2026 Election: Arizona Congressional District 8 Democratic candidates debate
PHOENIX - The two candidates in the Democratic Party primary for Arizona's 8th Congressional District are set to take part in a debate on June 15.
Here's what to know.
Who's organizing the debate?
Per their website, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission is the official debate sponsor.
What parts of Arizona does the 8th Congressional District cover?
According to the U.S. House of Representatives website, Arizona's 8th Congressional District covers parts of the West Valley, including parts of Glendale, Peoria, Phoenix and Surprise.
Big picture view:
The incumbent lawmaker representing the district is Republican Abe Hamadeh, who was elected to the seat in 2024. According to the Arizona Secretary of State's office, Hamadeh is running for reelection.
Who will take part in this debate?
The two candidates who will take part in this debate are Bernadette Greene-Placentia and Raymond "Ray" Keeler.
Dig deeper:
Neither Greene-Placentia nor Keeler have served in elected office. On her website, Greene-Placentia even emphasized that she is not a politician. Meanwhile, Keeler's biography on his campaign website mentioned the decades he has spent living within the district, as well as his service in the private sector and his work in conservation.
What are the candidates running on?
Greene-Placentia
On the priorities section of her campaign website, Greene-Placentia said she opposes "indiscriminate cuts" to Social Security and Medicare, instead advocating for other changes like requiring those who earn a high income to pay the same payroll tax rate as those who earn less. She also said she will "protect access to contraception and emergency care," make student borrowing fair and manageable, and supports changes to programs in the trucking industry that she says "trap small-business truckers into unfair debt."
Keeler
On his issues and positions page, Keeler said he supports legislation that aims to make changes to the Affordable Care Act, rather than replace the healthcare law completely. He also said he supports tariffs that are targeted at certain items, and increased incentives for 3D home printing.
Keeler went on to state that he believes a border wall is necessarily for parts of the southern border, and that in other parts of the border, the wall is not needed, and may even be harmful.
What about the Republican debate?
Abe Hamadeh ((From Archive))
According to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, there is only one candidate in the Republican Party primary for Congressional District 8: incumbent Abe Hamadeh.
Big picture view:
On the Citizens Clean Elections Commission's website, it is stated that only contested races will have a debate. Therefore, a Republican Party debate for the Congressional District 8 primary was not organized.
When are the primaries?
Primary elections will happen statewide on July 21, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from the Citizens Clean Elections Commission's website, as well as from the campaign websites of Bernadette Greene-Placentia and Raymond "Ray" Keeler.