Debra Kay Lesko (/ˈlɛskoʊ/ LESS-koh; née Lorenz; born November 14, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Arizona.

Lesko, a member of the Republican Party, serves on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors representing the 4th district.

[7] Ignas, now known as Jeffrey Allen Herald, was again incarcerated at the Arizona Department of Corrections, and released in June 2022 on supervised probation.

She was endorsed by the Arizona Police Association, AZ Right to Life, and the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

[9] On December 20, 2017, Lesko announced she would run in the special election to replace Representative Trent Franks, who resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment.

[10] Although Arizona's resign-to-run laws allowed her to remain in the state senate since she was running in a special election (and she was in the final year of her term in any event), she resigned on January 8, 2018.

[11] Lesko won the Republican nomination and faced the Democratic nominee, physician Hiral Tipirneni, in the special general election on April 24.

[14] The win was by a narrower margin than expected,[15] with observers suggesting that it was indicative of a coming Democratic wave in the 2018 midterm elections.

According to the Associated Press, the election sent "a big message to Republicans nationwide: Even the reddest of districts in a red state can be in play this year.

[21] The PAC raised almost no other cash and used the money to support Lesko with yard signs, while her congressional campaign spent heavily on television ads.

Phil Lovas, a candidate in the Republican primary, complained to the Federal Election Commission and Arizona Attorney General alleging multiple violations in February 2018.

[24] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lesko appeared at a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at a time when coronavirus cases were surging across the nation.

[25] When asked about the public health risk the rally posed, she responded, "I think the Trump administration and the campaign is doing all it can by doing temperature checks and handing out masks.

[31] She has proposed legislation to give employers religious exemptions from providing contraceptives in health insurance plans.

"[38] In defending Trump, she said that he had not asked President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, his opponent in the 2020 presidential election.

[39] In December 2020, Lesko was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump.

[40] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

[41][42][43] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion".

[47] She favors a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and said that "on the federal level, there has to be a lot of areas where we can cut spending.

"[47] In 2017, Lesko championed legislation that would allow payday lenders to provide loans at annual interest rates as high as 164%.

"[58] Lesko introduced a resolution to recognize Medicare and Social Security as an important benefit that should be strengthened for future generations.