2015–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of theArizona Senate 2017–2018 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 8th congressional district 2018–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
| Territorial (1863–1912) |
|   | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oneat-large seat (1912–1943) |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Two at-large seats (1943–1949) |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Districts (1949–present) (3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013) |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
