The competition in the special election for AZ-8 continues to draw attention, even as Republicans claim they have a comfortable lead, reports Politico:
Source: Ballotpedia
House Speaker Paul Ryan will headline an April 18 fundraiser for Arizona Republican Debbie Lesko, according to a copy of an invitation to the event obtained by POLITICO. Attendees to the Capitol Hill fundraiser are being asked to give up to $2,500.
Lesko, a former state legislator, is running for a suburban Phoenix seat that President Donald Trump won by 21 percentage points. Party officials say their internal polling shows Lesko with a comfortable lead over the Democratic candidate, physician Hiral Tipirneni.
Yet Republicans are taking few chances after last month’s loss in a special election for a conservative Pennsylvania seat.
They don’t call out President Trump, who appears to have very short coattails, but a more predictable extremist – Speaker Ryan. There’s a hidden danger here for the Republicans, though. If Lesko fails to win what should be an easy victory in this district, this will taint Speaker Ryan. He’s strongly denied rumors that he’s intending to retire at the end of this current term, or even resign in the midst of it.
Source: Ballotpedia
However, if his presence fails to spur the faithful on to victory (yes, I chose that metaphor quite deliberately), and the Democrat takes the prize, or loses narrowly, that may spur Mr. Ryan to change his mind. If he leaves his seat open, which is the Wisconsin 1st district, then the Republicans lose the advantage of incumbency. Could the Democrats take the Speaker’s seat at the mid-terms?
The Republicans fear looking weaker and weaker, which is why they’re pouring resources into a “safe” seat. But there may be more at stake than is apparent.
