GOP eat there young...

Candidate in sexting scandal loses Arizona primary

By ELENA SCHNEIDER

Debbie Lesko, a former state senator, won a special Republican primary election Tuesday for an Arizona House seat, beating nearly a dozen other Republicans, including Steve Montenegro, a state Senate colleague who was drawn into a sexting scandal in the final week of the campaign.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Lesko finished 36 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press. Montenegro received 24 percent of the vote. Phil Lovas, who served as the state chairman of now-President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, also received 24 percent.

During the final week of the primary, a bombshell report of nude photos and text messages exchanged between Montenegro and a legislative staffer left GOP operatives worried that the seat would be at risk in the general election if Montenegro was elected.

Lesko's victory gives Republicans an advantage for holding onto the suburban Phoenix seat, which backed Donald Trump by 21 points in 2016. But she's faced her own bad headlines: Lovas filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Lesko's campaign for allegedly steering $50,000 from her state Senate account to a PAC supporting her congressional bid.

Lesko's campaign has denied any wrongdoing and is threatening to sue Lovas.

Lesko is hoping to replace GOP Rep. Trent Franks, who endorsed Montenegro. Franks resigned from the seat last year, after reports that he discussing surrogacy with female staffers, leaving the aides concerned that Franks was asking to have sexual relations with them.

Lesko will face off against Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, a physician, in a special election on April 24. Tipirneni defeated Brianna Westbrook, a transgender, first-time candidate, in Tuesday's Democratic primary.

Despite the district's strong Republican lean, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez congratulated Tipirneni on Twitter, before adding: "I'm ready to flip one more district blue."

Republicans rallied around Lesko within minutes of the AP declaring her the victor. NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) said the committee would endorse Lesko, calling her "well-respected in this Arizona community." House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) congratulated Lesko and said she "ran a strong campaign that focused on the conservative values of Arizona's 8th Congressional District."