The Atlantic

Democrats Hope For Another Upset in Arizona

The Grand Canyon state’s 8th congressional district is unlikely to flip from red to blue, but a close race could still spell trouble for Republicans in November.
Source: Ross D. Franklin / AP

Democrats’ recent winning streak in special elections might be coming to an end with Tuesday’s contest in Arizona’s 8th congressional district. But the party still plans to count it as a victory.

Two women, Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, a cancer-research advocate, and Republican state Senator Debbie Lesko, are vying to fill the House seat vacated by Republican Trent Franks, who resigned in December after it was reported that . Only two people have represented the area—which includes the suburbs to the north and west of Phoenix—since 1977, and Democrats haven’t even had a candidate on the ballot since 2012. But in Alabama, Virginia, and, has given Democrats cause for hope even in the reddest of places.

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