Hamadeh Defeats Masters in Arizona’s Eighth

Abe Hamadeh won the Republican primary in Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District Tuesday, beating out a crowded field that included the Peter Thiel acolyte Blake Masters.

Hamadeh will face Gregory Whitten on the November ballot. Whitten was unopposed in the Democratic primary. 

“They underestimated me because they underestimate the American people. We are stronger than they can ever even imagine,” Hamadeh wrote in a victory post shared to 𝕏 on Wednesday. “The good guys still have a shot… let’s roll.”

Hamadeh bested Masters by more than 4,000 votes and a margin of 4.5 percent. The two Republican men combined struggled to earn more than 50 percent of the total vote, as outsider candidates Ben Toma and Trent Franks each received more than 15 percent of the final tally.

Both Hamadeh and Masters received endorsements from the former President Donald Trump. Commentators reportedly called it “the dirtiest, nastiest congressional race in all the country,” as Masters and PACs supporting his candidacy repeatedly lobbed personal attacks at Hamadeh throughout the campaign. 

One PAC backing Masters called Hamadeh a “terrorist sympathizer” in an ad. Masters’s campaign paid for street signs that showed a picture of Hamadeh in Mecca on the hajj, which was taken during his 2020 U.S. Army deployment in Saudi Arabia. Hamadeh later received a Meritorious Service Medal. 

Masters conceded on Wednesday in a post shared to 𝕏.

“Congratulations to Abe Hamadeh,” Masters wrote. “It’s time to unite behind him and all of our nominees, up and down the ballot, so that we can win in November.”