{"id":2317069,"date":"2024-07-31T20:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T00:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hamadeh-wins-competitive-gop-primary-to-replace-rep-debbie-lesko-in-arizona-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-31T20:39:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T00:39:56","slug":"hamadeh-wins-competitive-gop-primary-to-replace-rep-debbie-lesko-in-arizona-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hamadeh-wins-competitive-gop-primary-to-replace-rep-debbie-lesko-in-arizona-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamadeh wins competitive GOP primary to replace Rep. Debbie Lesko in Arizona &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhamadeh-wins-competitive-gop-primary-to-replace-rep-debbie-lesko-in-arizona-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2317069&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Abe Hamadeh has emerged \u2062victorious in a competitive GOP primary to succeed outgoing Representative\u200d Debbie Lesko in Arizona&#8217;s Republican-leaning 8th Congressional \u2064District. Hamadeh,\u2062 who previously ran unsuccessfully\u2063 for attorney general, secured\u2062 approximately 29.8% of the votes,\u200b while his\u200c opponent Blake Masters, \u200da former Senate candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, \u200cgarnered about 25.3%. The primary \u200bsaw a total of six candidates,\u200d with Hamadeh\u2019s win occurring despite Trump&#8217;s last-minute endorsement of\u2064 Masters. Former Rep.\u200c Trent \u2063Franks and state Assembly Speaker Ben\u2063 Toma followed Hamadeh \u200band Masters with 16.5% and 21.2% of\u2063 the vote, \u200brespectively.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly,\u2063 both Hamadeh and Masters are not residents of the district they aim to represent; Hamadeh\u2063 lives \u2062in Scottsdale while Masters\u200c resides \u2062in Tucson. \u2063Trump had previously\u2064 endorsed Hamadeh alone, but later extended his support to Masters, \u2064terming\u2064 them \u200dboth\u200c as &#8220;spectacular America \u200bFirst Candidates&#8221;\u200c during the \u2064campaign. This \u200bprimary result \u200creflects the ongoing divisions and dynamics \u2064within the Republican Party as it \u2063positions itself for future elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hamadeh wins competitive GOP primary to replace Rep. Debbie Lesko in Arizona<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1717559\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Abe Hamadeh won a six-way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>GOP <\/a>primary to replace outgoing Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) in a safe Republican district on Wednesday, despite a last-minute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3102103\/trump-duel-endorsements-hamadeh-masters-heated-arizona-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>endorsement<\/a> from former President Donald Trump of opponent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/blake-masters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Blake Masters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hamadeh, who unsuccessfully ran for attorney general in 2022, received 29.8% of the vote with 86% of the ballots counted when the primary was called at 8:27 p.m. ET, according to the <em>Associated Press.<\/em> Meanwhile, Masters who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022, received 25.3% of the vote. Former Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), who resigned in 2017 <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/north-america-paul-ryan-trent-franks-sexual-misconduct-az-state-wire-8eb4e03d95d4471881d8a7f7de1c8671\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>after a scandal<\/a>, and state Assembly Speaker Ben Toma, who had the endorsement of Lesko, received 16.5% and 21.2%, respectively.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3094678\/mark-kelly-top-names-harris-vp-short-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WHO IS MARK KELLY? MEET ONE OF THE SIX TOP NAMES ON HARRIS&rsquo;S VP SHORT LIST<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hamadeh had <a href=\"https:\/\/ktar.com\/story\/5107872\/former-president-trump-endorses-abraham-hamadeh-for-arizona-attorney-general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>previously been<\/a> the only candidate to hold a Trump endorsement in the race, while Masters had scored an endorsement from his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). However, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3102103\/trump-duel-endorsements-hamadeh-masters-heated-arizona-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>issued a rare duel endorsement <\/a>of both candidates Saturday evening, putting an end to any possible issues the competing endorsements could have posed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &ndash; Then- Republican Senate challenger Blake Masters smiles on stage prior to a televised debate with Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Libertarian candidate Marc Victor in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. In a Truth Social post on Saturday night, 27, 2024, former President Donald Trump backed candidates Abraham Hamadeh and Blake Masters &mdash; former political allies turned bitter rivals &mdash; to represent Arizona&rsquo;s conservative-leaning 8th Congressional District, praising the pair of Republicans as &ldquo;two spectacular America First Candidates.