Arizona Court Rejects Election Denier’s 2022 Contest Again
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the seventh time, Republican election denier Abe Hamadeh has lost in court.
In a 2-1 opinion issued by the Arizona Court of Appeals yesterday, the court ruled that failed attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh is not entitled to a new trial in his lawsuit contesting the results of his 2022 loss nor is he entitled to any of the relief he requested.
The powerful opinion opens: “A virtual firestorm of challenges followed the 2022 general election. Those flames have subsided. The winners were announced and took their oaths of office more than 15 months ago. This case, one of the last embers still glowing, does not burn hot enough to warrant relief.”
In the aftermath of the 2022 midterms, Kari Lake, Mark Finchem and Abe Hamadeh — Republican candidates for Arizona governor, secretary of state and attorney general, respectively — challenged their election losses. Courts have overwhelmingly rejected their claims, but Hamadeh continued to contest his loss to current Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) in numerous lawsuits.
Hamadeh’s first election challenge was dismissed in November of 2022. After the first dismissal, Hamadeh filed a new contest which was dismissed within two weeks — all within the month of December. At the end of the month, an automatic recount again concluded that Mayes won the attorney general race.
Unhappy with his second lawsuit dismissal, Hamadeh asked the court for a new trial and his request was subsequently denied. Hamadeh then went to the Arizona Supreme Court, which also denied his petition.
In August 2023, the state’s high court sanctioned Hamadeh and the RNC for their conduct, writing that the petitioners misrepresented facts to the court. The case went back to the Arizona Court of Appeals where it was pending for several months, before the court finally issued its decision today, putting an end to Hamadeh’s request for a new trial and once again rejecting his contest.
“Whatever merit Hamadeh’s statutory interpretation claims may have had, they have been dampened by the passage of time. That point aside, Hamadeh was not then and is not now entitled to the relief he seeks because the superior court did not abuse its discretion when it ruled based on its factual findings. We affirm,” the court wrote.
This opinion comes just nine days after Hamadeh was sanctioned in a different lawsuit seeking to decertify the results of the 2022 general election in Arizona. Time and time again, Arizona courts have rejected election deniers attempts to subvert the will of voters after the 2022 midterms. With the 2024 elections already underway, it is clear that democracy remains on the docket in Arizona.