Arizona special election results are in — live updates

Republican Debbie Lesko has won the U.S. House election in Arizona, keeping the seat in GOP control, according to The Associated Press. Tuesday night’s special election in Arizona’s 8th congressional district determined whether Republicans would keep the seat vacated by former Rep. Trent Franks, the Republican who resigned last year after he was accused of harassment.

Tuesday night, former state Sen. Debbie Lesko, a Republican, fended off physician Hiral Tipirneni, a Democrat, to keep the district in GOP hands, after Mr. Trump won it by more than 20 points in 2016. Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time, or 10 p.m. EDT.

Screengrab via campaign video

Lesko came out on top of a large field of Republican candidates vying for Franks’ old seat. The Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, two prominent political ratings groups, have labeled the race “likely Republican.”

Both Lesko and Tipirneni have faced negative press lately. Lesko is accused of violating Federal Election Commission rules by steering money to an outside group boosting her race, and Tipireni faces accusations that she stopped practicing medicine over a malpractice lawsuit.

Franks resigned in December, faced with a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether his behavior constituted sexual harassment. At the time, Politico reported Franks offered former aides millions to birth his child, and the AP reported he discussed surrogacy with his former staffers.

Victories in historically red districts will be crucial for Republicans as they hope to maintain the House. According to the latest Real Clear Politics aggregation of polls, Democrats are up 5.5 points in the generic House ballot.

This is a developing story. Please check back for latest updates.