Lake, Hamadeh, House Republicans Secure Primary Victories

The results for Arizona's 2024 primary elections show that Kari Lake (R), who is running to represent Arizona in the Senate, and Abe Hamadeh (R), seeking to replace Representative Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) in the House of Representatives, have won their respective races. Other House Republicans up for reelection this cycle, including Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ), one of the few to face a Republican opponent, also won their primaries quite handily.

Lake secured her victory over Sheriff Mark Lamb (R) with 55.4% of the vote compared to Lamb's 39.2%. Such a victory is likely attributable to Lake's greater name recognition, having previously run against Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) for Governor, staunch support for former President Donald Trump, and her recent speech at the Republican National Convention.

Abe Hamadeh, the former Army Captain running to replace the outgoing Representative Debbie Lesko (R-08), won a much narrower victory over Blake Masters at 29.8%, with Masters at 25.3%.

Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) soundly defeated primary challenger Kathleen Winn by nearly 20 points at 59.4% to Winn's 40.6%. This victory is particularly impressive considering District 6's battleground nature when Rep. Ciscomani barely eked out a win by less than 1.5 points in 2022.

Similarly, Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ), representing the equally purple District 1, walloped the opposition with 62.8% of the vote, the nearest competitor, former FBI agent Kim George, only winning 27.2%. Like Rep. Ciscomani, Rep. Schweikert's victory is worth noting, as he, too, won in the 2022 midterms by a hair's breadth.

However, few truly trounced their primary opponent like Rep. Crane did, coming in at a massive 79.8% of the vote to former Yavapai County Commissioner Jack Smith's (no relation to the prosecutor) 20.2%. This victory was truly overwhelming.

Back in May, Rep. Crane spoke with Cactus Politics about his primary, suggesting Smith was backed by former Speaker Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in retaliation for the Arizona Congressman's support for removing McCarthy as Speaker, and Smith was something of a last-minute challenger.

"At the end of the day, you make your bed up here [that] you sleep in, and I am proud to be on their hit list. For my voters, it is a badge of honor. Everybody feels that way," Crane told Cactus Politics.