Loading AI tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A special election for Arizona's 8th congressional district was held in 2018 subsequent to the resignation of Republican U.S. Representative Trent Franks. Governor Doug Ducey called a special primary election for Tuesday, February 27, 2018, and a special general election for the balance of Franks' eighth term for Tuesday, April 24, 2018.[1][2]
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Arizona's 8th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 40.43% | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Precinct results | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Republican nominee and former Arizona Senate president pro tem Debbie Lesko won a closer-than-expected race against Democratic challenger Hiral Tipirneni.
Incumbent representative Trent Franks announced on December 7, 2017, that he would resign effective January 31, 2018, after admitting allegations regarding the issue of surrogacy. However, after his wife was hospitalized, Franks resigned effective December 8, 2017.[3]
Candidates must file nomination forms and petitions within 30 days of the governor's proclamation. Candidates in special congressional elections in Arizona must collect a number of valid signatures equal to at least one-fourth of 1% of the number of qualified signers in the district. For the 2018 special election, a Democratic candidate requires 665 signatures, a Green candidate requires 392 signatures, a Libertarian candidate requires 401 signatures, a Republican candidate requires 860 signatures, and an independent candidate requires 4,680 signatures.[4]
It was initially thought that Arizona's resign-to-run law would have required sitting members of the Arizona Legislature to resign their seats in order to run in the special election. Arizona's resign-to-run law does not require someone to resign if they file to run when they are in the final year of their term. However, the deadline to submit nominating petitions was January 10 and the end of the current term for members of the Arizona Legislature was January 14, 2019.[5] However, legal advice from the legislature's nonpartisan counsel stated that incumbent state legislators would not be required to resign in order to run in the special election.[6]
Two of the major candidates in the Republican primary drew controversy late in the campaign. Former state senator Steve Montenegro faced calls to withdraw, including by former governor Jan Brewer, after news articles revealing sexually suggestive text messages between Montenegro and a legislative staffer surfaced.[7] Additionally, complaints were filed against former state senator Debbie Lesko over her campaign finance records.[8]
Individuals
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Debbie Lesko |
Phil Lovas |
Richard Mack |
Steve Montenegro |
Bob Stump |
Clair Van Steenwyck |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC 15/OH Predictive Insights (R)[25] | January 29, 2018 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 21% | 12% | 1% | 21% | 10% | 5% | 24% |
| Remington Research (R-Jobs, Freedom, and Security PAC)[26] | January 20–21, 2018 | 787 | ± 3.5% | 22% | – | – | 24% | 11% | – | – |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Travis Angry |
Clint Hickman |
Debbie Lesko |
Phil Lovas |
Richard Mack |
Steve Montenegro |
Tony Rivero |
Bob Stump |
Christopher Sylvester |
Kimberly Yee |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC 15/OH Predictive Insights (R)[27] | December 11, 2017 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 1% | 15% | 16% | 2% | – | 1% | 1% | 18% | 2% | 7% | 37% |
| Data Orbital (R)[28] | December 9–11, 2017 | 400 | ± 4.9% | – | 9% | 15% | 2% | 3% | 4% | – | 10% | – | 7% | 51% |
with Clint Hickman and Kimberly Yee
| 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hiral Tipirneni | 23,175 | 60.22% | |
| Democratic | Brianna Westbrook | 15,288 | 39.72% | |
| Write-in | 22 | 0.06% | ||
| Total votes | 38,485 | 100% | ||
Each candidate received 13 write-in votes in the primary. Neither was placed on the special election ballot.[33]
The candidate received 22 write-in votes in the primary and was not placed on the special election ballot.[33]
.jpg)
.jpg)
Republican candidate Debbie Lesko received over $1 million in funding from Republican groups outside the state.[35]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[39] | Likely R | March 2, 2018 |
| Inside Elections/Rothenberg Political Report[40] | Likely R | February 28, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[41] | Likely R | March 14, 2018 |
Federal politicians
Local and state politicians
Organizations
Federal politicians
Local and state politicians
Labor unions
Organizations
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Debbie Lesko (R) |
Hiral Tipirneni (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College[74] | April 19–22, 2018 | 400 | ± 5.2% | 49% | 43% | – | 8% |
| Lake Research Partners (D-Tipirneni)[75] | April 14–16, 2018 | 408 | ± 4.9% | 44% | 44% | – | 11% |
| Emerson College[76] | April 12–15, 2018 | 400 | ± 5.2% | 45% | 46% | 4% | 5% |
| OH Predictive Insights[77] | April 11, 2018 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 53% | 43% | – | 4% |
| Lake Research Partners (D-Tipirneni)[78] | March 3–6, 2018 | 400 | – | 48% | 34% | – | 18% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Debbie Lesko | 96,012 | 52.37% | −16.18% | |
| Democratic | Hiral Tipirneni | 87,331 | 47.63% | N/A | |
| Total votes | '183,343' | '100%' | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
.jpg)
.jpg)
