Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko announced Tuesday she won’t run for reelection next year, citing the gridlock in Congress and a desire to spend more time with her family.
“Spending, on average, three weeks out of every month away from my family, and traveling back and forth to Washington, D.C. almost every weekend is difficult,” she posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Right now, Washington, D.C. is broken; it is hard to get anything done.”
“Please know that I will continue my work to improve Congress and to help my constituents and the American people. We must all work toward that end,” the Arizona Republican added.
Lesko, 64, won a special election to the House in 2018. She won a third full term last November without facing an opponent. Her retirement announcement comes as Republicans are struggling to pick their next speaker and the House has been unable to consider legislation for two weeks.
She was aligned with President Donald Trump while he was in office, landing a seat on the House Judiciary Committee and serving as part of his defense team during his first impeachment trial. She now serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Trump won the 8th District she represents by 13.6 points in 2020 and the race to fill the seat next year is rated Solid Republican by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.
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