<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13005786" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blake-masters" source="Orion">Blake Masters</keyword> has surged in the <keyword id="11907754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arizona" source="Orion">Arizona</keyword> GOP Senate primary after securing <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump" source="Orion">Trump</keyword>'s endorsement.</li><li>His main opponent, <keyword id="14479876" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jim-lamon" source="Orion">Jim Lamon</keyword>, has made Masters' association with Thiel into a campaign issue.</li></ul>PRESCOTT, Arizona — Billionaire tech CEO <keyword id="12142474" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="peter-thiel" source="Orion">Peter Thiel</keyword> may be more responsible than anyone else for Blake Masters' ascent in the Arizona Republican Senate primary.The PayPal founder and early Facebook investor has poured $13.5 million into a super PAC called "Saving Arizona" that's supporting his protégé. And Masters' opponents — particularly Republican businessman Jim Lamon — want voters to know it."Masters only ever worked for Peter Thiel, who, by the way, was a founding Facebook board member in 2005," Lamon told a crowd of roughly 200 people who showed up on July 15 at the Prescott Hotel and Resort, where the one-time Army Airborne Officer with a thick Southern accent was holding a town hall in the Goldwater Ballroom. It was a Friday evening, and former President Donald Trump was set to speak the following day alongside Masters, who he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-endorses-peter-thiel-backed-blake-masters-arizona-senate-2022-6">endorsed last month</a>, in an adjacent town in the mountainous Yavapai County — until the rally was postponed by nearly a week due to the death of Trump's first wife, Ivana.The 35-year-old first-time candidate now leads the pack, despite polling in the single digits as recently as April.Serving as the chief operating officer of Thiel's investment firm and the president of the Thiel Foundation <a href="https://twitter.com/bgmasters/status/1504166071632162816?s=20&amp;t=d5nkOCS4v-DegJZT_y7juA">until just four months ago</a>, Masters has been associated with the conservative tech mogul for his entire adult life. He is the co-author with Thiel of Zero to One, a book about building startups that draws on notes that Masters took when he was an undergrad student of Thiel's at Stanford University.Thiel, meanwhile, is associated with a variety of Silicon Valley companies; he co-founded PayPal and founded Palantir, a big data analytics firm. He was also the first outside investor in Facebook, serving on the board of the social media giant <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/technology/peter-thiel-facebook.html">until earlier this year</a>.Despite their Silicon Valley ties, both Thiel and Masters are conservatives who are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/19/peter-thiel-facebook-new-right/">fiercely critical of so-called "big tech"</a> and the world from which they come; Thiel also notably <a href="https://youtu.be/UTJB8AkT1dk">spoke in support</a> of then-candidate Trump at the 2016 GOP convention.But since being passed over for the Trump endorsement, Lamon has been hammering Masters over his relationship with Thiel — whose name he frequently mispronounces as "theel" rather than "teal" — and labeling the conservative tech billionaire as a "globalist Facebook board member" while trying to recast his relationship with Silicon Valley into well-worn Republican narratives.<div type="image" title="Businessman Jim Lamon at the town hall event in Prescott, Arizona on July 15, 2022." height="1500" width="2000" msid="92941505" hostid="261"></div>"Oh by the way, just a little tidbit — again, because I'm on a little rail here about <keyword id="11894335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-tech" source="Orion">Big Tech</keyword>," said Lamon as he addressed a question about "burdensome regulations" from government agencies. "Palantir, which is a Peter Thiel company, is one of the largest companies that the federal government is doing business with to spy on Americans."<a href="https://blog.ohpredictive.com/press-releases/az-gop-senate-race-masters-of-his-own-destiny">Recent polling</a> indicates that the primary campaign may be developing into a head-to-head race between the two candidates in the final two week stretch, and one of Lamon's main closing arguments against Masters — aside from highlighting his former <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/us/politics/blake-masters.html">libertarian</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/us/politics/blake-masters.html">leanings</a> — is that Republicans should be suspicious of Thiel and his allies."Oh and by the way, Blake, stop trying to tell us that you're not a puppet for big tech, because you are," said Lamon at the event, prompting a murmur of agreement among the attendees.Lamon, a self-funder, also frequently emphasizes the differences in the source of their respective campaigns' largesse; while Masters owes much of his campaign's viability to Thiel's money, Lamon has largely self-financed his own campaign."There is no amount of money I will not spend of mine to save my country," said Lamon, a solar energy tycoon who's loaned $15 million of his own fortune to his campaign, to applause.