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Democrat Hiral Tipirneni to run for Congress in new district

Hiral Tipirneni.JPG
Posted at 12:03 PM, Apr 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-02 15:03:04-04

PHOENIX (AP) - Democrat Hiral Tipirneni is challenging Republican Congressman David Schweikert next year after losing her 2018 race in a different Arizona district.

Tipirneni announced Tuesday she'll run in the 6th Congressional District covering northern Phoenix and parts of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek and Fountain Hills.

Tipirneni ran in a special election last year to replace resigned Republican Trent Franks in the neighboring 8th District. She lost by 5 percentage points to Republican Debbie Lesko in a heavily GOP district but fell 11 points short in the general election six months later.

Schweikert's district is also heavily Republican but is seen as slightly more favorable to Democrats.

Tipirneni is a former emergency room doctor who became an advocate for cancer research. A spokeswoman says she still lives in the 8th District.