- Blake Masters is running for Congress following GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko's retirement.
- But he lives in Tucson, more than 120 miles away from Lesko's Phoenix-area House district.
Blake Masters is back — and he's running for the House of Representatives.
In a video posted to Twitter on Thursday, the 2022 GOP nominee for US Senate in Arizona announced his campaign for Arizona's 8th congressional district, now an open seat given Rep. Debbie Lesko's decision to retire.
—Blake Masters (@bgmasters) October 26, 2023
But there's already one major potential issue for his campaign: He lives nowhere near the district.
Masters is a resident of Tucson and still lives there, according to Federal Election Commission records. The 8th district is in the Phoenix metro area, and Masters' home is more than 120 miles from the edge of the district.
On his campaign website, the 2022 candidate seemingly acknowledges that he doesn't actually live there.
"I'm thrilled at the opportunity to be your next Congressman, here in Arizona's 8th District," he wrote. "I campaigned hard in the West Valley during my run for US Senate, and fell in love with its people and its places."
And Masters has another challenge: He's on a collision course with lots of his former allies on the Trump-aligned right.
Abe Hamadeh, the 2022 GOP nominee for attorney general, is already running for the seat. Hamadeh has locked up the endorsement of former GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, other Trump-world figures, and local officials in Arizona. In 2022, Masters, Lake and Hamadeh ran as a unified ticket.
But Hamadeh also appears to live just outside the district in neighboring Scottsdale, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Meanwhile, Lesko has endorsed Ben Toma, the speaker of the Arizona House, though he has not yet announced a campaign.
One recent poll found Hamadeh leading Masters by 6 points.
—InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) October 26, 2023
Masters had reportedly been considering mounting a comeback Senate campaign before Lake announced her own Senate bid. But when Insider asked several of Masters' former political allies if they would back a second campaign, none of them said they would.
"I've got to focus on my own race in Missouri," said Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
"Let's see what he actually wants to do first," said Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
In 2022, Masters benefited from millions in outside spending from tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
But Thiel indicated earlier this year that he plans to withdraw from political spending, suggesting that Masters will have to compete without that financial largesse.
As of the end of September, Masters' Senate campaign owed more than $820,000 in debt, most of which was owed to Masters himself.