The race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko in her West Valley congressional district has devolved into a bitter fight between two former allies from the 2022 election.

The big picture: Six Republicans are running for the seat, including some notable names in Arizona politics, like former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, state House Speaker Ben Toma and state Sen. Anthony Kern.

• But the sheer nastiness of their campaigns means Abraham Hamadeh and Blake Masters have commanded most of the attention.

Why it matters: The 8th Congressional District is solidly Republican, meaning the winner of the GOP primary is almost certain to win the seat in November.

Flashback: In 2022, Hamadeh and Masters were allies, both endorsed by former President Trump, as the Republican nominees for attorney general and U.S. Senate, respectively.

• Both lost the general election, though Hamadeh, who was defeated by 280 votes, continues to baselessly claim he won the race. Courts have rejected multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn the results.

Friction point: Now that they're vying for the same seat, they're targeting each other with relentlessly negative campaigns.

• And this time around, Trump endorsed Hamadeh over Masters.

State of play: Masters ran television ads deriding his opponent as "dishonest Abe," saying Hamadeh believes the U.S. was founded on Islamic principles and showing a photo of him wearing traditional Muslim garb at the Kaaba in Mecca while deployed overseas with the U.S. Army. Masters has also put that image on campaign signs.

• The ad called Hamadeh a supporter of amnesty, and it noted that his father, an immigrant from Syria, reportedly overstayed his visa and was in the U.S. illegally at the time of Hamadeh's birth.

Hamadeh struck back, calling Masters a "snake" after private text messages between them were leaked to the media, and he has disparaged Masters' past activities while a student at Stanford University.

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The Phoenix Mercury are one of the most valuable franchises in the WNBA, according to recent data from Sportico.

By the numbers: The Mercury are valued at $105 million, fourth highest in the league.

• The team had $15 million in revenue in 2023.
• The WNBA's most valuable team is the Las Vegas Aces ($140 million), followed by the Seattle Storm ($135 million) and New York Liberty ($130 million).

Reality check: By way of comparison, the Phoenix Suns are valued at $4 billion, 12th highest in the NBA, according to Yahoo Sports.

• Forbes, which ranked the Suns 11th in valuation, listed the team's revenue last year as $366 million.

A judge rejected Attorney General Kris Mayes' request to block Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Legislature from taking $115 million in federal opioid settlement money for the budget. (Capitol Media Services)

🏛 Backers of a citizen initiative to raise the state's minimum wage are suing the state to keep a legislative proposal to reduce wages for tipped workers off the ballot. (Arizona Mirror)

🥓 The Farmhouse, a breakfast and lunch restaurant that opened 35 years ago in Gilbert, will close its doors on Sunday. (AZcentral)

🥘 Chef Derek Christensen, a James Beard nominee who previously worked at Bacanora and Huarachis Taqueria, will be a contestant on today's episode of the cooking show "Chopped." (Phoenix New Times)

Dog Haus Biergarten is back in action in downtown Phoenix.

State of play: The CityScape location of the national hot dog chain originally opened in 2020 but closed three years later.

• It reopened earlier this month under new ownership.
• The chain's other Arizona locations are in Gilbert and Tempe.

What to expect: You can get a traditional Chicago-style dog or chili dog, but there are more exotic offerings as well, like a dog covered in cheese and barbecue sauces, or a pastrami-topped Italian sausage.

• If you're not in the mood for a dog or a sausage, you can grab a burger or sample a wide variety of breakfast burritos.

Best bites: Here at Axios Phoenix, we take our hot dogs seriously. And since I'd never been to the Dog Haus before, the grand reopening seemed like a good opportunity to remedy that shortcoming.

• I ordered the T-Mex, which is a beef chorizo and pepper Jack sausage topped with avocado, chipotle aioli, slaw, pickled red peppers and jalapeños.
• There were a lot of different flavors in every bite. The sausage and peppers gave it some spice, but the avocado cooled things off a little for a creamy, tangy treat.

Let the dogs out