Arizona's 8th Congressional District

Arizona's 8th Congressional District

Incumbent

Abraham Hamadeh

Assumed office: January 3, 2025

Arizona's 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Abraham Hamadeh (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Arizona representatives represented an average of 795,436 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 712,522 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2024

Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (July 30 Republican primary)

Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (July 30 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Abraham Hamadeh defeated Gregory Whitten in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abraham Hamadeh (R)	56.5	208,269
		Gregory Whitten (D)	43.5	160,344

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 368,613
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeremy Spreitzer (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Gregory Whitten advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gregory Whitten	100.0	47,406

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,406
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sheila Bilyeu (D)
• Marc Lewis (D)
• Bernadette Greene Placentia (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abraham Hamadeh	29.9	30,686
		Blake Masters	25.7	26,422
		Ben Toma	21.0	21,549
		Trent Franks	16.3	16,714
		Anthony Kern	4.8	4,922
		Patrick Briody	2.3	2,336
		Isiah Gallegos (Write-in)	0.0	35

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 102,664
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Debbie Lesko (R)

2022

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko defeated Jeremy Spreitzer and Alixandria Guzman in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko (R)	96.5	197,555
		Jeremy Spreitzer (D) (Write-in)	2.5	5,145
	Submit photo	Alixandria Guzman (D) (Write-in)	1.0	2,013

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 204,713
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (D)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Holmes (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko	100.0	100,629

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,629
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Charly Corazon (R)

2020

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko defeated Michael Muscato and Taliban Hendrix in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko (R)	59.6	251,633
		Michael Muscato (D)	40.4	170,816
	Submit photo	Taliban Hendrix (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	18

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 422,467
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ryan Risselman (R)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Michael Muscato defeated Bob Olsen, Bob Musselwhite, and Kyle Martin in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Muscato	54.4	35,923
		Bob Olsen	31.1	20,547
		Bob Musselwhite	14.5	9,578
	Submit photo	Kyle Martin (Write-in)	0.1	45

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko	100.0	105,758

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 105,758
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jimmy Rodriguez (R)

2018

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko defeated Hiral Tipirneni in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko (R)	55.5	168,835
		Hiral Tipirneni (D)	44.5	135,569
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	13

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 304,417 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Augie Beyer (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Hiral Tipirneni advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hiral Tipirneni	100.0	52,215

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,215
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bob Musselwhite (D)
• Brianna Westbrook (D)
• Bob Olsen (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko defeated Sandra Dowling in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko	77.2	73,776
		Sandra Dowling	22.8	21,825

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 95,601
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kevin Cavanaugh (R)
• Christopher Sylvester (R)
• Brenden Dilley (R)

2018 special election

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District special election, 2018

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 Special Election, 2018
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Debbie Lesko	52.61%	91,390
	Democratic	Hiral Tipirneni	47.39%	82,318
Total Votes (100% reporting (143 of 143 precincts))				173,708
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

Democratic primary election

Hiral Tipirneni defeated Brianna Westbrook in the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 Democratic Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Hiral Tipirneni	59.62%	21,703
Brianna Westbrook	40.38%	14,701
Total Votes (100% reporting (143 of 143 precincts))		36,404
Source: The New York Times

Republican primary election

Debbie Lesko defeated 11 other candidates in the Republican primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District with 36 percent support.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Debbie Lesko	35.77%	25,508
Phil Lovas	23.88%	17,031
Steve B. Montenegro	23.82%	16,987
Bob Stump	5.37%	3,832
Clair Van Steenwyk	2.37%	1,692
Chris Sylvester	1.92%	1,370
David Lien	1.77%	1,261
Richard Mack	1.42%	1,014
Mark Yates	1.12%	799
Chad Allen	1.05%	747
Brenden Dilley	1.03%	734
Stephen Dolgos	0.48%	345
Total Votes (100% reporting (143 of 143 precincts))		71,320
Source: The New York Times

2016

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Trent Franks (R) defeated Mark Salazar (G) and write-in candidate Joe DeVivo (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Franks defeated Clair Van Steenwyk in the Republican primary on August 30, 2016.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Trent Franks Incumbent	68.5%	204,942
	Green	Mark Salazar	31.4%	93,954
	N/A	Write-in	0%	75
Total Votes				298,971
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Trent Franks Incumbent	71.1%	59,042
Clair Van Steenwyk	28.9%	24,042
Total Votes		83,084
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

2014

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 8th Congressional District of Arizona held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Trent Franks (R) defeated Stephen Dolgos (Americans Elect) in the general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Trent Franks Incumbent	75.8%	128,710
	Americans Elect	Stephen Dolgos	24.2%	41,066
Total Votes				169,776
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

2012

Regular election

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District elections, 2012

In 2012, District 2 incumbent Trent Franks (R) decided to run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th District. He defeated Gene Scharer (D) and Stephen Dolgos (Americans Elect) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Trent Franks Incumbent	63.3%	172,809
	Democratic	Gene Scharer	35.1%	95,635
	Americans Elect	Stephen Dolgos	1.6%	4,347
Total Votes				272,791
Source: Arizona Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Special election

