Damning texts show Republicans mocking ‘crazies’ disputing election results while on holiday in Thailand
Republican congressional candidate Abraham Hamadeh continues to dispute the results of the 2022 election, but new text messages obtained by DailyMail.com suggest he was not always the stealthy election fighter he now portrays himself to be.
The campaign between Hamadeh and Blake Masters has pitted former MAGA operatives and allies against each other, as both Republican candidates compete in the primaries to replace retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ).
Hamadeh ran and lost his 2022 race for Arizona attorney general by a razor-thin margin, but he made sure not to be lumped in with angry Republicans he described as “the crazies” who created a firestorm in response to the election results.
His opponent, Democrat Kris Mayes, was leading by just 510 votes when final election voting was completed in late November. In a subsequent recount, completed in December, Hamadeh lost by just 280 votes.
Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh are competing in the Republican primaries for AZ-8
That margin left Hamadeh in a positive mood, even as his legal challenges to the election results were rejected by the courts.
“No matter what happens, I’m winning now,” he texted fellow Republican Blake Masters on January 20, 2023.
“I don’t get lumped in with election crazies because I’m so close to 280, but the crazies love it because they see me fighting. Win-win,” he added, even though it looked like he would lose his race.
According to Hamadeh, “the crazies” seemed to be the passionate Republicans who questioned the election results of clear losses in the state.
Hamadeh then texted a selfie of him attending a boxing event.
“In Thailand now,” he added with a laughing emoji.
Masters praised Hamadeh for waging a “noble and disciplined struggle” and even said he was glad the candidate “got a little rest” after the campaign.
The Hamadeh campaign dismissed the leaked messages as yet another “misleading” attempt by the Masters campaign to discredit Trump’s support.
“This is nothing more than a sad and vindictive plan to undermine President Trump after he refused to support him and his lies continue to prove why the base is abandoning him: he is a coward without a conscience,” said Hamadeh campaign spokesperson Erica Knight . a statement to DailyMail.com.
At the time of the text conversation, Masters had lost his own campaign to defeat incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly by five points, despite the support and financial backing of billionaire tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
Masters was in no position to challenge the results of his election loss, but he notably did not join the MAGA Republicans in the state that challenged the election.
In 2022, Trump was unhappy with Masters’ failure to make election fraud in Arizona a centerpiece of his campaign, urging him to be “stronger” on the issue.
“You lose when you get soft. You’re going to lose that base,” Trump said.
Former President Trump endorsed Abe Hamadeh in the primaries against Blake Masters
Being a candidate for the House of Representatives in 2024 was not Masters’ first choice. He initially considered replacing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, until MAGA favorite Kari Lake entered the race with Trump’s endorsement.
Despite his feelings in January, Hamadeh is not giving up on his old race, even as he is lumped in with “the crazies” who are contesting the election results.
In May he has archived his fourth legal challenge to the 2022 elections in Arizona demanded a reconsideration, even though Democrat Kris Mayes was declared the winner in the election in late December and has been in office since early this year.
His previous efforts were rejected, dismissed and mocked by Democrats, but he is committed to the cause.
For a Republican in Arizona, it’s important to be seen as someone who won’t back down or be subjugated by Democratic ridicule, the media and Arizona’s irritated legal community.
“Abe has never stopped fighting for fair elections, despite efforts to discredit, discredit and even punish him,” Knight said.
Hamadeh is now appearing in pro-Trump media interviews to demonstrate his full commitment to fighting the results of not only the 2022 election, but the 2020 election as well.
“These judges need to wake up,” he said in an interview with conservative news outlet Gateway Pundit. “They must love the rule of law more than they love me, because right now the people elected me in November 2022, and Arizona currently has an illegitimate government there and an illegitimate attorney general.”
Today, both Masters and Hamadeh are in the middle of a nail-biting primary battle for a special congressional seat in the state.
Hamadeh has the support of President Donald Trump, Kari Lake and several other MAGA figures in Trump’s orbit. Whoever wins the primary will likely win the race against every Democrat in the conservative district.
Both candidates are fighting for a less prestigious office, but with equal intensity as they try to escape the brand of a two-time loser.