Debbie Lesko

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Debbie Lesko

Debra Kay "Debbie" Lesko (born Lorenz , born November 14, 1958 in Sheboygan , Wisconsin ) is an American politician with the Republican Party . She has been a member of the US House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th Congressional electoral district since May 2018 . She was previously a member of both chambers of the local state legislature .

Family and education

Lesko earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin .

In the mid-1990s, Lesko left her then-husband, who had been violent against her for years and threatened to kill Lesko and seize their daughter. Since then, she has been volunteering at a counseling center against domestic violence.

Lesko lives in Peoria , is married and has three grown children.

Political career

At the state level

Lesko has been politically active since about 1998, initially for about a decade as a volunteer within the Republican Party of Arizona and at the local level in education and volunteering. Lesko was President of the Republicans in Legislative District 9 of Arizona and was responsible for voter registration in Maricopa County within her party . She also served as the hearing officer for the North Valley Justice Court . From 2005 to 2008 she served on the board of directors of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers and is a member of the Lions Club and the gun lobbyist National Rifle Association .

In September 2008 Lesko was elected to the House of Representatives of Arizona for the 21st, especially Peoria comprehensive constituency. She was a member of this chamber of the State Legislature from 2009 to 2015, from 2010 to 2012 as managing director of the majority parliamentary group ( Majority Whip ). In the 2014 election, she was elected to the other chamber, the Senate of Arizona , for the geographically identical 21st Senate District , to which she was a member from 2015 to 2018, from 2017 as Senate President pro tempore . As a personal achievement, she said she pushed through a complex amendment to state police and fire department pension rights legislation that saved $ 500 million annually in public funds.

In the State Senate, Lesko was a member of the Approval, Health and Rules Committee. In 2016, she was also Chair of the Finance Committee and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Budget and Public Debt Reform. She resigned from her mandate on January 8, 2018 to focus on campaigning for the US House of Representatives.

In the US House of Representatives

After the former Republican MP for the 8th Congressional constituency of the state , Trent Franks , resigned on charges of sexual assault against two employees in December 2017, there was an extraordinary by-election for his seat in the United States House of Representatives , with Debbie Lesko advocating the Republicans applied for. In the internal party primary , Lesko was the only woman to prevail in a field of twelve applicants. It received 35.8 percent of the votes cast (around 25,000 out of a total of 71,000).

In the by-election on April 24, 2018, Lesko beat her Democratic opponent Hiral Tipirneni with 52.6 to 47.4 percent of the vote. The congressional electoral district, which includes the western suburbs of Phoenix , is considered one of the conservative Republican strongholds in Arizona with a largely white and older population, including the retired town of Sun City . Donald Trump won the district in the 2016 presidential election by 21 percentage points. Republican-minded groups from outside supported Lesko's campaign with over $ 1 million after Democrat Conor Lamb won an extraordinary by-election in a conservative Pennsylvania congressional district the month before . Lesko's narrow victory was seen as a negative signal for the Republicans, who can expect losses in the mid-term elections in November 2018 . While Tiperni campaigned for general health insurance, Lesko described these plans as too radical for this district and, among other things, spoke out in favor of building a wall on the border with Mexico . Lesko also praised the tax reform implemented by the Republicans in Congress in 2017, which provides for a wide reduction in tax rates, especially for high incomes. President Trump had stayed out of the election campaign. The last time a Democrat won the constituency was in the early 1980s. Tiperni announced that he would apply again for this mandate in the regular election in November 2018 . After the victory of both in the respective party internal area code on August 28, 2018, they competed against each other again in the main election in November 2018. Lesko won this time with 56.7% of the vote against Tipirneni, who received 43.3%.

Lesko was sworn in in Congress on May 7, 2018 and then took up her mandate. She joined the right-wing conservative Freedom Caucus - to which her predecessor Trent Franks also belonged - as the only female member.

The White House announced in January 2020 that Lesko would join the defense advisory team on the impeachment proceedings against the president . This includes the coordination of the defense strategy, but no own appearances before the Senate .

Positions and Awards

Lesko has positioned herself as a conservative Republican and supporter of President Trump and his politics . She advocates stronger border security and a tougher application of laws against immigration. In September 2013, as one of 36 Republican elected officials, she supported an - ultimately unsuccessful - lawsuit against Republican Governor Jan Brewer to prevent the planned expansion of Obamacare at the state level. In 2014 she achieved that golf carts - which are preferred as a means of transport by many pensioners in her constituency - can be used on the edge of public roads on an equal footing with other means of transport.

Lesko has been recognized for her legislative work by business-related organizations, such as "Leader of the Year in Public Policy" by the Arizona Capitol Times newspaper , "Legislator of the Year" 2013 by the Association of Retailers of the State ( Arizona Retailers ) and as Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Businesses . She chairs the American Legislative Exchange Council for Arizona and serves on its federal board of directors . In terms of educational policy, Lesko advocates extensive freedom of choice in the interests of conservative politicians such as the US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos , which would limit the obligation to attend public schools compared to giving home lessons .

Web links

Commons : Debbie Lesko  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. In: Roll Call.
  2. ↑ a b c Kris Pickel: CD 8 special election: Get to know Debbie Lesko. In: AZFamily.com , February 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b Debbie Lesko. In: AZSenateRepublicans.com (English).
  4. ↑ Lesko, Debbie. In: OurCampaigns.com (English).
  5. ↑ a b Debbie Lesko's Biography. In: VoteSmart.org (English).
  6. ↑ a b Bob Christie: Similar GOP candidates vie for Arizona Rep. Franks' seat. In: AZFamily , February 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Senate Member: Debbie Lesko. In: AZLeg.gov (English).
  8. ^ Jasmine C. Lee, Matthew Bloch: Arizona Special Primary Election Results: Eighth House District. In: The New York Times , February 28, 2018.
  9. ^ Arizona Special Election Results: Eighth House District. In: The New York Times , April 26, 2018.
  10. ^ Republican Wins US House Race in Arizona GOP Stronghold. In: Fox News , April 24, 2018.
  11. ^ Dan Merica: Republican Debbie Lesko wins in Arizona special election. In: CNN.com , April 25, 2018.
  12. ↑ Bob Christie, Anita Snow: Republican Debbie Lesko Wins Arizona Special Election, Keeping the House Seat in GOP Hands. In: Time , April 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Arizona Primary Election Results. In: The New York Times , August 29, 2018.
  14. ↑ Debbie Lesko - Ballotpedia . In: Ballotpedia . ( ballotpedia.org [accessed November 30, 2018]).
  15. ↑ Mike DeBonis: Debbie Lesko is sworn into the House, replacing Rep Trent Franks.. In: The Washington Post , May 7, 2018.
  16. ^ Kyle Cheney: All-male Freedom Caucus anticipates new female member. In: Politico , April 25, 2018.
  17. ^ Statement from the Press Secretary Announcing Congressional Members of the President's Impeachment Team. In: White House. January 20, 2020, accessed on January 31, 2020 .
  18. ^ Mary K. Reinhart: Goldwater Institute sues over Arizona Medicaid law. In: AZCentral.com , September 12, 2013; Will Stone: Repeal Of Health Law Could Force Tough Decisions For Arizona Republicans. In: National Public Radio , March 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ Kaitlyn Schallhorn: Who is Debbie Lesko? 3 things to know about Arizona's newest congresswoman. In: Fox News , April 25, 2018.
  20. ^ Graham Vyse: Is Washington Ready for Another Betsy DeVos? In: The New Republic , March 28, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Lesko, Debbie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lesko, Debra Kay; Lorenz, Debra Kay (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Sheboygan , Wisconsin