Arizona Republican Abe Hamadeh Launches Bid for Debbie Lesko’s Seat

Arizona Republican Abe Hamadeh is launching a bid for U.S. Congress in Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District as Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) announced she would not seek another term on Tuesday. 

Hamadeh, who was Arizona’s Republican nominee for attorney general in 2022, announced his candidacy for Lesko’s seat soon after she revealed she was stepping aside.

“Our country is in desperate need of courageous fighters, and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’m running for Congress in Arizona’s 8th District,” Hamdeh said. 

“President Trump is under attack,” he added. “He needs backup — and I’m ready to help him Make America Great Again.”

Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, who was the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2022, had urged Hamadeh, a former prosecutor, to weigh a run after Lesko’s announcement. 

The Eighth Congressional district “deserves a fighter & Abe is one of the toughest in Arizona,” Lake said. 

Both were Trump-endorsed candidates in their respective races in the 2022 midterms elections and essentially ran as a ticket along with Arizona’s 2022 Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters. Hamadeh spoke at Lake’s campaign launch on October 12. 

“I know Kari is going to fight for the working class that has seen their dollar devalued in real time,” Hamadeh said. “And I know she’s going to fight to secure our border, and she will always support our law enforcement officers and our military.” 

Hamadeh’s attorney general race was the tightest contest in the country in 2022. Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes ultimately won following a recount by a mere 512 votes out of the  2,508,715 votes that were cast. To put this in perspective, Mayes took 50.01 percent of the vote, while Hamadeh garnered 49.99 percent, as the New York Times noted. 

Lesko, a staunch Trump supporter who received his endorsement last year, said, “Washington, D.C. broken,” in a statement announcing she would not seek reelection. 

“It has been a great honor to serve the people of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in Congress, however, I have decided not to run for reelection in 2024,” she said. 

“I want to spend more time with my husband, my 94-year-old mother, my three children, and my five grandchildren,” she added. 

Hamadeh thanked Lesko for her “years of service to Arizona.” Lake also lauded Lesko for her “many years of service to our great state.”