Venture capitalist sidekick Blake Masters is preparing for another Senate run after his Peter Thiel-backed bid against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) failed by a wide margin.
But the proposed comeback campaign—first reported by the Wall Street Journal—sets the stage for a potential primary battle against Kari Lake, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.
Both candidates received endorsements from former President Donald Trump and held joint campaign events in 2022. But the “Lake & Blake” alliance appears to have taken a turn to Lake versus Blake.
Lake has not officially announced a Senate run, but multiple outlets have reported that she has been preparing to do so.
“Arizona has a history of wacky primary debates – this one will surely take the cake,” wrote one Twitter/X user.
“Who doesn’t love some maga on maga infighting?” commented another person.
“This will be the funniest primary ever,” someone else wrote.
Lake, who lost the gubernatorial election by a margin of less than 1%, has called herself “the real governor, the duly-elected governor” of Arizona. Lawsuits challenging her loss have been dismissed.
One Twitter/X user replied: “so we are getting a loser vs loser primary? and a loser nominee to follow.”
“This sounds like a sequel to the movie Dumb and Dumber,” posted Democratic Party elections lawyer Marc Elias.
“Arizona Republicans aren’t allowed to lose a senate race just once, it’s a rule they have,” joked another.
People also began resharing an oft-criticized campaign ad from Master, where he drove off into the desert to shoot a pistol.
Lake took a swipe on Saturday at Masters—who conceded without alleging voter fraud—on being “quite silent” about the topic.
She asked what an Arizona House of Representatives candidate and Masters have “done to root out voter fraud or simply show support those of us who are pushing for election reform?? Answer? Nothing.”
Masters’ loss in 2022 was pivotal in allowing Democrats to retain a narrow Senate majority. So when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) announced she was leaving the Democratic party to become an Independent, Republicans in Arizona began eyeing her seat as “a golden opportunity for the GOP.”
Sinema has not announced whether she will seek reelection as an Independent.
Currently, the only Democrat in the race is Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who welcomed the news of a Lake-Blake showdown.
“Blake Masters lost by five points last year because Arizonans want no part of his dangerous plans to ban all abortions without exceptions and privatize Social Security,” campaign spokesperson Hannah Goss said in a press release. “If he wants to get in the Senate race and remind voters that he’s an extreme election denier, then by all means.”
A poll released in early August found Gallego beating Lake by 10 points and Masters by 8 points, though those margins would decrease with a Sinema candidacy. A separate survey conducted earlier this year showed Lake with a massive lead over possible primary contenders, including Masters.
