Former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who are now at the top of the Republican ticket, have made competing endorsements for the front runners of Arizona ’s heated Republican primary in the 8th Congressional District.
Trump has endorsed Abe Hamadeh, who ran in 2022 for attorney general in Arizona but lost to Democrat Kris Mayes. Meanwhile, Trump’s newfound running mate has endorsed Blake Masters , who ran an unsuccessful campaign for senate against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in 2022. Both candidates were endorsed by Trump during their runs two years ago.
Hamadeh is also endorsed by Kari Lake , a candidate for a senate seat in Arizona this year.
Vance endorsed Masters last year before he was picked to be Trump’s vice president, according to the Arizona Republic . When Vance was announced as Trump’s pick, Masters reupped his endorsement from Vance.
"Thrilled to be ENDORSED in my House race by our next Vice President, J.D. Vance!", Masters said on X Tuesday.
Masters also told the outlet he traveled to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention this week “to be here with friends, to see Trump, and I didn't want to miss history.” Hamadeh’s campaign criticized Masters’s travel plans.
Earlier in July, a Trump adviser asked Masters to pull or edit an ad that suggested Trump endorsed him for AZ-08 using information from Trump’s 2022 endorsement of Masters for Senate.
The race has pitted one-time allies in the Grand Canyon State against one another as Masters, Hamadeh, and four other candidates look to replace retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ). The district encompasses the northwest part of the Phoenix area, has a large population of retirees, and is also heavily Republican, which means the winner of the primary will likely win the House seat.
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Arizona's primary is July 30.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Vance about whether he plans to switch his endorsement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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