Arizona Special Election Results – 8th House District: Republican Debbie Lesko Defeats Democrat Hiral Tipirneni

BLUE WAVE STOPPED, DEMOCRATS FAIL TO WIN AZ 8TH …

The former Arizona state senator Republican Debbie Lesko defeated Democratic Hiral Tipirneni to win the special congressional election for the 8th House District on Tuesday, 52.6% to 47.4%. Lesko’s victory guarantees that the GOP will hold on to a seat held previously by former Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), who resigned over a personal scandal. As stated at Breitbart, the Blue wave fizzles when Democrats act and conduct themselves as Democrats, not GOP like.

The “Blue Wave” concept had gained some credence in March when Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) defeated Republican Rick Saccone in a special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, which President Trump carried by 19 points in 2016.

But the special election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District Tuesday differed from last month’s special election in Pennsylvania in several ways.

First, Hiral Tipirneni was not the same kind of candidate as Conor Lamb, as Breitbart News reported:

Tipirneni’s professional background and political positioning differ from those of Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), a military veteran and attorney who parlayed his public opposition to Democrat Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) into a narrow victory over his Republican opponent in last month’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District.

“The heightened Republican voter turnout [in early voting] may have been influenced by recent reports questioning the professional background of Tipirneni, the Democrat candidate,” Breitbart News noted.

Second, Arizona’s 8th Congressional District is a traditionally Republican district, while Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District is more of a traditionally union oriented blue-collar Democratic district.