Republican Abe Hamadeh announces run for Arizona House seat

Abe Hamadeh, a former candidate for Arizona’s attorney general, announced Tuesday that he would be running for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

Hamadeh’s announcement came hours after Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) announced she would not seek reelection in order to spend more time with family. She attributed her retirement to Washington, D.C.’s, inability “to get anything done.”

Hamadeh, the 2022 Republican nominee for attorney general, announced his run for Congress on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Our country is in desperate need of courageous fighters, and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’m running in Arizona’s 8th District,” Hamadeh said in a post. “President Trump is under attack. He needs back up – and I’m ready to help him Make America Great Again.”

Hamadeh also responded to Lesko’s statement, thanking her for her “years of service to Arizona.”

He previously ran in the general election for attorney general against now-Attorney General Kris Mayes. Hamadeh lost by fewer than 300 votes and unsuccessfully tried to convince the Arizona Supreme Court to overturn the results of the election. According to local media outlets, Hamadeh has been ordered to pay Mayes more than $42,000 in legal fees over the dispute.

Hamadeh has already been endorsed by Senate candidate Kari Lake, who announced she would be joining the race last week.

“After many years of service to our great state, Debbie Lesko has announced that she will not be seeking re-election,” Lake posted on X. “I sure hope my friends @AbrahamHamadeh considers running! #AZ08 deserves a fighter & Abe is one of the toughest in Arizona.”

Former President Trump endorsed Hamadeh’s run for attorney general and is expected to back his run for Congress.

Hamadeh is the first candidate to announce he his running for Lesko’s position. A Republican candidate is likely to fill Lesko’s open seat, given the district’s lean, but all eyes will be on Arizona in the upcoming election year, with the state becoming one of the key swing states in recent election cycles.