Arizona held its primaries on Tuesday, though a key race, the 8th Congressional District, wasn't called until Wednesday night. Former and potentially future President Donald Trump had endorsed Blake Masters and Abraham Hamadeh, both Republicans, though in the end it was Hamadeh who pulled off the primary win.
Decision Desk HQ projects Abraham Hamadeh wins the Republican primary for US House in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. #DecisionMade: 8:03pm ET, July 31
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 1, 2024
Follow live results here:https://t.co/crViW3qlK6
Hamadeh's X account posted a statement of victory around the same time that Decision Desk HQ called the race, just after 8:00pm EST on Wednesday night.
He also posted and reposted well wishes from Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake, the NRCC, and Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko who currently holds the seat. Hamadeh shared he had spoken with Trump as well as his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).
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 also posted his congratulations to Hamadeh not long after the race was called.
"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," his post mentioned in part.
That same post also talked about helping get Trump elected once more.
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…
The race for Arizona's 8th Congressional District is considered to be "Safe" or "Solid Republican," and so Hamadeh is almost certainly going to find himself elected to Congress in November. He narrowly lost in 2022 for the Arizona Attorney General race.
Other key Arizona races, such as Lake's primary win, were called late on Tuesday night. Lake, who faces Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in November, is running in a race considered to be a "Toss-Up," or where Gallego has only a slight advantage.
Arizona will be a battleground state to watch from the top of the ticket to down-ballot races, with Trump's coattails potentially playing a role if he should win the state, and the polls currently suggest that he will.