On Tuesday, Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko announced she would not be seeking reelection. The surprise announcement will certainly set off a scramble among Republicans in this solid Republican district.
In her statement, Lesko indicated that the wear and tear of the job was no longer worth the cost when it came to time with her family. “I want to spend more time with my husband, my 94-year-old mother, my three children, and my five grandchildren. Spending, on average, three weeks out of every month away from my family, and traveling back and forth to Washington, D.C. almost every weekend is difficult.”
Attention quickly pivoted to who might run to fill the seat. The first major name mentioned was 2022 Senatorial candidate Blake Masters, who was rumored to be the preferred candidate of the Club for Growth, which is a major player in GOP primaries.
Politico reporter Ally Mutnick tweeted “Name to watch for this seat: 2022 #AZSEN nominee Blake Masters (R) @club4growth President David McIntosh has reached out to urge Masters to run for Debbie Lesko’s district, per source close to the group”
Name to watch for this seat: 2022 #AZSEN nominee Blake Masters (R) @club4growth President David McIntosh has reached out to urge Masters to run for Debbie Lesko's district, per source close to the group#AZ08 is a safe GOP district in the Phoenix burbs https://t.co/zdlmN7fD5d
— Ally Mutnick (@allymutnick) October 17, 2023
The first official candidate to declare his intention was 2022 Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh, who tweeted “Our country is in desperate need of courageous fighters, and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’m running for Congress in Arizona’s 8th District. President Trump is under attack. He needs back up — and I’m ready to help him Make America Great Again.”
Our country is in desperate need of courageous fighters, and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’m running for Congress in Arizona’s 8th District.
President Trump is under attack.
He needs back up — and I’m ready to help him Make America Great Again. pic.twitter.com/bN4Z1TZUns
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) October 18, 2023
There is little doubt the race will attract a large number of candidates given the solid red nature of the district. A number of state legislators have already been mentioned regarding the race, including State Representative Steve Montenegro, who narrowly lost to Lesko six years ago, State Senators Janae Shamp and Anthony Kern, House Speaker Ben Toma, and State Representative Joseph Chaplik are among the names being talked about, although Montenegro told ADI he would not be a candidate.
“My focus is on Arizona and Arizona’s issues, and we have too much work to do when it comes to maintaining our majority, cleaning up our elections, protecting our kids, defending school choice, and pushing back against Katie Hobbs’ bad ideas, so that’s where my effort is going to remain.” said Montenegro.
The most important factor in the race may be the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsements often are major factors in GOP primaries. Republican consultant Constantin Querard referred to the Trump endorsement as “the single greatest variable and unknown in the CD8 primary”, telling ADI that “Republicans are likely to have a very spirited and impressive primary field if President Trump stays out of the race, but the field may shrink considerably if he weighs in and picks a favorite.”