Ex-state senator leads GOP primary in race for US House

PHOENIX (AP) - A former Arizona state senator accused of campaign finance irregularities jumped to an early lead in Tuesday's Republican primary to replace a U.S. congressman from Arizona who quit amid charges of sexual misconduct last year.

If former state Sen. Debbie Lesko holds her lead, she becomes the immediate favorite in the heavily Republican 8th Congressional District to replace former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, also a Republican.

The initial batch of votes posted about an hour after polls closed Tuesday evening showed Lesko with 36 percent of the vote. Former state Sen. Steve Montenegro was trailing with 24 percent of the vote and other candidates farther behind.

The race was thought to be a close one between Lesko and Montenegro, a tea party favorite backed by Franks. But Montenegro acknowledged last week that a former Senate aide had sent him an unsolicited topless photo in a text. The married Christian minister said he became too close to the woman, but "never had inappropriate relationship with her or anyone else." She said she sent him multiple photos and they "engaged in sexual conversations about those pictures."

Lesko, meanwhile, denied allegations that transferring $50,000 from her state campaign fund was illegal. She sent the money to an independent group that spent the cash backing her congressional bid.

Arizona relies heavily on mail-ballots and they were mainly completed before the sex-related and campaign funding revelations surfaced.

Corinne Clark, a retail worker from Surprise, Arizona, said she regretted casting her ballot for Montenegro in early voting, before the allegations about him surfaced.

"Whether it's true or not is hard to know," Clark said. "But my number one reason for voting for him was because he has Christian values, and it makes me mad that this has come up afterward."

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic nominee Hiral Tipirneni, a political newcomer, in an April 24 special general election to represent the western Phoenix suburbs.

Walter King, a 69-year-old retiree from Seattle who now lives in Sun City, said he voted for Tipirneni by mail-in ballot, but didn't expect her to defeat whatever Republican wins the primary.

"I like to think the state is slowly turning purple," King said Monday as he sat in his golf cart, a common form of area transportation, with his French bulldog mix Stuart. "But it's still mostly red."

Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday. About 100,000 early ballots were counted by mid-afternoon, said Matt Roberts, Arizona Secretary of State spokeswoman. Officials estimate another 30,000 will be cast at voting stations before day's end.

There were only a few hiccups at polling stations that were quickly ironed out, including printers that didn't work or a lack of paper ballots, said Murphy Hebert, communications director for the Maricopa County Recorder's Office.

Franks, who held the House seat since 2003, resigned in December after acknowledging he had discussed surrogacy with two female staffers. A former aide told The Associated Press that he pressed her to carry his child as a surrogate and offered her $5 million.

The other Republican candidates include former state lawmaker and utility regulation commission member Bob Stump and radio host Clair Van Steenwyk, who twice challenged Franks.

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Snow reported from Sun City, Arizona.

- This story has been corrected to show the general election is on April 24, not April 27.