GOP Congresswoman Announces Her Retirement: 'Washington D.C. Is Broken'
A Republican member of the House of Representatives announced Tuesday that she would not be seeking reelection in 2024, citing time spent away from her family for very little benefit in a “broken” government that isn’t accomplishing much.
“It has been a great honor to serve the people of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in Congress,” Rep. Debbie Lesko said in a statement posted Tuesday to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, “however, I have decided not to run for reelection in 2024.
“I want to spend more time with my husband, my 94-year-old mother, my three children, and my five grandchildren,” she added.
Lesko said she spent nearly 75 percent of her time in Washington or traveling back and forth from Arizona, and she no longer considered the game worth the candle.
“Right now, Washington, D.C. is broken,” she wrote. “[i]t is hard to get anything done.”
A statement from Congresswoman Debbie Lesko ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ziBheGVDbz
— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) October 17, 2023
Lesko first entered Congress when she won a special election in 2018 when Rep. Trent Franks resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. She previously served for 10 years in the Arizona state legislature, holding a House seat for three terms and a Senate seat for two.
Lesko said she would continue to serve out the remainder of her term.
On the same day as Lesko’s announcement, former Arizona attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh announced that he would be running to succeed Lesko in the 8th District.
Our country is in desperate need of courageous fighters, and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’m running for Congress in Arizona’s 8th District,” Hamadeh announced in an X post a little more than two hours after Lesko’s post.
“President Trump is under attack,” he wrote. “He needs back up — and I’m ready to help him Make America Great Again.”
Our country is in desperate need of courageous fighters, and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’m running for Congress in Arizona’s 8th District.
President Trump is under attack.
He needs back up — and I’m ready to help him Make America Great Again. pic.twitter.com/bN4Z1TZUns
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) October 18, 2023
He also responded to Lesko’s post, thanking her for her “years of service to Arizona.”
Politico noted that former President Donald Trump won Lesko’s district by 13 points in 2020, calling Arizona’s 8th Congressional District “safely Republican.”
The Hill, however, claimed that “all eyes will be on Arizona in the upcoming election year” because the state overall has been trending less reliably Republican-leaning “in recent election cycles.”
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