NW Valley Times

U.S. Congressional Candidate Blake Masters (R-AZ-8) announced today that his campaign has launched a new TV and radio ad campaign titled, “Dishonest Abe.”

The ads are about Abe Hamadeh, one of Masters’ opponents in the Republican Primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

“What does dishonest Abe Hamadeh believe?” said the TV ad. “Dishonest Abe supported Chuck Schumer’s amnesty bill, maybe because Abe’s parents were illegal immigrants.”

“Dishonest Abe said women have the right to abort their babies,” the ad said. “Dishonest Abe supported cuts to Social Security, Medicare and the military.”

The ad also said that Hamadeh “said America was founded on Islamic principles” and “said Israel was behind 9/11.”

The campaign also launched a website with more information on statements made in the ad.

Hamadeh tweeted on June 19, 2013 that the so-called “Gang of 8” immigration bill was a “fix to the system.” That bill, S. 744, passed the Democrat-controlled Senate with only 14 Republican votes, and was stalled in the Republican-led U.S. House. 

U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote in June 2013 that S. 744 "does not secure the border" and "doesn't build a fence,” but that it would “immediately legalize millions of currently undocumented immigrants, make them eligible for government services and put them on a pathway to citizenship.”

According to court records, Hamadeh’s “father overstayed a visa by nearly seven years and was not in the country legally when the candidate was born,” reported the Arizona Republic in September 2022.  

Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts wrote on March 4 that “Hamadeh was born in Illinois to two Syrian immigrants who were here illegally, having overstayed their visas the previous year.” 

Hamadeh also posted on X on October 19, 2011 that abortion "ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make.”

He also tweeted in 2013 that, “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and entitlement programs make up more than 55% of our budget. Something's got to change.”

The Masters campaign's new website also shares a screenshot of what the campaign said is a June 22, 2009 post on RonPaulForums.com of a user named “Hamadeh” writing, “America was founded on Islamic principles.”

That user account and the posts were the subject of an August 23, 2022, Phoenix New Times article in which reporter Elias Weiss wrote, "The username on the account that posted the comments is 'Hamadeh" and the birthday listed on the account is Hamadeh’s birthday, May 15, 1991."  

Weiss also wrote that Scottsdale, Arizona was listed as on the "Hamadeh" user profile.

In a statement to the New Times, a spokesman for Hamadeh's then-campaign for Arizona Attorney General did not confirm or deny whether Hamadeh wrote the posts, but said that Hamadeh was being "scrutinized on his digital footprint dating back to a time when he was 16 years old."

The Masters campaign told NW Valley Times that the ads started running today on TV, radio, and social media, and that the end date of the ads is "to be determined."

Masters is one of four candidates currently running in the Republican primary to represent the 8th Congressional District. The district is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R), who announced last year that she will be retiring at the end of the current term.

After growing up and attending high school in Tucson, Masters graduated from Stanford University and received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He then co-founded legal research startup Judicata.

He is co-author of the bestselling business book, “Zero to One: Notes on a Startup” with Peter Thiel, and served as president of the Thiel Foundation. Masters married his wife, Catherine, in 2012 and they have four sons.