(Arizona News Connection) Arizona U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko - R-Peoria - recently announced she will not be seeking re-election next year. 

In a statement, Lesko said traveling to the Capitol has been difficult and "D.C. is broken." She says "it is hard to get anything done."

Professor of Political Science at Temple University Robin Kolodny said it is a tough time not only for politicians but also for political parties. 

She said she doesn't like to see any one party being what she calls "overly dysfunctional." 

"It then takes away from what the general election message is going to be and what the leadership will be," said Kolodny, "but this is a self-inflicted wound right now."

As House Republicans continue to struggle in electing a new Speaker, a new poll shows Americans increasingly blame Republicans over Democrats for the dysfunction on Capitol Hill. 

Two-thirds of the almost 1,700 people surveyed say conservative Republicans deserve some of the blame for the current gridlock in Washington. 

University of Akron Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science John Green said the 2020 election brought about many organizational and technological innovations to how elections are run. 

He said he suspects heading into 2024, certain aspects of how campaigns are run and financed will go back to pre-pandemic practices, but not all of them. 

He said online campaigning and fundraising was already an expanding trend, which grew dramatically because of the public health emergency.

"I don't think it is going back to the way it was before, partly because these are useful tools," said Green, "but people had a kind of forced experiment on how to use them and they found out that much of these techniques work very, very well."

Experts say it is clear that politicians on both sides of the aisle are heavily tapping into online spaces to not only campaign but also fundraise for the upcoming elections.^l