A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he last represented 66B, which included portions of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2000 found that half of the 238 human deaths it identified as dog-related over the preceding 20-year period involved either pit bull-type dogs or Rottweilers.

The bill is intended to reduce the number of kitten and puppy mills in the state and mandate the proper treatment of animals.

The authors, Lesch and Senator Scott Dibble, link taxpayer-funded laboratories and educational institutions that use dogs and cats for research with nonprofit animal rescues.

[12] In 2015, Lesch began pursuing a overhaul of Minnesota's criminal defamation laws in the wake of the Minnesota Court of Appeals' striking down of that statute,[13] thereby depleting protections from online harassment, including so-called "revenge porn", which Lesch claims he had been motivated to address in policy since reading about the 2013 death of Rhetea Parsons.

"[17] In February 2006, Lesch made a personal trip to Iraq at his own expense with the stated intention to learn as much as possible about the war there in as little time as possible.

"While it is true that most folks would choose more stable settings for their vacation, I believe the Iraq war is the seminal conflict for our age", Lesch wrote in announcing his departure.

[18][19][20] In August 2007, Lesch participated in a Legislative Exchange sponsored by the State Department to study diplomacy among emerging leaders in the Philippines.

The trip was sponsored by the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) and focused on energy development and health care.

[23][24][25] The amount of the fine is one of the larger civil penalties levied against a lawmaker for campaign violations in the state, according to the board's executive director, Jeff Sigurdson.

The board often levies penalties against lawmakers for incorrect bookkeeping or other matters, but rarely finds cases of officials using campaign money for their own benefit.

"[23] On January 3, 2018, Lesch sent recently inaugurated Saint Paul mayor Melvin Carter a letter, written on his Minnesota House of Representatives letterhead, in which he wrote that Carter's recently appointed City Attorney, Lyndsey Olson, had a "track record of integrity questions and management problems".

Stating that he wrote the letter as part of his duties as a representative, Lesch claimed legislative immunity under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Minnesota Constitution and filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

While attending Officer Candidate School, Lesch commenced his reelection campaign for the Minnesota House of Representatives via Facebook and Twitter.

Minnesota's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board determined there are no restrictions on running for office while in the military, and no complaint was brought against Lesch.

Although neither the Army nor Minnesota National Guard has issued a formal statement regarding Lesch's campaign activities and no complaints have been made, unintentional violations of those rules can easily occur.