Republican Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko Announces She Will Not Be Seeking Reelection

Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona announced Tuesday she would not run for reelection in 2024, citing a desire to spend time with family.

Lesko, who first was elected in an April 2018 special election to fill a seat vacated by then-Republican Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona following allegations of sexual misconduct, posted the announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter. She later won three full terms in her own right, according to her congressional website.

“It has been a great honor to serve the people of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in Congress, however, I have decided not to run for re-election in 2024” Lesko said in the statement. “I want to spend more time with my husband, my 94-year-old mother, my three children and my five grandchildren.”

“Spending, on average, three weeks out of every month away from my family, and traveling back and forth from Washington, D.C. almost every weekend is difficult,” Lesko continued. “Washington, D.C. is broken; it is hard to get anything done.”

Lesko ran unopposed for re-election in 2022, receiving 96.5% of the vote over two write-in candidates, Ballotpedia reported. She defeated Democratic candidate Michael Muscato in 2020 with 59.6% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia.

“I want to thank all the people who supported me throughout the years,” Lesko said in her statement. “Please know that my office and I will continue to passionately serve our constituents and our nation until the end of my term in January 2025.”

Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which seeks to elect Republicans to the house of Representatives, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about Lesko’s retirement.