On April 17, 2012, Ron Barber won election to the United States House. He defeated six candidates in the special general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 Special election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ron Barber	36.3%	44,185
	Republican	Jesse Kelly	22.3%	27,101
	Republican	Martha McSally	16%	19,413
	Republican	Frank Antenori	14.4%	17,497
	Republican	Dave Sitton	10.9%	13,299
	Green	Charlie Manolakis	0.1%	116
	Write-in	Richard Grayson	0%	2
Total Votes				121,613
Source: Results via Arizona State Board of Elections

2010
On November 2, 2010, Gabrielle Giffords won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Jesse Kelly (R) and Steven Stoltz (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gabrielle Giffords incumbent	48.8%	138,280
	Republican	Jesse Kelly	47.3%	134,124
	Libertarian	Steven Stoltz	3.9%	11,174
Total Votes				283,578

2008
On November 4, 2008, Gabrielle Giffords won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Tim Bee (R), Paul Davis (L) and Paul Price (Write-in) in the general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gabrielle Giffords incumbent	54.7%	179,629
	Republican	Tim Bee	42.8%	140,553
	Libertarian	Paul Davis	2.5%	8,081
	Write-in	Paul Price	0%	3
Total Votes				328,266

2006
On November 7, 2006, Gabrielle Giffords won election to the United States House. She defeated Randy Graf (R), David Nolan (L) and Jay Quick (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gabrielle Giffords	54.3%	137,655
	Republican	Randy Graf	42.1%	106,790
	Libertarian	David Nolan	1.9%	4,849
	Independent	Jay Quick	1.7%	4,408
	N/A	Write-in	0%	18
Total Votes				253,720

2004
On November 2, 2004, Jim Kolbe won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Eva Bacal (D) and Robert Anderson (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jim Kolbe incumbent	60.4%	183,363
	Democratic	Eva Bacal	36.2%	109,963
	Libertarian	Robert Anderson	3.4%	10,443
Total Votes				303,769

2002
On November 5, 2002, Jim Kolbe won election to the United States House. He defeated Mary Judge Ryan (D), Joe Duarte (L), and Jim Dorrance (write-in) in the general election.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jim Kolbe	63.3%	126,930
	Democratic	Mary Judge Ryan	33.6%	67,328
	Libertarian	Joe Duarte	3.1%	6,142
	Write-in	Jim Dorrance	0%	28
Total Votes				200,428

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Arizona after the 2020 census

On January 24, 2022, Arizona enacted its new congressional map after the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission transmitted its finalized congressional map plan to the secretary of state. The commission initially voted to finalize and certify the congressional map plan on Jan. 18. The commission's nonpartisan chairwoman, Erika Neuberg, joined the two Republican members—David Mehl and Douglas York—voting in favor of the map. The commission's two Democratic members—Shereen Lerner and Derrick Watchman—were opposed. This map took effect for Arizona's 2022 congressional elections.

The commission previously voted in favor of the congressional map by a 5-0 vote on Dec. 22, 2021, which was followed by a period for counties to request administrative changes before the final vote on Jan. 18.

How does redistricting in Arizona work? The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. The commission is composed of five members. Of these, four are selected by the majority and minority leaders of each chamber of the state legislature from a list of 25 candidates nominated by the state commission on appellate court appointments. These 25 nominees comprise 10 Democrats, 10 Republicans, and 5 unaffiliated citizens. The four commission members appointed by legislative leaders then select the fifth member to round out the commission. The fifth member of the commission must belong to a different political party than the other commissioners. The governor, with a two-thirds vote in the Arizona State Senate, may remove a commissioner "for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of office." The Arizona State Legislature may make recommendations to the commission, but ultimate authority is vested with the commission.

The Arizona Constitution requires that both congressional and state legislative districts be "contiguous, geographically compact, and respect communities of interest–all to the extent practicable." The state constitution further mandates that district lines "should [follow] visible geographic features, city, town, and county boundaries, and undivided census tracts." In addition, the constitution requires that "competitive districts be favored where doing so would not significantly detract from the goals above."

Arizona District 8
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Arizona District 8
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 8th Congressional District of Arizona after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Arizona after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Arizona State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

Gender/wage gap

Arizona's 8th has the largest wage gap between genders in the state, with men earning nearly $12,500 more than women on average. Statewide, men earn nearly $6,500 more than women on average. Conversely, Arizona's 4th Congressional District is 1 of 12 districts in the nation where women earn more than men do. Women earn $111 more than men in the district.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+10. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 10 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Arizona's 8th the 149th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 56.1%-42.5%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+10. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 10 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Arizona's 8th the 147th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 42.5% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 56.1%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+13. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Arizona's 8th Congressional District the 96th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.01. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.01 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Arizona
• Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2024
• Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2022
• Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2020
• Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 8

Footnotes

[show]

Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ruben Gallego (D)

Mark Kelly (D)

Representatives

District 1

David Schweikert (R)

District 2

Eli Crane (R)

District 3

Yassamin Ansari (D)

District 4

Greg Stanton (D)

District 5

Andy Biggs (R)

District 6

Juan Ciscomani (R)

District 7

Vacant

District 8

Abraham Hamadeh (R)

District 9

Paul Gosar (R)

Republican Party (6)

Democratic Party (4)

Vacancies (1)