Masters leads over Lamon, Brnovich for GOP nomination in Arizona’s US Senate race

PHOENIX — Political newcomer Blake Masters held a lead over Jim Lamon, Mark Brnovich and others looking to secure the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Arizona.

The first drop of results Tuesday had Masters with 34.4% of votes, Lamon at 30.6% and Brnovich at 20.2%, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

The GOP winner 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.

An endorsement from former President Donald Trump helped Masters rise to be a front-runner in the race by early July.

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.

Lamon stayed competitive in the race, but hasn’t had 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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