The venture capitalist washed out in a race against Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly last year, having failed to win over the state’s moderates and independents.
Blake Masters is gearing up to announce a fresh bid for an Arizona seat in the U.S. Senate, sources close to the matter told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, less than a year after the venture capitalist washed out in a race against Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly. This time around, Masters will be duking it out for the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I), who has not yet said if she is running for re-election. Masters did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment, but people familiar with his plans confirmed to Politico that a campaign launch could come as soon as next week. A race for the Republican nomination in the battleground state could see Masters squaring off with Kari Lake, the failed gubernatorial candidate who has indicated she is weighing a run for the Senate. Barrett Marson, an Arizona-based GOP strategist, speculated that Masters is “under the impression that maybe Kari Lake isn’t going to run, because I’ll tell you if Lake and Blake are both in, he is wasting his time.” Last year, Masters secured the Republican nomination and an endorsement from Donald Trump but failed to convince the moderates and independents who now make up a third of Arizona’s voting population.
