With Democrats dreaming of another upset in what has been a good year for the party so far, Republican congressional candidate Debbie Lesko predicted Tuesday that her Arizona district will stay red.

Tuesday is the special election to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Trent Franks, who resigned amid allegations that he made aides feel uncomfortable with requests that they be surrogate mothers for him and his wife.

Democrats are on something of a winning streak in 2018, with a string of victories in special elections for a variety of offices across the country — most prominently for a western Pennsylvania House of Representatives seat claimed by Democrat Conor Lamb in a district that President Donald Trump had won by about 20 percentage points in 2016.

If anything, Arizona’s 8th Congressional District is even more Republican. Trump carried it by 21 points in 2016. And unlike the Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District, where Democrats had been successful in the 1990s, the Arizona 8th District has been solidly Republican since redistricting prior to the 2012 election.

Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats there by a margin of 41 percent to 24 percent.

Lesko, a state senator, said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that she is confident.

“I am excited. I’m at the polls and I’m talking to people, and it’s looking really good,” she said. “A lot of people said they already voted for me and they’re dropping it off in the election thing. And some people are walking in saying they’re gonna vote for me. So I think we’re gonna have a good win tonight.”

Trump tweeted his encouragement Tuesday, saying “Arizona, please get out today and vote @DebbieLesko for Congress in #AZ08. Strong on Border, Immigration and Crime. Great on the Military. Time is ticking down – get out and VOTE today. We need Debbie in Congress!

Democrat Hiral Tipirneni (pictured above right), a political newcomer, has run a tough race. Three polls taken this month suggest a close contest, with the average favoring Lesko (pictured above left) by 3 points.

According to a FiveThirtyEight analysis of early voting — which could make up 80 percent of the total — 48 percent of ballots cast so far have been from registered Republicans, compared to just 28 percent by Democrats. Almost six in 10 votes have come from senior citizens — a demographic that overwhelmingly favors Republicans in Arizona.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

What’s more, Lesko said, she has drawn a stark contrast with Tipirneni over illegal immigration. She noted that she co-sponsored Arizona’ tough 2010 law cracking down on illegal immigration, and said she supports Trump’s proposal to build a border wall.

Related: RNC Chair ‘Concerned’ Trump Voters Won’t Go to the Polls in Midterms

“People don’t realize how bad the problem is. I’ve visited the border. I’ve gone with Border Patrol. I’ve gone down and visited the ranchers. It’s a real problem. It’s a real problem with human smuggling, drug smuggling,” she said. “This needs to be solved, and I will work hard to do it. Unfortunately, my Democrat opponent doesn’t want to put one single penny towards the wall. I mean, she’s just too liberal for this district.”

Lesko dismissed concerns that Arizona might be turning blue after years of steady immigration.

“You know, I think it’s just that Democrats are motivated. It’s an off-year election, and Republicans are in charge,” she said. “We have a Republican president, Republican majorities, and the Democrats want their majority back. So I think it’s as simple as that. They’re motivated. They want to win back the majority. But we can’t let that happen. Arizona is a conservative state.”

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Debbie Lesko, Hiral Tipirneni, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Gage Skidmore).