<h2>An emerging megadonor</h2>In addition to his investments in Masters, Thiel gave a total of $15 million to a super PAC supporting the Ohio Senate campaign of JD Vance, a fellow venture capitalist and the author of "Hillbilly Elegy."But while plenty of Republicans may be aware of megadonors like the Koch brothers or Sheldon Adelson, Thiel has emerged only recently as a donor of that caliber.Though he's <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=peter+thiel&amp;order=desc&amp;sort=A">made sizable contributions</a> to Republicans like Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and right-wing groups like the Club for Growth, the over $25 million that Thiel has spent in Ohio and Arizona combined dwarf all of his prior political contributions.Masters has previously defended his ties to Thiel. At a FreedomWorks-sponsored event in late June, he said the PayPal founder was the "one America First billionaire that we have," prompting boos from some audience members."Okay, not a fan? I think he's great," Masters shot back at the debate. "If you know other America First billionaires, give them my cell phone number, okay? Get you a candidate who can marshal some resources."Evidence of those resources abound across Maricopa County; yard signs financed by the outside group can be found at a smattering of major intersections, alongside all of the other signs competing for attention. <div type="image" title="A yard sign for Blake Masters funded by the Peter Thiel-backed Saving Arizona PAC in Chandler, Arizona." height="1500" width="2000" msid="92941506" hostid="261"></div>While Masters' own campaign has stuck with a simple, white-on-black design, signs financed by the Thiel-backed super PAC are bright yellow and include an image of Masters with his family.<h2>An endorsement lost</h2>Lamon has gone as far as to create an <a href="https://www.fakeblakemasters.com/">entire website of negative attacks</a> on Masters."That's right," reads one section of the site. "The same Big Tech that's censoring conservatives and selling our country out to China are funding Fake Blake Masters' faux conservative campaign.But Lamon's attacks on Thiel have already cost him at least one endorsement. Ric Grenell, a former Trump administration official who served as acting Director of National Intelligence and ambassador to Germany, <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1537202928812957702">announced on Twitter</a> in June that he was withdrawing his endorsement of the businessman over the attacks.At a Masters campaign event, Grenell said Lamon's rhetoric on Thiel "really burned me" and compared Lamon to Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who's drawn the ire of conservatives for her criticism of Trump and her service as vice chair of the January 6 committee."One thing that drives me crazy, and really convinced me that I needed to un-endorse Jim and endorse Blake Masters, was because I watched as Republicans on the committee began to attack their own," said Grenell <a href="https://youtu.be/nISzVafrpt8">at the event</a>, condemning what he described as "Republicans attacking Republicans with phony messaging."<div type="image" title="An official Blake Masters campaign sign in Prescott, Arizona." height="1500" width="2000" msid="92941507" hostid="261"></div><h2>'The same kind of guy that George Soros is'</h2>Milling around the hotel's Goldwater ballroom following Lamon's town hall, attendees told Insider that what they've heard about Thiel is giving them pause."It bothers me a great deal," Steve Zipperman, a candidate for state Senate in the Prescott-based 1st legislative district, told Insider following the town hall. "I'm looking at Peter Thiel as being the same kind of guy that George Soros is, trying to control things and manipulate things from outside."Zipperman's wife, Sharon, told Insider that her "BS detector" went off at a recent dinner she and her husband had with Masters.While complimenting him as a "delightful young man, very smart," she said he failed to sufficiently address Lamon's critique of him when it was presented to him."It would be easy for him to answer that," she said. "But instead, what he did is what a consultant would advise him to do, which is just laugh it off."Meanwhile, others say they're hearing about Thiel for the first time."That's the first I heard about Blake and that connection," said Laura Stewart, a 52-year-old town hall attendee. "So I don't know."Pat Newbert, 66, told Insider at the event that she had ultimately decided to support Lamon despite some of her friends' enthusiasm for Masters."Well, Trump endorsed him, so he must have looked into him and everything. But yeah, he also endorsed Dr. Oz," said Newbert, referring to Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz. She added that she doesn't "necessarily agree with a lot of people that Trump's backing."She added that Lamon's broadsides against Thiel and his connection to Facebook were an "eye opener" that had convinced her to not support Masters."I don't know why Trump's backing Masters after everything that I've learned about him now," she said. "Because Facebook is — I mean, they're squashing our First Amendment."It was at that point that her husband Ray, 71, interjected. "I just got out of Facebook jail," he said. "For posting the truth!"

