The race for Congress in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District is barely one week old and sparks have already begun to fly as candidates enter the race or prepare to enter the race. 2022 Republican nominee for Attorney General Abe Hamadeh announced his candidacy the same day that Debbie Lesko announced she would not be running for reelection. On Thursday, 2022 Republican nominee for United States Senate Blake Masters announced he would also be running, and politicos expect House Speaker Ben Toma and State Senator Anthony Kern to both enter the race shortly as well.
“Kern is in, probably within the next day or two,” said one Republican activist, who noted Kern would be the third candidate into the contest who enjoyed Donald Trump’s endorsement in 2022, along with Hamadeh and Masters. “And Kern is the only one who got Trump’s endorsement and actually won his race.”
Hamadeh lost a close election that is still being contested in the courts, while Masters got blown out of the water by Democrat Mark Kelly.
Hamadeh spent much of the 2022 general election on the campaign trail with “Lake and Blake,” as Masters and 2022 Governor candidate Kari Lake were known, but any friendship that might have existed is apparently gone as shortly after Masters announced, Hamadeh was active on social media accusing Masters of going “establishment,” even tweeting a picture of Masters with former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and former Vice-President Mike Pence.
“It is sad to see the establishment tricking @bgmasters into driving up all the way from Tucson and getting in the race. They want the America First movement divided. Voters will remember who stood tall against the entrenched political class and who ran into their arms.”
It is sad to see the establishment tricking @bgmasters into driving up all the way from Tucson and getting in the race. They want the America First movement divided. Voters will remember who stood tall against the entrenched political class and who ran into their arms. pic.twitter.com/vZLXYRKXy6
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) October 26, 2023
Readers noting that the picture was from 2022 after Masters had won his primary and neither Ducey nor Pence are supporting Masters at this point, but Hamadeh’s immediate effort to attach Masters to unpopular Republicans was noteworthy.
Hamadeh also released endorsements from Lake and State Senator Wendy Rogers, who piled onto Masters as well. Rogers was a vocal supporter of Masters just last year but has apparently had a change of heart, branding Masters as merely “perceived-MAGA,” when she tweeted “Yup. The Uniparty loves to pit MAGA against perceived-MAGA.”
Yup.
The Uniparty loves to pit MAGA against perceived-MAGA. https://t.co/o18wGB7KCp— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) October 26, 2023
In his campaign announcement, Masters returned to some of the themes of last year’s Senate contest, including a familiar looking video. “I’m running for Congress, to fight for Arizona’s 8th. Biden has failed. We need Trump back. We need to stop inflation, Build the Wall, avoid WW3, and secure Arizona’s water future. We need to fight for our families.”
I'm running for Congress, to fight for Arizona's 8th.
Biden has failed. We need Trump back. We need to stop inflation, Build the Wall, avoid WW3, and secure Arizona's water future. We need to fight for our families.
DONATE NOW to send me to the House! https://t.co/SHG8CRcJHu pic.twitter.com/atte7wNHeu
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) October 26, 2023
The Washington D.C. based Club for Growth is expected to support Masters in the primary, after supporting him in his Senate race. And there remains a strong possibility he could get the Trump endorsement most of the candidates are counting on.
“Kari Lake has promised Abe the Trump endorsement, but Trump picked Masters once over a very qualified and well-funded Jim Lamon, so I’m not sure Abe can bet the house on that,” observed a West Valley precinct committeeman.
The third major contender would be House Speaker Ben Toma, who has not yet declared his candidacy, but is rumored to be supported by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko and several West Valley officials who are unhappy at the rush of candidates from outside of the district.
“Abe doesn’t live here, Blake lives in Tucson for God’s sake, and suddenly they are rushing to CD8 to profess their undying love for us here?” said the precinct committeeman, adding, “it makes me mad to be honest, they just want to get elected to office, any office, so they can start their career in politics, and it makes me sick.”
Toma lives in the district and has the potential benefit and baggage of having an actual legislative record, including his often-touted passage of the first in the nation universal Education Savings Accounts and the largest tax cut in state history. But he has been in office for nearly seven years so he is likely to also have some votes that his opponents can turn against him.
Kern is another potential wild card with a conservative voting record and a presence in the district. Democrats love to attack Kern for his presence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, but pictures confirm he never entered the Capitol complex or was part of a scrum. And Kern can rightfully claim to have been a Trump supporter longer than anyone else in the field.