Free Republic

Democrats' path to take over the House in November took a sharp right turn last night as a Republican won a special congressional election in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. Debbie Lesko, a former state senator, bested Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, a physician, by about 10,000 votes. Donald Trump won Arizona by 21 points in 2016. Lesko will serve out the term of Rep. Trent Franks, who resigned in disgrace.

This is the special election for Trent Franks' seat, with Debbie Lesko the R. Some 6k early/absentee votes came in today, bringing the total to 128,000: R 65,520 (48.7%) D 35,392 (29.6%) I 29,772 (23.2%) Hearing that the lead is slightly widening. See https://twitter.com/Garrett_Archer/status/984842377431941120

Former Arizona state Sen. Debbie Lesko (R) on Tuesday won the GOP nomination to replace disgraced ex-Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), enabling national Republicans to avoid a potentially costly special election headache. Lesko took a little more than a third of the vote in Arizona's low-turnout special election primary. She outlasted Phil Lovas, a former state representative who chaired President Trump's campaign in Arizona, and Steve Montenegro, a former state senator who came under fire in recent days for sexually-tinged text messages he sent to a staffer.

**SNIP** The following morning, as Emily registered attendees at an SDCC breakfast in the lobby of the Harrisburg Hilton, Leach approached again. She was wearing a skirt and sitting at a table. She said Leach sat next to her, discussed his history of fighting for women, and suggested he might be able to help her find a job. And then “he grabbed my thigh, almost to punctuate his point with a cruel irony,” said Emily, who spoke on the condition of her last name not being used. In the moments that followed, Emily said, she felt “frozen in fear and...

Okay, I have combined to items posted on Drudge Report: Juliet Linderman, "The Latest: Ex-aide: Franks offered $5m to carry his child", AP News, and Rachael Bade, Jake Sherman, "Female aides fretted Franks wanted to have sex to impregnate them", PoliticoLooks like Representative Trent Franks' "discussion" was more than a little unusual.

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., announced Friday that he is resigning from Congress effective immediately instead of waiting until the end of January. Franks said Thursday he would leave next month after it emerged that he discussed surrogate parenthood with two female staffers — some reports said he asked them directly to be a surrogate mother. But in a Friday a statement, Franks said his wife was admitted to a hospital Thursday night due to a recurring health issue, and that Friday would be his last day as a sitting member of Congress. "Last night, my wife was admitted to the...

Rep Trent Franks, according to reporting on the Tucker Carlson show, is being pushed out, not for sexual harassment, but for bringing up surrogacy for him and his wife due to being unable to have children. Apparently he brought this subject up with a couple of women in his office but at no time suggested or asked either be a surrogate. If they took any offense or felt uncomfortable; that's on the women for being far too easily offended. I'm so mad about this I could chew nails. Ryan should be escorted out of DC by armed Secret Service agents...

Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks is expected to resign from Congress, a source with knowledge told Roll Call. The 8th District congressman did not confirm or deny any plans to resign. He said he expected to make a statement Thursday. “We will have a statement a little bit later, but that’s all I can tell you right now,” Franks told Roll Call. “The statement will explain.” It is unclear exactly why Franks is stepping down, but one Arizona Republican said there had been rumors of inappropriate behavior. The Republican said the congressman had apparently been making plans to run for...

Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks is expected to resign from Congress, a source with knowledge told Roll Call. The 8th District congressman did not confirm or deny any plans to resign. He said he expected to make a statement Thursday. “We will have a statement a little bit later, but that’s all I can tell you right now,” Franks told Roll Call. “The statement will explain.”

Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks is expected to resign from Congress, a source with knowledge told Roll Call. The 8th District congressman did not confirm or deny any plans to resign. He said he expected to make a statement Thursday. “We will have a statement a little bit later, but that’s all I can tell you right now,” Franks told Roll Call. “The statement will explain.”

While the votes were coming in a handful of statewide races Tuesday night, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) was on the House floor delivering a serious takedown of those Russian collusion stories the media can't get enough of, but can't seem to back up. Franks offered a summary of the "bombshell" reports last week that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were being indicted for money laundering and conspiracy against the United States. It looked bad at first glance, but we soon learned the Trump campaign was not mentioned in any of the 12 charges....

