Hamadeh leads in race for West Valley's 8th Congressional District

Republican Abe Hamadeh is leading in the race to succeed Congresswoman Debbie Lesko in Congressional District 8, which covers parts of the West Valley.

According to the latest results, Hamadeh is leading Democrat Gregory Whitten 54% to 47% with 43% of the vote counted. Whitten faced an uphill battle in the heavily Republican district, where Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly two to one.

Hamadeh, who narrowly lost the 2022 attorney general election, won the GOP nomination in CD8 in July, defeating a crowded primary field that included 2022 U.S. Senate nominee Blake Masters, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma and former Congressman Trent Franks.

Former President Donald Trump backed both Hamadeh and Masters in 2022 and initially endorsed Hamadeh in this year’s CD8 election. However, he then pivoted shortly before the election, choosing to endorse Masters as well.

Hamadeh is one of several Republicans on ballots in Arizona who has promoted false claims that widespread election fraud impacted past elections. He continues to claim he defeated Attorney General Kris Mayes two years ago despite multiple unsuccessful court challenges.

The Arizona Supreme Court will consider whether to review one of those challenges in a closed-door session on Wednesday.