Months after Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko abruptly announced she would not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Peoria-area lawmaker has filed to run for a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Lesko plans to run to represent the 4th Congressional District, a conservative-leaning area that stretches across the northwestern Valley and includes some of the same geographic area as her congressional district.
The announcement came days after coach Clint Hickman announced he would not seek re-election.
Hickman has held the position for more than a decade and was one of several county supervisors to face false claims of election fraud after the 2020 and 2022 elections.
Lesko paid tribute to Hickman in a message posted on social media platform X on Friday.
“Thank you Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman for your service to the great people of the West Valley and Maricopa County! We wish you and your family all the best in your future endeavors. You for the people of the West Valley His work will be remembered.”
Once a low-profile post, in recent years the Board of Supervisors has become a flashpoint for discredited Republican-led challenges to the integrity of U.S. elections, which are run primarily at the county level.
Lesko is embracing some of those efforts. She voted against the certification of the 2020 presidential election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona and signed on to an election challenge lawsuit that was quickly dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lesko has represented Arizona's 8th Congressional District since winning the 2018 special election to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District. He announced his retirement following the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The chaotic effort, led by Republicans, exposed rifts in Congress. Republican caucus. Lesko called the situation a “disaster.”
Mr. Lesko served on influential House committees, but is leaving federal service with little experience in Congress. She was the lead sponsor of only two of her bills that became law. One called for changing the name of the post office, and her other called for an analysis of the security of the country's ports of entry.
He previously said he would serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2025.
Recount:This court decision could change how Arizona votes.
Arizona Republic reporters Sasha Hapka and Ronald Hansen contributed reporting.