With each passing day, we learn more and more about the dark and murky past of Pakistan IT staffer Imran Awan. The former employee of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is accused of stealing hardware from ranking Democrats and sending sensitive intel to foreign groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. A new report reveals Imran Awan was banned from the House’s network for attempting to hide a secret server.Daily Caller reports: Now-indicted former congressional IT aide Imran Awan allegedly routed data from numerous House Democrats to a secret server. Police grew suspicious and requested a copy of the server early this year,...

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) is calling on Robert Mueller, special counsel for the Department of Justice’s Russia investigation, to resign. Franks claims Mueller is violating a law governing the special counsel that prohibits him from serving if he has a “conflict of interest,” which includes “a personal relationship with any person substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution.” Franks cited a Fox News report from May that cast Mueller and former FBI Director James Comey as “longtime allies.” Mueller served as the FBI Director when Comey was the Deputy...

The handwritten list was found in a van belonging to James Hodgkinson by the FBI, and the lawmakers named on the list are known to be conservative members associated with the Freedom Caucus: Reps. Scot DesJarlais (R-TN) (pronounced day-zharr-LAY), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA).

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — Time and time again Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has failed to usher conservative priorities successfully through the Senate. He failed to pass legislation that would deter illegal immigration. He failed to defund Planned Parenthood, much to the dismay of conservatives. And he failed to stop the nuclear deal with Iran. Now he is being pressed to usher through the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. If he fails, conservatives say, he could be forced out of leadership. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was introduced and shepherded through the House last fall by Rep. Trent...

Leading pro-life member of Congress, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), has endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the GOP race for the nomination, the Cruz campaign announced. Franks - who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee - said in a statement: I remain deeply committed to the election of a President who is committed to preserving the Constitution, the conservative cause, and this Republic for future generations. Two weeks ago I urged Senators Cruz and Rubio to unite and present our Party with a combined ticket that would bring our conservative cause together in...

U. S. Congressman Trent Franks will address the thousands of people expected on July 22 at the Stop Iran Rally, in Times Square, New York City. Congressman Franks is one of nearly two dozen leaders who are stepping forward publicly to speak the truth about the details of the agreement with Iran, as Washington continues to only tell the American people half of the story. Political commentator Monica Crowley is another late addition to the speakers roster, confirming on Sunday. Congressman Frank is a conservative, Reagan Republican, and is currently serving in his seventh term. He is a member of...

To keep conservative rebels in check, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his allies have been doling out punishments at an aggressive clip in the 114th Congress. From kicking unruly members off the Rules Committee and GOP whip team to stripping a lawmaker of his subcommittee gavel, leadership has been growing more comfortable with taking retaliatory measures to try to enforce party discipline. But several Tea Party targets haven’t gone quietly. They’ve been fighting back with help from Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s conservative House Freedom Caucus, which successfully pressured leaders this week to return a subcommittee gavel to one of their...

Options to stop a nuclear Iran are not yet limited to President Obama’s bad deal or war WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Trent Franks, R-AZ-8, today reintroduced the Sanction Iran, Safeguard America Act to impose sanctions against Iran and help safeguard America in the face of the Obama Administration’s disastrous proposed nuclear deal with Iran.“As the self-perpetuating negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program drag on, it is time for a moment of clarity,” said Sen. Cruz. “It is time to tell the American people the truth. These talks are not going to prevent the Islamic Republic...

<p>Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky were among the top Republicans receiving high ratings from the influential antitax Club for Growth, which released its annual scorecard of House and Senate lawmakers on Monday.</p> <p>Mr. Cruz , along with Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) and Rep. Matt Salmon (R., Ariz.), make up a select group of lawmakers from either the House and Senate who can boast of a perfect 2013 and lifetime score from the group. Those three, along with Reps. Trent Franks (R., Ariz.), Tom McClintock (R., Calif.) and David Schweikert (R., Ariz.) were the only lawmakers to receive a perfect 100% score for 2013, according to the group.</p>