Abe Hamadeh defeats Blake Masters in a close Republican primary in Arizona
It is the second consecutive electoral defeat for Peter Thiel's protégé, who Mark Kelly defeated in the 2022 Senate election. With this victory, the Army veteran is on track to replace Debbie Lesko in the House of Representatives.
Abe Hamadeh
Abe Hamadeh won the Republican primary for Arizona's 8th Congressional District, making him the favorite to replace Debbie Lesko in the House of Representatives. The former secretary of state candidate defeated Blake Masters, among others, although both had Donald Trump's backing.
Nearly 24 hours after the polls closed, Decision Desk HQ declared Hamadeh the winner, who, with nearly 80 % of the votes counted, came out on top with 29 % of the vote. Second was Masters with 25 %, followed by 21 % for the local House speaker, Ben Toma.
Hamadeh, who ran for secretary of state in 2022 and lost by 280 votes among more than 2.5 million, celebrated his victory on social media.
"They underestimated me because they underestimate the American people. We are stronger than they can ever even imagine. Thank you Arizona, the grassroots, Kari Lake, President Trump, and so many others who had my back. The good guys still have a shot… let’s roll," he wrote on X.
">They underestimated me because they underestimate the American people. We are stronger than they can ever even imagine.
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) August 1, 2024
Thank you Arizona, the grassroots, @KariLake, President Trump, and so many others who had my back.
The good guys still have a shot… let’s roll. 🇺🇸💪 pic.twitter.com/mJa3iq0X0C
Masters followed suit on his account, where he thanked his supporters and congratulated his opponent on his primary victory.
"Thank you to my dedicated team, all the volunteers who helped us, and all our voters! Obviously, this was not the result we wanted. But we fought hard under tough circumstances. Congratulations to Abe Hamadeh. It’s time to unite behind him and all of our nominees, up and down the ballot, so that we can win in November. Congratulations also to all my other competitors and colleagues on a well-fought race. I’ll be praying for the success and safety of each of you in the days months and years ahead. What a race. Many headwinds! But, can’t cry over spilt milk. It is done," he wrote.
">Thank you to my dedicated team, all the volunteers who helped us, and all our voters! Obviously, this was not the result we wanted. But we fought hard under tough circumstances.
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) August 1, 2024
Congratulations to Abe Hamadeh. It’s time to unite behind him and all of our nominees, up and down…
Trump celebrated Hamadeh's victory on his Truth Social account with an image of the candidate. While the former president initially endorsed him, he changed his mind in the final days of campaigning and decided to endorse Masters as well.
Both candidates received Trump's blessing in 2022, when they were candidates for secretary of state and senator, respectively.
As for Hamadeh's next steps, he has a clear path to replace Debbie Lesko in the House of Representatives since the Republican will not seek re-election.
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