Medical group yanks endorsement of Rep. Debbie Lesko over 'phony' doctor TV ads

Ronald J. Hansen | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption Here's who is running for Congress in Arizona's District 8 This is what you need to know about the candidates in CD 8: Debbie Lesko, Sandra Dowling and Hiral Tipirneni.

An Arizona medical group rescinded its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko on Thursday after the Republican again called into question the professional legitimacy of her Democratic challenger, who is a physician.

The Arizona Medical Association did not endorse Hiral Tipirneni, a former emergency-room doctor who now works as a cancer-research advocate, but it did take back an endorsement for what it said was the first time in its history.

The move capped a week of unrest among its members as they saw Tipirneni attacked in yard signs as a "fake doctor" and on TV as recently as Thursday as a "phony." The group pressured Lesko to take down the signs last week, only to see her maintain a theme of professional dishonesty by Tipirneni on TV.

"The continued endorsement of Congresswoman Lesko was based on our understanding that there would be timely removal of negative campaign signs considered to be demeaning to the medical profession," the group said in a statement.

"The campaign has worked to remove the offensive signage, and we thank them for taking steps to honor that agreement. However, additional TV and social media ads are being run that are viewed by some as disrespectful to the physician community at-large. We also heard from many of you, our valued members, expressing concern with ArMPAC’s continued support of this candidate because of the negative campaign tactics employed."

In a written statement, Tipirneni thanked the organization for its decision.

“I commend ArMPAC for its defense of truth and of the medical profession, and I greatly appreciate all of the physicians who reached out to protect the integrity of what it means to be a physician," she said. "Rep. Lesko was given multiple opportunities by ArMPAC to show the same integrity and respect for the truth, and it’s unfortunate that she failed to do the right thing. Becoming a physician requires extensive education, training, and learning the critical art of medicine. Attacking that, and in doing so, a fellow candidate’s professional legitimacy, should never be used to score cheap political points."

READ MORE: Lesko agrees to take down 'fake doctor' signs

In her own statement, Lesko stood by her characterization of Tipirneni.

"ArMPAC threatened to pull their endorsement of me if I didn't take down a truthful ad about my opponent," she said. "I won't be bullied by a special-interest group to take down a truthful ad that points out that my opponent, Hiral Tipirneni, hasn't practiced medicine for over a decade, even though she parades around in her ads wearing doctor coats and scrubs deceiving voters. Voters have a right to know how she is deceiving them."

She has suggested Tipirneni made a career switch after a medical-malpractice lawsuit.

Tipirneni said last week that the case was settled without her involvement and didn't lead to disciplinary action. She moved into advocacy after losing her mother and 7-year-old nephew to cancer within two years.

READ MORE: Big gap between Lesko, Tipirneni on health care

Tipirneni said she helped organize a national drive to bring thousands of South Asians into the marrow donor network in an effort to help her nephew during his yearlong battle with leukemia.

"I took the Hippocratic oath," she told The Arizona Republic last week. "That does not change over time. And it is not disingenuous because I have made it clear time and time again, both on my website and in town halls and whenever I speak to anybody, that I am a former ER physician, that I am not in medical practice anymore. I have made that clear."

Lesko and Tipirneni are locked in a rematch of the April special election in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. Lesko won that race by 5 percentage points in a district where Republicans have a 17 percentage point registration advantage and where Democrats haven't won a congressional race since 1980.

The pair has essentially battled for the Nov. 6 election ever since. Tipirneni's campaign claims polling shows her within 4 percentage points of Lesko, and they were nearly even financially entering October.

Tipirneni raised $668,000 compared with Lesko's $320,000 from Aug. 9 to Sept. 30. Lesko had $508,000 in cash, which was narrowly ahead of Tipirneni's $469,000.

READ MORE: Arizona Dems outraised GOP in tightest races

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sought to elevate Tipirneni's profile Wednesday by naming her race one of its Red to Blue campaigns, although there was no sign the organization was putting money behind her.

The House Freedom Fund, a political-action committee that helps members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has assisted Lesko's efforts with about $34,000 in outside spending since the August primary.

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