Blake Masters, a former Republican Senate candidate, made a surprising announcement on Thursday. Instead of pursuing a second run for Senate in 2024, Masters revealed that he would be running for an open congressional seat in the Phoenix suburbs.
In a tweet posted on Thursday, Masters said, “I’m running for Congress, to fight for Arizona’s 8th,” and shared a video featuring his family. He expressed his dissatisfaction with President Biden’s administration and emphasized the need for the return of former President Trump. Masters highlighted several key issues, including stopping inflation, building the wall, avoiding a potential World War III, and securing Arizona’s water future. He emphasized the importance of fighting for the well-being of Arizona families.
Masters garnered attention during the 2022 midterm elections when he ran against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. Although he lost by almost 5 percentage points, influential conservative figures like Tucker Carlson touted him as the “future of the Republican Party.” Notably, he received financial support from tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
During his campaign, Masters drew considerable attention for his stance on abortion and his flirtation with “the great replacement” theory. This conspiracy theory, embraced by white nationalists, alleges that elites, including Democrats and Jews, aim to alter the country’s demographics through nonwhite immigration.
Initially, Masters had planned to make another Senate run, this time challenging incumbent Senator Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona. However, his decision to pursue the open congressional seat now may have avoided a potentially costly and competitive primary against Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and former gubernatorial candidate and television reporter Kari Lake.
The congressional district where Masters aims to run is safely Republican, covering many northern and western suburbs of Phoenix. In the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump won this district by 13 points. The outgoing representative, Republican Debbie Lesko, has represented this district since 2018.
Earlier this month, Lesko announced that she would retire in 2024 to prioritize spending more time with her family.
In the Republican primary for the congressional seat, Masters will be up against Abraham Hamadeh, a former prosecutor and candidate for Arizona attorney general in 2022. Hamadeh has received endorsements from Kari Lake and other Republicans in the state.
The Hamadeh campaign has not yet responded to a request for comment.
