Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) has been sworn in along with his fellow freshmen members of the U.S. House of Representatives. But before even taking the oath of office, Hamadeh garnered recognition as one of the “rising stars” in American policitcs “expected to emerge in 2025.”
In a report released on the last day of 2024, Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller pronounced Hamadeh as a rising star alongside fellow Republicans Vice President-elect JD Vance, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, and Vivek Ramaswamy. He also gave the same recogniation to Democrats like Governors Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Wes Moore of Maryland, along with Rep. Pat Ryan of New York and Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.
Hamadeh, a 33-year-old son of Syrian immigrants, retired Army Reserve Captain & Intelligence Officer, and former Maricopa County Prosecutor enjoyed a massive resurgence in Arizona politics after a razor thin-280 vote defeat in the 2022 race for state Attorney General, a result mired in controversy and serious allegations of disenfranchisement and mismanagement.
He arose victorious in a raucous 8-way primary challenge for the District 8 Congressional seat that saw an unprecedented double-endorsement by President-elect Donald Trump, who supported both Hamadeh and runner-up Blake Masters.
In the end, Hamadeh outperformed the rest of the AZGOP candidates on his way to soundly defeating his Democrat opponent Gregory Whitten in the November General Election.
Congratulations Congressman @AbrahamHamadeh on your swearing in today. Our country needs some rising stars right now. Godspeed Abe !
— Glendale Arizona FOP Lodge 12 (@GlendaleFOP12) January 3, 2025
In a statement about his powerful committee assignments, Hamadeh told Fox News Digital, “I am honored to serve on the Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees—two assignments I intentionally sought because our veterans and military deserve leaders who will fight for them. Putting America first starts with defending our homeland and honoring our veterans and their families.”
“Throughout my campaign, I made a promise to bring veterans’ issues to the forefront of our national priorities, and today, I am proud to fulfill that promise,” he added. “This is a ‘promises made, promises kept’ moment as I lead the charge to honor our military leaders, support those who have served our nation, and ensure our veterans receive the care and respect they’ve earned. Serving those who served us is not just my duty—it’s a privilege.”
One news network is shifting the status of the Grand Canyon State as the all-important November General Election inches closer to the nation.
Earlier this week, Fox News’ Power Rankings shifted Arizona from being a “Toss-Up” to a “Lean R” battleground state. If Arizona were to land in the Trump camp, he would capture its eleven electoral votes, which have proven critical to securing a victory for the White House in recent elections.
🚨 BREAKING: Arizona Moves from ‘Toss-Up’ to ‘Lean R’
In the final week before Election Day, Arizona has shifted from battleground to a likely win for President Trump and the @AZGOP!
According to the analysis from Fox News, “Immigration continues to be a highly important issue in Arizona, which shares a border with Mexico. In the latest Wall Street Journal survey, 25% of voters said immigration was the most important issue to their vote, higher than any other battleground. It was a ‘deal-breaker’ issue for 24% of voters. And Arizona voters preferred Trump on the issue by 10 points.”
The analysis added that “statewide polling has been directionally consistent and immigration reigns supreme.”
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have targeted Arizona repeatedly over the past few months, spending large sums of money on advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts and making several trips to the state to encourage men and women to vote for their candidate in the closing days of the contest. Both Trump and his Vice-Presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance, were in Arizona last week, and they are returning this week. Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, have made a handful of stops in communities around the state in recent weeks as well.
A recent poll from Atlas Intel shows that President Trump has opened up an almost four-point lead on Harris in Arizona, when the full field of candidates is included in the survey. Almost fifty-seven percent of respondents disapprove of President Joe Biden’s performance over the past four years, compared to just thirty-nine percent who approve, assisting in Trump’s ascent to the top of the polls in the Grand Canyon State. Almost fifty-four percent of respondents believe that Biden’s performance has been “bad / terrible” compared to twenty-eight percent who selected “excellent / good.”
As of Wednesday, Arizona Republicans continue to outpace their Democrat counterparts in early ballot returns, giving cautious optimism to many in the party around the state that, should the trend continue, Election Night on Tuesday, November 5, could be a very good night for them as they watch the results roll in from around the country.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has made no secret of her desire to dismantle the state’s school choice benefits for tens of thousands of children and their families, and this weekend, she was challenged on her desires by Fox News Sunday host, Shannon Bream, during an exclusive interview leading up to the Super Bowl in Glendale.
