'Call Rafi' Ponies Up Cash for Big Lie Attorney General Candidate Abe Hamadeh

🎵 Call Rafi Rafi, call Rafi Rafi! 🎵

That iconic jingle has percolated through the airwaves and into the cars and homes of Arizonans for nearly a decade, inspiring an online subculture with a ton of hilarious jokes and memes.

From Phoenix to Tucson and everywhere in between, attorney Brandon Rafi's name is omnipresent — on billboards, bus shelters, train cars, and television sets — and, most recently, on a campaign finance report filed on October 14.

The "Face of Phoenix" donated $5,300, the maximum individual contribution allowed during this current election cycle, to Republican attorney general nominee Abe Hamadeh on September 12. The amount was among $528,000 in individual contributions made to the campaign during the reporting period that spanned July 17 to September 30.

The donation is likely pocket change for the 36-year-old accident attorney, who purchased a 6,822-square-foot home at Del Ray Estates in Phoenix for $3.75 million in 2019.

Critics on social media were quick to label the endorsement as quid pro quo between two lawyers. But Rafi, who blankets the low-income, predominantly Latino neighborhoods of metro Phoenix with his slogan “llama Rafi, llama Rafi,” has represented the same immigrants lacking permanent legal status that Hamadeh swears to prosecute.

Rafi says Arizonans “want a trustworthy lawyer by their side.” Hamadeh, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is just the opposite.

In August, Phoenix New Times reported that, in 2008, Hamadeh boasted to an online message board about voting before he was legally allowed to do so and altering his mom's ballot to vote for Democrat Barack Obama. Hamadeh also failed to include his income from two jobs, board membership, and his interests in businesses on a financial disclosure for his campaign.

Hamadeh even lied about his experience as a prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, claiming he had been to dozens of trials. Personnel records show he has never been to trial.

Along the campaign trail, he's also been offering antisemitic and sexist rants, backing the Big Lie, supporting Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and arguing that voting should be limited to college graduates who pass intelligence tests. He even stumped for Randy Kaufman, the GOP candidate for Maricopa Community College District Governing Board, who was recently arrested for allegedly masturbating in public.

As of Friday, Hamadeh holds more than a four-point lead in the polls over Democratic challenger Kris Mayes.

A spokesperson for Hamadeh's campaign declined to speak to New Times about the donation. So did Rafi. Both have talked with New Times recently about other issues.

“What's in it for Rafi Law Group to have an unqualified attorney general in Arizona?” one Twitter user asked. Another tweet that garnered hundreds of likes and retweets read, “Don’t let this face fool you, apparently he’s in to supporting bigoted scum!”