On Friday, Arizona State Sen. Steve Montenegro resigned his seat to focus on his bid to replace U.S. Rep. Trent Franks. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will be appointing Montenegro’s replacement.
Sen. Montengro will likely face former Corporation Commissioner Bob Stump and former State Rep. Phil Lovas in the Republican Primary in Congressional District 8.
Already Stump is running an unusual campaign. While he claims to support term limits, Stump is promising to keep the seat for 5 terms (10 years) should he win.
Critics say Lovas should fit right in D.C., after having honed his skills dealing with lobbyists while in the Arizona Legislature. An email making the rounds shows Lovas trying to secure tickets for “face value” to the Final Four from a lobbyist. The request is similar to those which launched an investigation into the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal which shook D.C. in 2005.
We’ve alerted the @AZGOP that a vacancy has occured in LD 13. The process to fill the vacancy will occur over the next few weeks. pic.twitter.com/09aByUTHot
— Michele Reagan (@SecretaryReagan) December 15, 2017