Blake Masters, the Republican enterprise capitalist who misplaced an costly bid to signify Arizona within the U.S. Senate final 12 months, introduced Thursday that he’ll run for a seat within the Home of Representatives.
Masters, an ally of former President Donald Trump, is operating to switch Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) within the state’s eighth Congressional District, which incorporates the northwest suburbs of Phoenix. Lesko introduced earlier this month that she wouldn’t search re-election in 2024.
In a video accompanying his announcement, Masters, 37, stated he would focus his legislative efforts on addressing inflation, U.S.-Mexico border safety and water safety. The video’s cowl photograph reveals Masters alongside Trump.
Masters — who beforehand embraced Trump’s false claims in regards to the 2020 election — received a crowded 2022 Republican Senate major after receiving Trump’s endorsement. He misplaced to incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Kelly within the normal election.
This costly and aggressive race was key in figuring out the partisan steadiness within the Senate.
Masters echoed the previous president’s false claims in regards to the 2020 election early in his Senate marketing campaign. However a month earlier than the 2022 normal election, throughout a debate with Kelly, Masters known as Joe Biden a “reputable president” and stated he noticed no proof of vote-count fraud.
The bid for a seat within the Home of Representatives comes a number of weeks after one other candidate supported by Trump, Carrie Lake, launched her marketing campaign within the US Senate in Arizona with the intention of unseating Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat who’s now an impartial. Lake misplaced her bid to be governor of Arizona final 12 months.
Yvonne Wingate Sanchez and Hannah Knowles contributed to this report.