Polls open in race for US House seat in Arizona

The Latest on Tuesday’s special election for an Arizona congressional seat (all times local):

6:56 a.m.

Polls are open in the Phoenix area for Tuesday’s special election to fill a vacant U.S. House seat in which Republican Debbie Lesko and Democrat Hiral Tipirneni are running to replace former Congressman Trent Franks.

Tipirneni is an emergency room physician and a cancer research advocate, while Lesko served in the state Senate until recently, representing parts of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District since 2009.

Franks is a Republican who resigned in December amid sexual misconduct allegations.

Tipirneni is trying to pull off an upset, but Republicans have a sizable lead in both voter registration in the district and in early ballots already cast in the special election.

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11 p.m.

A Democratic newcomer is trying to pull off an upset victory for an open U.S. House seat in Arizona that has been held by Republicans since the early 1980s.

Hiral Tipirneni is an emergency room physician and a cancer research advocate, but many observers see her odds as slim against former state Sen. Debbie Lesko.

They face off in Tuesday’s special election to replace former Rep. Trent Franks in Arizona’s 8th District, who resigned in December amid sexual harassment allegations.

Lesko, a Republican, has represented parts of the district since 2009.

She has an extremely strong base of support in a district Franks had locked up since 2003.

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