Brianna Westbrook running for Legislature after upstart congressional bid

Weeks after a surprisingly strong showing in a special congressional primary, Brianna Westbrook is helping the Democrat who defeated her and will run for the Arizona state Senate this fall.

Westbrook said she has met with Democratic party officials and plans a more conventional approach to her second run for office. She is running for the seat currently held by state Sen. Judy Burges, R-Sun City, who is barred by term limits from running for the Senate again in 2018.

Republicans have a nearly 25 percentage-point voter registration advantage in Burges' district.

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Before that race, Westbrook said she is trying to help Hiral Tipirneni, the Democratic nominee for the vacant 8th District seat in Congress. Tipirneni faces Republican Debbie Lesko in an April 24 special election for the West Valley seat.

"I had some of my strongest precincts in (Legislative District) 22, so I'd like to take the momentum that we have and work in parallel with Hiral and make this a powerhouse in the West Valley. I think we have an opportunity if we work together," she said.

With little money and no political experience, Westbrook pulled in 15,000 votes — just under 40 percent — in last month's Democratic primary against Tipirneni. Now, Westbrook is helping register Democrats to vote and asking her supporters to get behind Tipirneni.

In turn, Tipirneni will ask her supporters to vote for Westbrook, she said.

Both women face an uphill battle in strongly conservative districts. Burges won in 2016 with 65 percent of the vote.

Westbrook is a liberal activist who has made her experience as a transgender woman a part of her outreach to a broader Democratic base in the West Valley.

Westbrook said her legislative race will feature many of the same core concerns as her congressional bid.

"It's the same issues I've been talking about: protecting Medicaid, making sure that our schools are properly funded, our teachers are paid a living wage, fixing our roads. We need to invest in our state's infrastructure and balancing our budget," she said.

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