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is under fire from Arizona Republicans hoping to defeat his Trump-backed protégé Blake Masters in Senate primary

<ul class="summary-list"><li>For months, Democrats have worried about a three-way Senate race in Arizona giving the GOP a boost.</li><li>But a new Emerson College poll shows Democrats ahead in three-way matchups that include Sinema.</li></ul>When Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party to become an Independent last December, many members of her former party fretted about the implications for her potential 2024 reelection bid.While Sinema has not shifted her voting pattern and is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kyrsten-sinema-party-switch-independent-gop-democrats-arizona-bipartisanship-2023-5">not looking</a> to caucus with Republicans, a possible three-way race looms if she decides to run for a second term in the upper chamber. But based on <a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/arizona-2024-senator-kyrsten-sinemas-independent-candidacy-could-help-democrats-for-u-s-senate/">a recently-released Emerson College poll</a>, Sinema's entry into the race may actually give an advantage to Rep. Ruben Gallego, the Phoenix-area lawmaker who's widely seen as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.In a one-on-one matchup between Gallego and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Republican, both candidates were tied at 42% support in the poll, while 16% of respondents indicated that they were undecided. But in a three-way race with Gallego, Lamb, and Sinema, the Democratic candidate leads with 36% support, followed by Lamb at 29% and Sinema with 21% support — while 15% of respondents were undecided.Similarly, in a one-on-one matchup between Gallego and Republican candidate Brian Wright, the Democrat posted a 41%-38% edge. And in a three-way contest with Gallego, Wright, and Sinema, the congressman leads with 37% support, with Sinema at 26% and Wright with 25% support.One of the more fascinating elements of the polling is Sinema's continued popularity with a sizable bloc of Republicans, a dynamic similar to her 2018 Senate victory when she ran as a Democrat. That year, she peeled off enough Republicans and independents to defeat then-GOP Rep. Martha McSally.In the Emerson College poll, 21% of Republicans opt for Sinema with Lamb on the ballot, while 34% of GOP respondents backed Sinema with Wright as their party's nominee.Meanwhile, Sinema only peeled off 8% of Democratic respondents against Gallego, according to Emerson.Should Sinema run for reelection, it is unclear how her Democratic Senate colleagues will navigate her candidacy given their preexisting relationships with her and the fact that the party will have an official nominee.But the Republican race <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-senate-races-2024-election-landscape-democrats-republicans-2023-1">remains</a> more fluid, as 2022 gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake may enter the race later this year, while 2022 Senate nominee Blake Masters and 2022 state attorney general nominee Abe Hamadeh could also jump into the contest. Jim Lamon, a former solar energy executive who ran for the party's Senate nomination last year, might also be in the mix.The Arizona Senate race could end up with a Sinema victory, which would reaffirm the state as a purple battleground; a Gallego victory, which would solidify Arizona as an emerging foothold for Democrats in the West; or a Republican victory, which would serve as a reminder of continued conservative strength in the state.And all eyes will also be on the presidential race in Arizona.In 2020, now-President Joe Biden narrowly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">defeated</a> then-President Donald Trump in the state, edging out the incumbent by almost 11,000 votes out of nearly 3.4 million ballots cast.The latest Emerson College survey predicts another close presidential race in Arizona.In the poll, Trump led Biden 45%-43% among registered voters. With third-party candidate Cornel West in the mix, Trump led Biden 42%-41%, while 4% chose West.

