Arizona congressional candidate robbed outside restaurant

Arizona congressional candidate Greg Stanton was robbed outside of a Phoenix restaurant on Saturday night by a man carrying a weapon, he confirmed to The Hill on Sunday.

Stanton, the former mayor of Phoenix, said in a statement to The Hill that he was robbed as he was walking to his car after dinner when a man approached him with what appeared to be a hatchet, and robbed him.

“I was not hurt. I want to thank the Phoenix Police Department for the very fast response of our officers, and for handling the case with such professionalism,” Stanton said.

{mosads}”Although incidents like this are scary, I’m undeterred and will be eating again at this local restaurant – one of my favorites – later this week,” he added.

Stanton’s campaign added that the candidate was out speaking with voters as of Sunday morning.

The Arizona Republic first reported the incident, which took place outside of a Thai restaurant in Phoenix.

Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Armando Carbajal told the news outlet that Stanton was leaving a Thai restaurant at about 10 p.m. when he a man carrying what was described as a “hatchet-type” object approached him. 

Police said they did not have a suspect in the case.

Stanton is running to replace Rep. Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) in the state’s 9th congressional district. Sinema is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

Stanton is running against Republican Steve Ferrara, a physician and retired Navy captain in a district that Sinema has represented since 2013.

Sinema first won election in the district in 2012 by roughly 4 percentage points. She was re-elected in 2014 and 2016, winning by double digits over her Republican opponent in both years.

Updated at 3:14 p.m.