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PHOENIX, Ariz. — A U.S. Army veteran running for Congress is working double time to save America from the "left-wing lunatics" he says have "hijacked" the country and are "hell-bent on destroying it."
Republican Abe Hamadeh, 33, a former Maricopa County prosecutor running to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital in an interview that a "new generation" of leaders was needed to take on the wide-ranging problems facing the nation, and that he was committed to being the "fighter" everyday Americans have been looking for.
"When I took the oath of office as an Army intelligence officer in the reserve and served overseas, I took my oath to the Constitution seriously," Hamadeh said, vowing he would "never compromise" on the issues that have made America great.
"I'm just seeing our country being hijacked by left-wing lunatics who are hell-bent on destroying it. So I think it's going to take a new generation of fighters who don't back down, who will never surrender, and never compromise on the issues that have made our country great," he said.
Republican Abe Hamadeh, a U.S. Army Reserve intelligence officer, is running to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District. (Abe for Arizona)
"I think people right now are looking for courage. They know all the problems… They all see the border, and they all see our elections are compromised, but they want somebody to go in there and fight and do something about it."
Hamadeh, who has never held elected office, is a son of first-generation immigrants from Syria and Venezuela, and has served in the U.S. Army Reserve in an intelligence role since 2016. He deployed to Saudi Arabia from 2020-2021, where he worked in a counterterrorism capacity following the 2019 terrorist attack in Pensacola, Florida at the hands of a Saudi Arabian pilot.
He was the Republican nominee for Arizona attorney general during the 2022 midterm elections, but narrowly lost by less than 300 votes to his Democratic opponent. A recount automatically triggered by Arizona law because of the narrow margin cut the Democrat's lead by nearly half.
Hamadeh unsuccessfully challenged the result in court, maintaining that thousands of provisional ballots went uncounted.
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Republican Arizona congressional candidate serves as an intelligence officer with the U.S. Army Reserve. (Abe for Arizona)
Now he says one of the first issues he would work to address as a member of Congress is election integrity.
"We have so many people who have distrust in our elections because of the incompetence and possible corruption of so many of our election officials and people who refuse to acknowledge that there are some huge failures in how our elections are run," Hamadeh said, referencing his 2022 race. "It's just a complete mess… It was just so much chaos. Without addressing it and without accountability, it's going to increase."
His plan includes banning certain outside money from helping fund election operations, as well as putting a stop to ranked-choice voting at the federal level.
The ongoing border crisis is another issue Hamadeh said would be a top priority if elected, an area he hopes to work closely on with former President Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake should they also win their elections in November.
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Former President Trump endorsed Republican Abe Hamadeh to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District. (Abe for Arizona)
He's grown close with both throughout his campaign, and secured their endorsements early on in the primary race despite going up against a more well-known Blake Masters, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022.
"President Trump and Kari Lake have endorsed me and so many great people, because they've seen it takes a certain type of mental toughness to go through any political campaign," Hamadeh said. "They just want somebody who knows that they're unwavering in their support to make our country great. And that's exactly what I intend to do when I'm in Congress."
"People want something new and different, and they expect you to go out there, meet the people and know what issues matter to them and fight for them and not just give them lip service. The voters in this district, especially in Arizona, are hungry for something to be done about our border. They want something to be done about our elections. They just want some push back against what they see is our country being stolen from them right in front of them."
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Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake and Republican Arizona House candidate Abe Hamadeh (Abe for Arizona)
Hamadeh faces a crowded Republican primary field, including Masters, hoping to replace retiring GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko, but is confident his support from Trump and Lake, as well as his experience serving the country, will carry him across the finish line when voters head to the polls.
The winner of the July 30 primary will be the heavy favorite to win the November general election since analysts rate the race as either "safe" or "solid" Republican.
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