A fight between Arizona Republican House primary opponents Blake Masters and Abraham Hamadeh is heating up after the leaking of private texts between the two.
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail published texts between Masters and Hamadeh sent in 2023, during Hamadeh’s run for the Arizona attorney general position, a race he narrowly lost. In the texts, Hamadeh appears to deride Republicans who had denied election results as “crazies.”
Blake Masters and Abraham Hamadeh.
“No matter what happens, I’m winning right now,” he texted Masters on Jan. 20, 2023. “I’m not lumped in with crazies with election stuff because I’m so close at 280, but the crazies love because they see me fighting. Win win.”
He then sent a picture of himself on vacation in Thailand.
Shortly after the texts were published, Hamadeh railed against Masters on social media, labeling him “Blake ‘The Snake’ Masters.”
“Blake ‘The Snake’ Masters is undermining our election lawsuit, President Trump, Kari Lake, and the entire America First movement,” he said in a post on X, alongside a campaign ad denouncing Masters. “MAGA fights back.”
Blake ‘The Snake’ Masters is undermining our election lawsuit, President Trump, Kari Lake, and the entire America First movement.MAGA fights back.👇pic.twitter.com/dRDGnEfUcV
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) May 22, 2024
Hamadeh then reposted a message from his campaign’s “War Room” account, claiming the texts were taken out of context.
“[Hamadeh] has filed three lawsuits, been sanctioned hundreds of thousands of dollars, & been dragged through the press as an ‘election denier,’ & Masters leaks out-of-context private texts to suggest Abe doesn’t believe the election was stolen? Does Masters think anyone is going to fall for this crap?” it read.
“Blake is a coward who is hell-bent on dividing the #MAGA movement & damaging President Trump,” the post continued. “Abe will continue to fight for election integrity, & against people who utterly lack integrity like Blake Masters.”
Is this a joke?@AbrahamHamadeh has filed three lawsuits, been sanctioned hundreds of thousands of dollars, & been dragged through the press as an “election denier,” & Masters leaks out-of-context private texts to suggest Abe doesn’t believe the election was stolen?Does… pic.twitter.com/PtTPbg2W1u
— Abe Hamadeh War Room (@AbeWarRoom) May 22, 2024
Hamadeh campaign spokeswoman Erica Knight told the Arizona Republic in a statement that the House candidate was actually using the term in a flattering manner. According to her, Hamadeh “has been labeled a crazy time and time again” and “chooses to laugh about it rather than back do …