Blake Masters, a protege of billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, won the Arizona Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate late Tuesday. Associated Press and New York Times reporting.
Masters’ victory over solar executive Jim Ramon makes the Trump-sanctioned candidate the Republicans’ choice against former NASA astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly (D) this fall. Arizona is one of the few races to decide which party controls the Senate in November.
Before the Masters event was announced last summer, politics Controversial tech investor Thiel poured millions into a new rescue Arizona PAC in anticipation of his students running for the Senate, reports say. As of Election Day, Thiel has donated at least $15 million to the PAC, According to campaign finance records.
Much of the PAC’s funding went to a wave of negative ads attacking Ramon and rival Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who has been criticized by Trump for not doing enough to investigate false allegations of voter fraud in Arizona.Monday, Brnovich published a report Determined that his office found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020.
With Tuesday’s Masters victory, both of Thiel’s favored Republican Senate candidates managed to beat their main rivals in the round. JD Vance, Thiel’s old friend Hillbilly Elegy author, Win the Republican Ohio Senate primary This past May. Thiel puts $15 million in super PAC backing Vance, past yearIf Masters and Vance go ahead and win their November elections, they will bring new tech-inspired ideologies to the Senate, all strongly inspired by Thiel and endorsed by Trump.