During the interview, Bream asked the governor why all students shouldn’t have a chance to have the educational opportunities that she had growing up – a reference to Hobbs’ high school graduation from Seton Catholic Preparatory. Governor Hobbs appeared to embrace the rhetoric of school choice proponents as she searched for justification for her positions, responding that her parents “made that choice” and that they “sacrificed a lot” to give her the chance at a private education.
Hobbs went on to say that she wants every student in Arizona to have access to high-quality public education – access that she claimed would not happen under Arizona’s historic Educational Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which was passed last year by the Arizona Legislature. Bream followed up by asking the governor if students should not have a chance to go elsewhere if their school system was failing. Hobbs’ reply was that “the schools are failing because we are failing to invest in them.”
But Governor Hobbs’ rampant claims of the ESA program bankrupting and failing Arizona schools were met with facts from several individuals. Corey DeAngelis, one of the nation’s premier “evangelists” of school choice, tweeted thanks to Shannon Bream for citing his January Wall Street Journal article, showing that Arizona’s ESA program could actually save the state more than $100 million.
And Andrew Clark, Executive Director of Yes. Every Kid. Foundation, tweeted, “The average cost for a family to homeschool is year is about: $2k per kid. Micro-schools and pods are about $5k. Private schools average $10k, charters around $12k. Public schools clock in around $15k. But sure it’s a spending problem for public schools…let’s ignore the facts…”
The average cost for a family to homeschool is year is about: $2k per kid. Microschools and pods are about $5k. Private schools average $10k, charters around $12k. Public schools clock in around $15k. But sure it’s a spending problem for public schools…let’s ignore the facts… https://t.co/b0Rgjq4JAd
Governor Hobbs’ answers on school choice quickly went viral after the recorded interview went live Sunday morning, and Arizona Republicans, who are at the front lines of protecting the landmark ESA program, wasted no time in making their thoughts known.
The Arizona Senate Republicans Twitter account posted: “.@GovernorHobbs response makes absolutely zero sense, other than reinforcing why expansion of ESA school choice is so desperately needed.”
Senator Justine Wadsack tweeted, “So #HypocriteHobbs attended PRIVATE school, and her parents made “sacrifices” to put her there. Even found themselves on food stamps! Had #ESA/#SchoolChoice existed back then, her parents would have been given $7,000 to help with the cost of Katie’s education.”
So #HypocriteHobbs attended PRIVATE school, and her parents made "sacrifices" to put her there. Even found themselves on food stamps!
Representative Quang Nguyen stated, “So if your parents afforded you this great opportunity, shouldn’t you make it possible for other parents to give their children the same opportunity you received as a child? Asking for Arizonans.”
So if your parents afforded you this great opportunity, shouldn’t you make it possible for other parents to give their children the same opportunity you received as a child? Asking for Arizonans. https://t.co/ffMnjxSRMo
Representative Cory McGarr disagreed with Governor Hobbs’ characterizations of district school funding, saying: “Our government schools are failing because we are supposedly starving them of resources?? 73% increase in funding since 2016… Perhaps they are failing because they focus on woke sexualization, feelings and racism and have no accountability because of politicians like this.”
Our government schools are failing because we are supposedly starving them of resources??
73% increase in funding since 2016…
Perhaps they are failing because they focus on woke sexualization, feelings and racism and have no accountability because of politicians like this. https://t.co/xXGMqiFyUq
Representative Matt Gress underlined the foundation of the school choice argument, writing: “.@GovernorHobbs’ parents struggled to provide her with an education THEY thought best. It’s unfortunate she wants AZ families to choose between being on food stamps or sending their kids to the school they choose. Let’s help families. Give them a choice, not push them down.”
.@GovernorHobbs’ parents struggled to provide her with an education THEY thought best.
It’s unfortunate she wants AZ families to choose between being on food stamps or sending their kids to the school they choose.
Representative Austin Smith said, “Booed at the Phoenix Open, health nominee failed in the senate committee and called out for her hypocrisy on school choice on national Sunday show. Bad weekend for Hobbs. Is there anyone who thinks she’s actually an effective leader?”
Booed at the Phoenix Open, health nominee failed in the senate committee and called out for her hypocrisy on school choice on national Sunday show. Bad weekend for Hobbs.
Representative Justin Heap tweeted: “@katiehobbs is committed to ending Az’s ESA program which allows thousands of Arizona children to receive the same private school education she received. Katie Hobbs definitely believes in pulling the ladder up behind her.”
@katiehobbs is committed to ending Az's ESA program which allows thousands of Arizona children to receive the same private school education she received. Katie Hobbs definately believes in pulling the ladder up behind her. https://t.co/zI9tjtBJ53
