by Matthew Holloway | Jan 8, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
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.
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.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Dec 19, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
On Tuesday, the Arizona Republican Party cast its votes for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
“With a decisive victory, Arizonans delivered a clear mandate: return to common sense, security, prosperity and liberty,” said the Arizona GOP. “God bless America and let the Golden Age begin!”
Trump won Arizona with over 52 percent of the vote (over 1.7 million votes) to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’s 46.7 percent (over 1.5 million votes).
As a swing state once again this election, Arizona delivered 11 electoral votes for Republicans. The flip from the 2020 election marked a key victory in an overall decisive comeback for Trump.
The president-elect not only secured but swept all seven battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Trump won 312 electoral votes over the 226 pulled by Harris.
Trump won with a greater margin than Joe Biden did in 2020. In the last presidential election, Biden won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. Democrats flipped the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump matched Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton (both securing 306 electoral votes), meaning Trump outdid his 2016 performance in addition to his comeback from his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s victory didn’t translate to flipped congressional seats in Arizona. Incumbents held their seats within their parties. However, Republicans did expand their slim majority in the state legislature.
The open Senate seat vacated by independent Kyrsten Sinema was nabbed by Democratic candidate Ruben Gallego, who emerged victorious with 50 percent of the vote (an 80,600-vote lead) to Republican candidate Kari Lake’s 47 percent.
Lake’s loss didn’t take her out of the political arena, however. Lake secured a spot within Trump’s administration as the director of the federally funded Voice of America (VOA), an entity within the U.S. Agency for Global Media. VOA’s current director is Michael Abramowitz, formerly the president of the DC-based nonprofit Freedom House and longtime reporter with The Washington Post.
Incumbent Democratic Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Greg Stanton defended their seats from Republican challengers. Likewise, incumbent Republican Reps. David Schweikert, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Juan Ciscomani, and Paul Gosar defended their seats from Democratic challengers.
Although his seat was hotly contested, Ciscomani fended off a challenge from repeat Democratic candidate Kirsten Engel.
Abe Hamadeh, a Republican, secured the open District 8 seat left by Debbie Lesko. Unlike Lake, Hamadeh successfully navigated the loss of a statewide seat in 2022 to nab a higher seat this year.
In the state legislature, Arizona Republicans flipped a net total of three seats: one in the state senate, and three in the state house (another seat in the house flipped blue). Republicans expanded their majority from 16-14 to 17-13 in the senate and from 31-29 to 33-27 in the house.
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) claimed in a statement on the legislative expansion that Arizona Republicans outperformed Democrats despite leftwing groups having spent over $9 million.
The inauguration is scheduled to take place on Jan. 20, 2025.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 2, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
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.
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.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 27, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A new poll shows that former President Donald J. Trump is maintaining his lead in the Grand Canyon State with less than two weeks until the pivotal General Election.
InsiderAdvantage released the results of a survey of 800 likely voters, that had Trump leading his Democrat opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, by three percent (50-47).
The Republican nominee for President leads Harris with Male voters (53.6-42.2), White voters (50.3-45.8), Hispanic voters (50.2-48.6), and Independent voters (49.5-43.5).
According to the poll, when individuals were asked about how the majority of their neighbors would vote in the race for President, almost half (47.7) responded that those around them would vote for Trump. Only 23.1% believe that their neighbors would vote for Harris.
President Trump is leading Harris in the RealClearPolitics polling average for Arizona, with a 1.8% spread with the results over the past month (49.1-47.3).
Arizona has proven to be a critical battleground state in the race for the White House, leading to the candidates and their surrogates flooding the airwaves and campaigning repeatedly in the state during these presidential election years. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance, was just in Arizona on Tuesday, stopping in Peoria and Tucson to rally support for his ticket. Trump was in Tempe on Thursday, making a curious pitstop in a region that is usually dominated by college and left-leaning voters. Another just-announced event by Trump and Tucker Carlson is for Glendale on October 31.
Democrats, led by Harris and her surrogates, have also barnstormed the state in recent weeks and months.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 25, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
As the 2024 General Election entered its final weeks, the Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee, made two stops in the critical swing state of Arizona.
On Tuesday, Senator J.D. Vance, President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, visited Peoria and Tucson in an attempt to rally support for his ticket and to convince undecided voters to come over to the Republican side to return the 45th President to the White House.
While in Arizona, Vance said, “I got the easiest job in American politics. I get to go around and remind the American people that Donald Trump delivered rising take home pay and low inflation – Tim Walz has to go around and somehow convince the American people that Kamala Harris is going to solve the problems she has created.”
Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers applauded his appearance on her X account, writing, “JD Vance is SO GOOD.”
Incoming U.S. Representative for Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District, Abraham Hamadeh, spoke at the Peoria event, saying, “We were placed at this moment for a reason. We really were. And I want every single one of you to understand that we’ve got 13, 14 days to save our great Republic, and it’s not just the United States of America we’re saving. We are saving civilization.”
Senator Vance’s event in Peoria was hosted by TYR Tactical, which is owned by Jason Beck, who also serves as the city’s mayor. TYR Tactical, which is one of the top private employers in Peoria, has been home to a rising number of events and rallies over the past two political cycles. In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News, Mayor Beck commented about his willingness to open his place of business for Republican efforts, saying, “I am proud of our community, and of the people in Peoria. We are privileged to offer our facility and resources to support the people and causes we believe in.”
Beck was excited about the event and the support for the Trump-Vance ticket that he could see from his vantage point. He said, “Arizona has a lot of motivated voters who want to see Trump and Vance in the White House. We had an amazing turn-out of support from citizens who are excited about a future with President Trump and Vice President Vance. Senator Vance spoke about the importance of a thriving economy, the effects that inflation has on families, businesses, and our seniors. His message was clear. We need to invest in our country. We need to keep our enemies away from our borders, and we need to compassionately serve the everyday needs of American citizens.”
When asked why he was supporting the Trump-Vance ticket, Beck added, “The Trump-Vance ticket understands what it takes to make small businesses like mine, flourish. The Trump administrations’ tax credits allowed me to utilize R&D Tax credits to invest in our business and create jobs for the American worker. When our business grows, we are able to increase the amount of premium equipment we can provide to our law enforcement and military to ensure they are brought home safely. With business growth, we are able to provide more jobs for the people in our community.”
The first-term mayor also reflected on how his city is poised to work with a potential Trump-Vance administration, stating, “As the Mayor of Peoria, and as a job creator, I want to be a voice for everyone, not just the people who vote for me. I employ people of many different ethnic and faith backgrounds. Democrats often say they care about diverse and underserved communities, but it is the policies from the first Trump term that helped create opportunities and jobs for them. Trump-Vance give us the best opportunity to protect our country and bring the next phase of positive economic growth to lead America into its next phase of greatness and prosperity.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
