Businessman Michael Muscato emerged victorious from a three-person primary in Arizona House Congressional District (CD) Eighton August 4, 2020.
Now, he will face incumbent and Trump devotee Debbie Lesko on the November 3, 2020, general election.
Ms. Lesko, a member of the reactionary anti-government Freedom Caucus, has been an enthusiastic supporter for fringe conservative and Trumpist views in her political career.
Recently, she has voted against measures that would:
- Assist families with childcare.
- Appropriate the nation’s defense.
- Provide for Emergency Housing.
- Infrastructure
- Law Enforcement reform.
- Combat COVID 19 and aid people and the states through The Heroes Act
She was also a part of the team defending Donald Trump’s Impeachment on his collusion with the Russians and obstruction of Congress and the legal process.
She also ignored social distancing guidelines and attended Mr. Trump’s Tulsa Rally, the one where former Presidential Candidate Herman Cain may have caught COVID 19 and later died.
To date, she has not commented if she favors Mr. Trump’s legally questionable payroll tax holiday-scheme which could potentially threaten the Social Security and Medicare benefits of her constituents in retirement communities like Sun City.
Recent reporting by AZ Central shows that the issues on the minds of CD Eight residents are:
- Donald Trump
- Medicare and Social Security
- COVID 19/Coronavirus
- The economy including PPE loans and unemployment insurance during the Pandemic.
- Veteran benefits.
This provides a great electoral opportunity to Mr. Muscato because these voters have expressed discomfort with Mr. Trump and Ms, Lesko’s close affiliation with him and his policies which have called for two trillion in cuts to Social Security and Medicare (not to mention trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act during a pandemic.)
If elected, Mr. Muscato pledges to work for the people in CD Eight.
Mr. Muscato graciously took the time to discuss the general election, his campaign, and the major issues facing the people this November.
The questions and his responses are below:
1) Please tell the voters three reasons they should pick you over your opponent Representative Lesko?
- “Job of the Representative is to represent the people in the district, not just the party or its leadership.”
- “Over 60 percent of this district is not registered as a Republican and her approach has been 100 percent representing Donald Trump.”
- “It has made her focus her only attention and effort on the only select group in her own party and has left the rest of the district without any representation.”
- “I believe I am willing, able, and capable to do the work and I will do the work.”
2) Please tell the voters at least three ways Ms. Lesko has failed the voters of Congressional District Eight.
- “She has done nothing her entire time in office.”
- “We do not have better health care, better immigration reform, and we still have 30 million Americans unemployed into a pandemic.”
- “When this country needed leadership the most, she voted against the Family First Act, aid to 50 million Americans, an unemployment boost to Americans when they needed it the most.”
- “When we’ve seen our President attack Democracy like suppressing the vote or suggesting the delay in the elections, she retreats into the shadows.”
“The job of a Representative is not to work for Trump’s reelection. The job of a Representative is to work for the people in the district to make their lives better.”
3) Please tell the voters at least three domestic issues you feel are important to pursue if you are elected to the House of Representatives?
- “Healthcare: more affordable, accessible, and expansive health care coverage. In terms of COVID 19, workers should be covered 100 percent from Coronavirus related issues.”
- “Immigration Reform: invest in the modernization of the system including visas and border security-drug interdiction. It provides the country with a desperately needed economic boost and national security. We can have immigration reform without sacrificing our morality and humanity.”
- “Equality on every level for gender, race, sexual orientation, and our American workers.”
4) Please tell the voters at least three international issues you feel are important to pursue if you are elected to the House of Representatives?
- “Our relationship with the rest of our allies. I would like to reinstill faith in the American ideal for our allies.”
- “Election security and integrity.”
- “Relations with China. We need people in office who are not connected to overseas businesses. I am tired of us compromising in ways that damage us long term.”
5) Is there anything you would like the voter to know about you or your candidacy that has not been asked in the first four questions.
“This campaign is for everyone. This campaign is about representing the district and it is about doing the job. As this election season progresses, we are going to see my opponent paint me as something I am not. I just ask the voters to consider the guy who was born and raised right here to allow them to show how he wants to represent them and make their lives better.”
“I ask this district to support me the way they supported Hiral in 2018. If they do, we’ll win.”
For more information on Mr. Muscato and his campaign, please click on his Webpage here and his Facebook Page here.
Please remember:
- General Election Day is on November 3. 2020. Please see the below graphic for all-important voting dates.
- Please check your voter registration at vote.
- Register/sign up for the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL) in Arizona or any state that allows early or absentee balloting and mail. Arizona residents can sign up at vote.
- Arizona residents, mail your General Election ballot by October 28, 2020, for the November 3, 2020 election. With recent issues with the Post Office, you should consider mailing them out by October 23, 2020.
- Check-in with the Secretary of State’s office where you live to verify your mail-in ballot was received, processed, verified, and counted.
- Know the voter ID requirements in your state.
- If you can, support Clean Election Candidates with a small contribution.
- Also, please remember to stay informed on all the candidates and vote for all the offices on the ballot.
- Also, remember to research all the ballot initiatives, sign to get them on the ballot if you support the measure, and vote on them as well.
