Blake Masters wins GOP nomination for Arizona’s US Senate race

PHOENIX — Political newcomer Blake Masters has emerged from a crowded field to win the Republican nomination for Arizona’s open U.S. Senate seat.

Masters had about 38% of the vote when the race was called by The Associated Press.

Masters will take on incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly in the general election, who unseated Republican Martha McSally in the 2020 election to serve the remainder of the late Sen. John McCain’s term.

Kelly was unopposed in his primary.

Coming from relative obscurity and polling at less than 10% of likely voters in an April poll, an endorsement from former President Donald Trump helped Masters rise to be a front-runner in the race by early July.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was a leading candidate in April, but dropped following Masters’ Trump endorsement.

Trump accused Brnovich of not taking substantive steps to investigate his unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Businessman Jim Lamon stayed competitive in the race, but didn’t have the type of jump Masters received in order to break through as the clear frontrunner and remained in second place in the two recent polls prior to the election.

The two frontrunners squared off in a debate in July, an event not attended by Brnovich.

Masters in the debate cited his endorsement from Trump as his qualifications for the nomination, saying the former president trusts him to re-implement his America First energy policies and stop reliance on foreign countries.

Masters, whose campaign has been bankrolled by billionaire Peter Thiel, has also called for reducing legal immigration and espoused the baseless “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming Democrats are trying to “replace Americans who were born here.”

Former Arizona National Guard leader Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire and Justin Olson were also on the ballot for the Republican nomination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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