A special election for Arizona's 8th congressional district was held in 2018 subsequent to the resignation of Republican U.S. Representative

Trent Franks Trent Franks (born June 19, 1957) is a former American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2017 (numbered as the 2nd district from 2003 to 2013). He is a member of the Republican Party. During his ...

. Governor

Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a ...

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. Republican nominee and former

Arizona Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

president pro tem

Debbie Lesko Debra Kay Lesko (née Lorenz; born November 14, 1958) is an American politician and a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing since 2018. The district is in the West Valley portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area ...

won a closer-than-expected race against

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

challenger

Hiral Tipirneni Hiral Vyas Tipirneni ( ; born September 28, 1967) is an Indian-American politician and physician. She worked for 10 years in Phoenix, Arizona area Emergency Departments, is a cancer research advocate, and serves on the board of directors of the ...

Background

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 Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

. However, after his wife was hospitalized, Franks resigned effective December 8, 2017. 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. It was initially thought that Arizona's resign-to-run law would have required sitting members of the

Arizona Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the s ...

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 will be January 10 and the end of the current term for members of the

is January 14, 2019. 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.

Republican primary

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 Janice Kay Brewer ('' née'' Drinkwine, formerly Warren; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician and author who was the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Brewer is the fourth woman (and was ...

, after news articles revealing sexually suggestive text messages between Montenegro and a legislative staffer surfaced. Additionally, complaints were filed against former state senator Debbie Lesko over her campaign finance records.

Candidates

Declared

* Chad Allen, health care executive * Brenden Dilley, author, entrepreneur and host of Your Voice America * Stephen Dolgos, independent candidate for Arizona's 8th congressional district in 2012 and 2014 *

, former State Senator * Phil Lovas, former State Representative, Arizona State Chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, and Regional Advocate for the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and str ...

's Office of Advocacy. * David Lien, teacher and former

Willmar, Minnesota Willmar is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division point on the Great Northern ...

council member *

Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...

, teacher and former Graham County Sheriff * Steve Montenegro, former State Senator *

Bob Stump Robert Lee Stump (April 4, 1927 – June 20, 2003) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from Arizona. He served as a member from the Democratic Party from 1977 to 1983 and then later a member of the Republican Party unti ...

, former Arizona Corporation Commissioner * Christopher Sylvester, Navy veteran * Clair Van Steenwyk, radio host and candidate for the seat in 2016 * Mark Yates

Withdrew

* Kevin Cavanaugh, former deputy sheriff

Declined

* Clint Hickman, Maricopa County Supervisor *

Kimberly Yee Kimberly Yee (born February 23, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 36th Arizona state treasurer. She is the first Asian-American woman elected to the Arizona State Legislature. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected to th ...

, State Senator and candidate for State Treasurer in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Endorsements

Debates

* Includes video of debate, January 24, 2018.

Polling

;with Clint Hickman and Kimberly Yee

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* Hiral Tipirneni, emergency department physician * Brianna Westbrook, political activist and LGBTQ community leader

Declined

* Robert Schuster,

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

student * Robert Olsen

Results

Green primary

Candidates

Declared

* Richard Grayson (write-in), candidate in Green Party presidential primary in Arizona in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Gary Swing (write-in), Green Party candidate for U.S. Senator in Arizona in 2016 Each candidate received 13 write-in votes in the primary. Neither was placed on the special election ballot.

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

* Kelly Noble (write-in) The candidate received 22 write-in votes in the primary and was not placed on the special election ballot.

General election

Republican candidate Debbie Lesko received over $1 million in funding from Republican groups outside the state.

Candidates

( Republican), former State Senator *

(

), emergency department physician

Debates

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Results

References

External links

Video of March 26, 2018 debate
Arizona PBS ;Official Campaign Websites
Debbie Lesko (R) for Congress

Hiral Tipirneni (D) for Congress
{{2018 United States elections 2018 16 Arizona 8 Arizona 2018 8 Arizona 2018 8 8th congressional district special election United States House of Representatives 2018 8

Background

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Debates

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Results

Green primary

Candidates

Declared

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

General election

Candidates

Debates

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links