&rdquo; (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin, FIle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While Trump called both candidates &ldquo;spectacular,&rdquo; he noted that Masters was a &ldquo;very <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-to-watch-in-arizonas-state-primaries-on-tuesday-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"What to watch in Arizona\u2019s state primaries on Tuesday - Washington Examiner\">successful businessman&#038;rdquo<\/a>; and &ldquo;an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-endorses-hamadeh-and-masters-in-heated-arizona-primary-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump endorses Hamadeh and Masters in heated Arizona primary - Washington Examiner\">incredibly strong supporter&#038;rdquo<\/a>; of the MAGA movement. He said Hamadeh was &ldquo;a fearless fighter for election integrity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Both Masters and Hamadeh were endorsed by Trump in 2022 and lost their respective races. In 2022, Hamadeh claimed, without evidence, that U.S. elections &ldquo;have been hijacked&rdquo; and promised&nbsp;a &ldquo;day of reckoning&rdquo; for &ldquo;those who worked to rob President Trump in the rigged 2020 election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Neither Masters nor Hamadeh actually reside in the 8th Congressional District, in the Phoenix area. Masters lives in Tucson, according to records from the Federal Election Commission, over a two-hour drive away. Hamadeh also does not live in district. Instead, he resides in nearby Scottsdale, according to FEC filings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &ndash; Then-Republican candidate for Arizona Attorney General, Abraham Hamadeh, smiles prior to a televised debate against Democrat Kris Mayes on Sept. 28, 2022. In a Truth Social post on Saturday night, 27, 2024, former President Donald Trump backed candidates Abraham Hamadeh and Blake Masters &mdash; former political allies turned bitter rivals &mdash; to represent Arizona&rsquo;s conservative-leaning 8th Congressional District, praising the pair of Republicans as &ldquo;two spectacular America First Candidates.&rdquo; (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There had been limited polling for this race, but both Hamadeh and Masters had been in the lead. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/60-minutes-edits-exchange-with-fla-gov-desantis-reporter\/\" title=\"\u201960 Minutes\u2019 edits exchange with Fla. Gov. DeSantis, reporter\">campaign finance reports<\/a>, Masters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/elections\/house\/AZ\/08\/2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>spent millions<\/a>, with $3.5 million of his $4 million in receipts coming from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?committee_id=C00854786&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2024&amp;line_number=F3-13A&amp;data_type=processed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>candidate loans<\/a>. Hamadeh spent $1.2 million, <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00853986\/1803704\/sc\/10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>$400,000<\/a> of which came from his own pocket. Toma raised more than $1 million in the race. Only $43,000 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/candidate\/H4AZ08157\/?cycle=2024&amp;election_full=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>$643,000 Franks <\/a>raised came from donors; the rest was a loan.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Arizona&rsquo;s 8th Congressional District, which encompasses northwest Phoenix and its suburbs, has a large retiree population and largely votes Republican. Hamadeh will likely go on to win the House seat in November against Democrat Gregory Whitten.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1717559\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1717559\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abe Hamadeh emerged victorious in a competitive six-way GOP primary on Wednesday to succeed outgoing Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) in a solidly Republican district, despite receiving a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump for his rival Blake Masters. Hamadeh, who previously lost his bid for attorney general in 2022, garnered 29.8% of the votes with 86% of ballots counted when the primary was announced at 8:27 p.m. ET, as reported by the Associated Press. In contrast, Masters, who also faced defeat in his Senate run last year, secured 25.3% of the vote. Former Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), who resigned amid scandal in 2017, and state Assembly Speaker Ben Toma\u2014who had Lesko&#8217;s endorsement\u2014received 16.5% and 21.2%, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Hamadeh was initially the only candidate with Trump&#8217;s backing until Trump issued a rare dual endorsement for both him and Masters on Saturday evening to mitigate any potential conflicts arising from competing endorsements.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on Truth Social that night, Trump praised both candidates as &#8220;two spectacular America First Candidates,&#8221; highlighting Masters&#8217; success as a businessman and strong support for the MAGA movement while calling Hamadeh &#8220;a fearless fighter for election integrity.&#8221; Both candidates had previously been endorsed by Trump during their unsuccessful campaigns in 2022; Hamadeh claimed without evidence that U.S elections were &#8220;hijacked&#8221; and promised accountability for those he believed undermined President Trump&#8217;s victory in the disputed 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, neither candidate resides within Arizona&#8217;s conservative-leaning 8th Congressional District; Masters lives over two hours away in Tucson while Hamadeh is based nearby in Scottsdale.<\/p>\n<p>Despite limited polling data indicating both candidates were leading at various points during their campaigns\u2014Masters spending significantly more than Hamadeh\u2014the district is known to lean heavily Republican with many retirees among its voters. As such, it is anticipated that Hamadeh will likely secure victory against Democrat Gregory Whitten come November<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2317070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MixCollage-22-May-2024-04-11-PM-8625-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4472,36831,32773,8215],"class_list":["post-2317069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arizona","tag-debbie-lesko","tag-gop-primary","tag-hamadeh"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MixCollage-22-May-2024-04-11-PM-8625-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}