Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed investor Blake Masters in the crowded Republican Senate primary in Arizona, citing the candidate’s strident support of Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.
The former president said in a statement that Masters is a “great modern-day thinker” and that Masters’ chief rival, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, has done nothing about the election fraud that Trump falsely claims cost him a second term.
Republicans hope the winner of the Aug. 2 primary can unseat Sen. Mark Kelly, who faces no major opposition for the Democratic nomination, and flip control of the Senate back to the GOP in one of the most closely contested general election races in November.
Trump’s endorsement could shake up a primary campaign that is without a clear front-runner and is largely defined by jockeying for Trump’s backing. Despite his reelection loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump remains popular with his party’s core supporters.
