Abe Hamadeh? Blake Masters? Isn't there anyone in CD 8 who could represent CD 8?

Suddenly, Glendale is the hottest address in town.

Ambitious Republicans across the state are pulling out their carpetbags, having suddenly developed a keen interest in the West Valley.

Open congressional seats, after all, don’t come along all that often, and in a heavily Republican district where a cakewalk awaits come November.

Glendale is now the promised land for every ambitious Republican.

Hamadeh, Masters don't live in CD 8

Within 2½ hours of Rep. Debbie Lesko announcing on Tuesday that she won’t run again in Congressional District 8, Abe Hamadeh jumped into the race. The fact that Hamadeh lives in Scottsdale (CD 1) didn’t seem to slow him down.

Within two days, Blake Masters reportedly was polling to gauge his prospects. Masters lives in Tucson (CD 6).

Of course, there’s nothing in the federal law that requires you to live in the district you represent.

But shouldn't you at least know how to get there without Google maps?

Political strategists tell me carpet-bagging isn’t really a knock on a candidate in Arizona, pointing to John McCain, who won a House seat in 1982 just a year after moving to Arizona.

But McCain had a great comeback for anyone who accused him of carpet-bagging.

“The longest place I ever lived was in Hanoi,” he would reply, referring to his nomadic childhood as the son of a naval officer and his 6½ years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Better to be a carpetbagger than a RINO?

That won’t work for Masters or Hamadeh, though it likely won’t matter.

“It’s a bigger liability if you’re a RINO in today’s Republican Party than it is to be a carpetbagger,” pollster Mike Noble told me.

Yet I recall Republicans being affronted when Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, having lost twice to Lesko in 2018, set her sights to the east on Rep. David Schweikert’s seat in 2020.

“She is not even a resident,” Seeing Red AZ, a conservative Republican blog, scoffed at the time. “This is not technically illegal, though it smacks of opportunism and raises the question of motivation.”

It does.

Replace chaos with chaos: AZ GOP wants as much in U.S. House

Having lost their 2022 bids for attorney general (Hamadeh) and the U.S. Senate (Masters), these two have been searching for a toehold on the political food chain.

Ben Toma lives in the district. Will he run?

Before Tuesday, Hamadeh was reportedly preparing to challenge Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. Masters was considering a rerun for the U.S. Senate until Lake charged into the race and blew him out of the water (so to speak).

With no statewide offices up for grabs until 2026, there just aren’t many spots for an ambitious young politician, unless they want to do time in the Legislature.

Of the two, Hamadeh would have to be the early favorite, having come within a hair’s breadth of winning the AG’s race last year. He’s already snagged Lake’s favor, which means an endorsement from Donald Trump isn’t far behind.

But come on. There are 811,000 residents in CD 8. Surely, they can find someone to represent them who doesn’t live in Scottsdale — or Tucson.

The strongest candidate would be House Speaker Ben Toma of Peoria.

Toma is one of the most powerful Republicans in the state. He’s got a great back story, having been born in Romania and moved to the U.S. at age 9, after his parents arrived as refugees.

And — bonus! — he actually lives in the district.

Almost anyone could run for this seat

Toma is not a far-right culture warrior, which I suppose is a negative in a GOP primary these days. But he played a key role in cutting income taxes and expanding the state’s school voucher program to all students.

“He’s a great candidate but I think he would have to resign his seat, which leaves the Speakership vacant,” Republican consultant Chuck Coughlin told me. “The session will likely go until the end of June and he can’t be down there caught in that mud.”

All the more incentive to get into the congressional race, I would think.

As to who else is running, the better question might be, Who isn’t?

There are even rumblings that even Lesko’s predecessor, Trent Franks, may be kicking around the idea of a comeback. You will recall that Franks abruptly resigned in 2018, having found out that it’s probably not a good idea to ask your female staffers if they want to serve as a surrogate mother.

“The amount of candidates kicking the tires on this race is almost endless … ,” Republican consultant Barrett Marson said. “The next nine or 10 months will be a good marathon to watch.”

No wonder: It's a safe GOP district

Ever-optimistic Democrats say we shouldn’t count out Democrat Greg Whitten. Or, presumably, independent Jeremy Spreitzer.

This, in an area that hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1976 when Rep. Bob Stump won — and a few years later became a Republican.

Stump would serve 26 years in the House and never face any serious competition after that first win.

And you wonder why the carpetbags are packed and ready to go?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Abe Hamadeh and others are carpet-bagging to Rep. Lesko's district