Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA4) will be in Arizona next Thursday, Aug. 22, the Arizona Globe can exclusively report, to host a fundraiser for Abe Hamadeh. Abe prevailed in the hard-fought primary to win the Republican nomination for Congress in the wake of Debbie Lesko’s surprise decision not to seek re-election to the ruby red district.

According to an invitation obtained by the Globe, guests are “invited to join Mike Johnson 56th Speaker of the US House of Representatives for a roundtable and reception in support of Abe Hamadeh.” The event is scheduled for the morning of Thurs, Aug. 22 at the Paradise Valley home of Abe’s brother and sister-in-law Waseem and Leena Hamadeh.

A visit on behalf of a non-incumbent looking at what should be a safe seat will be interpreted as a strong show of support by the political class, who will surely see the leader of the House suggesting that Hamadeh is being groomed for future leadership positions within Congress.

At $1000 a pop, the visit will be good news for the Hamadeh campaign, which emerged atop a strong field, including Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, venture capitalist Blake Masters, former Congressman Trent Franks and State Senator Anthony Kern.

That expected windfall is not the only good news for Hamadeh, whose campaign cheekily refers to the former Army intelligence officer as a “happy warrior.” He also earned endorsements from Elise Stefanik (R-NY21) and Jason Smith (R-MO8), two up-and-comers in Congress themselves, with a source telling the Globe that Jim Jordan (R-OH4) is about to hop on that train, as well.

There’s a clear “future of the party” vibe going on up in Arizona 8 that Speaker Johnson will surely be pleased to see when he steps inside the swanky Hamadeh house next week in Paradise Valley.