PHOENIX — The race for Congressional District 8 is between Republican candidate Abraham Hamadeh and Democratic candidate Gregory Whitten. Whitten and Hamadeh are running to fill Republican Debbie Lesko's vacated seat.
Lesko announced her retirement from Congress in October of 2023. She is running for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to represent District 4 this election.
Gregory Whitten (D)
Whitten was unchallenged in the Democratic Primary for District 8, according to Ballotpedia. Whitten is a third-generation Arizonan and attended the University of Arizona, where he earned his bachelor of arts in public policy, before attending Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government to earn his master's in public administration, according to his campaign website.
For more than 15 years, Whitten has served as a biosecurity expert. At the Pentagon, he was the special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, and oversaw a broad portfolio.
He is proudest of his working leading a multi-year agency-wide effort to "acquire and standardize electronic health records at the Department of Defense and drive information sharing with the Department of Veterans Affairs, his website said.
Whitten returned to Arizona to care for his mother who had become addicted to opioids and eventually died. Her suffering and death are what fuels his passion to "take on drug companies," his website states.
- wants to protect Social Security and Medicare as well as work to make prescription drugs more affordable and lower healthcare costs for seniors.
- supports data-driven and non-partisan water policies.
- wants to raise teacher pay to retain and attract quality teachers.
- believes "everyone should have the freedom and power to make decisions about their reproductive health without interference from the government.
- does not support building a border wall, but rather supports increased funding to Border Patrol and stronger relationships between the Department of Defense and Homeland Security.
Abraham Hamadeh (R)
Hamadeh won the Republican primary, beating out six opponents and receiving 29.9% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia.
Hamadeh is a former Army Reserve captain and intelligence officer and worked as a Maricopa County prosecutor. According to his campaign website, he is the son of immigrants, and his family fled from "places like Syria and Venezuela." He grew up in Arizona's 8th Congressional District and attended Arizona State University for both his undergraduate degree and his J.D.
Previously, Hamadeh ran for attorney general of Arizona in 2022 and lost to Kris Mayes by around 300 votes, according to Ballotpedia. Hamadeh has since filed several lawsuits contesting the election results, none of which have been successful.
Hamadeh said on his campaign website that he will stand with former President Donald Trump to "take on the failed policies of Joe Biden and the radical left."
- supports building a border wall and passing a bill to classify drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
- is pro-life and is against "any effort that allows abortion with little to no restrictions."
- supports the Second Amendment.
- supports "funding, backing and revitalizing police forces across the country."
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Decision 2024
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