An independent candidacy by Kyrsten Sinema could help Democrats win the 2024 Arizona Senate race as she appears to pull more support from Republicans than from her old party, a new poll says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Republican Senate candidate released an ad showing him in a mock shootout with his rival, Mark Kelly.</li><li>Kelly's wife, <keyword id="13153461" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gabby-giffords" source="Orion">Gabby Giffords</keyword>, a former lawmaker, was shot in the head as she met constituents in 2011.</li></ul>An Arizona Republican Senate candidate released an ad that showed him in a mock shootout with an actor playing the husband of Gabby Giffords, a former Arizona lawmaker who was shot in the head while she was with constituents in 2011.Jim Lamon is running against Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, and on Thursday released the ad which shows him in a mock Wild-West town, with actors playing the roles of Kelly, President Joe Biden, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.The three actors walk into the town in a scene reminiscent of traditional Western movies, with the fake Biden carrying a rifle, the fake Pelosi a knife, and the fake Kelly a revolver."The good people of Arizona have had enough of you. It's time for a showdown," Lamon tells them in the video.Lamon then shoots all the weapons out of their hands, the crowd cheers, and the three Democrats run away.Watch the video here:<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Jim Lamon (@jim_lamon) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1491836062934704141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2022</a></blockquote>Giffords, Kelly's wife, was shot in the head at point-blank range when she was meeting constituents outside a Safeway grocery store.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-gun-owner-mark-kelly-calls-for-stronger-laws-2019-8">She survived</a>, but six people died that day, including a nine-year-old child. She had to <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/how-gabby-giffords-survived-a-shot-to-the-head-and-outsmarted-the-nra">learn how to talk</a> again, and uses a wheelchair.Kelly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-gun-owner-mark-kelly-calls-for-stronger-laws-2019-8">says he has guns</a>, but believes in gun control measures to keep people safe.

GOP candidate releases ad showing a faux shootout with husband of Gabby Giffords, the Arizona lawmaker who was shot in the head in 2011

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego outraised Independent Kyrsten Sinema in the first quarter of 2023.</li><li>Gallego's campaign reported raising $3.74 million, while Sinema raised $2.1 million, per the FEC.</li></ul>Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona has not yet announced whether she'll run for reelection to a second term next year, but one of her potential Democratic opponents has already outraised her in first quarter fundraising.Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix-area lawmaker who launched his Senate campaign in January, raised $3.74 million in the first quarter of 2023, which ended on March 31, <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00558627/1699261">per</a> Federal Election Commission filings.Gallego, who has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ruben-gallego-sinema-arizona-2024-senate-campaign-democrats-indepenents-2023-1">highly critical</a> of Sinema's record in the Senate as it relates to support for President Joe Biden's agenda, reported that he had $2.7 million cash on hand.Sinema's campaign reported raising $2.1 million in the first quarter, but she still retains a significant financial advantage overall, with nearly $10 million cash on hand, <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00508804/?cycle=2024#total-raised">per the FEC</a>.Sinema, who was elected to the Senate in 2018 as a Democrat in a tough race against then-Republican Rep. Martha McSally, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kyrsten-sinema-not-tethered-partisanship-removing-poison-politics-party-switching-2022-12">became</a> an Independent last December, but she still retains her committee assignments from her former party and by and large has not dramatically changed her voting record.While Sinema was generally a reliable supporter of Biden's Cabinet appointees and judicial nominees, she has been a wild card on major legislation and, alongside Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, bore much of the brunt of liberal <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-arizona-democrats-kyrsten-sinema-censure-voting-rights-filibuster-2022-1">dissatisfaction</a> over the pair's refusal to eliminate the legislative filibuster to pass sweeping voting-rights legislation.Sinema's entry into the race would likely produce one of the most <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-senate-races-2024-election-landscape-democrats-republicans-2023-1">fascinating</a> races in the country, as liberals and moderates dissatisfied with Sinema might opt for Gallego instead, while she could potentially siphon off Independents and moderates who still support her but otherwise would have backed Gallego.Meanwhile, Republicans could either field a conservative with appeal in a general election or a polarizing candidate who is attractive to base voters but less electable among suburban moderates.Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb entered the race for the GOP nomination earlier this month.Other potential Republicans who could jump into the race include 2022 gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, 2022 Senate nominee Blake Masters, attorney and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, and former solar energy executive Jim Lamon.The outcome of a competitive three-way Arizona race could very well determine control of the Senate.And the race would also be held with the concurrent presidential election, which could feature a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.In 2020, Biden narrowly won Arizona, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">flipping</a> a state that before that year hadn't gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.

Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego recently outraised Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in what could be the most unpredictable Senate race of 2024

Arizona is holding a highly-watched GOP Senate primary on Tuesday. Polls in the state closed at 7 p.m. local time and 10 p.m. ET.<h2>The races and the stakes: </h2> <iframe id="embed-517ae904-e4da-4822-8aea-0c91641e9cd5" src="https://embeds.ddhq.io/app/v2/client/1.0/index.html?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" frameborder="0" width="100%"></iframe><iframe id="embed-d9f3958f-232b-4851-a062-a092896ce733" src="https://embeds.ddhq.io/app/v2/client/1.0/index.html?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" frameborder="0" width="100%"></iframe><h3>US Senate</h3>Five Republicans are competing to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who in 2020 defeated then-Republican Sen. Martha McSally in a special election to fill the remaining term of the late GOP Sen. John McCain.Kelly, a former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut, is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination as he seeks a full six-year term this fall.The Republican candidates are Arizona state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, businessman Jim Lamon, venture capitalist Blake Masters, retired Air Force Major General Michael "Mick" McGuire, and utility regulator Justin Olson.Brnovich had long been seen as a frontrunner in the race, especially after Washington Republicans were unable to convince two-term Gov. Doug Ducey to enter the race. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-doug-ducey-mitch-mcconnell-congress-2806c5b5d6dfcf9f658de0adf0657c26">sought</a> to recruit Ducey, but former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-will-never-endorse-doug-ducey-republican-senate-run-arizona-2022-1">railed against</a> a potential Ducey candidacy, incensed that the governor didn't help him overturn now-President Joe Biden's 2020 victory in Arizona.Trump, for his part, declined to back Brnovich's campaign, calling him a "disappointment."Instead, the former president <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-endorses-peter-thiel-backed-blake-masters-arizona-senate-2022-6">endorsed</a> Masters, a protégé of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Over the course of the campaign, Thiel has so far put at least $13.5 million into a super PAC supporting Masters' campaign, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-blake-masters-jim-lamon-arizona-senate-campaign-tech-2022-7">according to Insider's Bryan Metzger</a>.The latest Emerson College Polling <a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/arizona-2022-dead-heat-in-republican-gubernatorial-nomination-masters-with-18-point-lead-in-for-us-senate-nomination/">survey</a> showed Masters ahead with 40% support among GOP voters, followed by Lamon at 22%, Brnovich with 14% support, and McGuire at 12%; nine percent of respondents were undecided.Whoever emerges as the Republican nominee will have to run in a state that has shifted from red to purple in recent years. In 2018, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema won Arizona's other Senate seat at the same time that Ducey was reelected as governor, and in 2020, Biden was the first Democratic presidential nominee to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">win</a> the state since 1996.<iframe id="embed-2184003d-5579-4a89-bb35-6eacb174d671" src="https://embeds.ddhq.io/app/v2/client/1.0/index.html?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" frameborder="0" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe id="embed-3f227a02-3486-460b-86e8-623af20bb45c" src="https://embeds.ddhq.io/app/v2/client/1.0/index.html?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" frameborder="0" width="100%"></iframe><h3>US House races</h3>1st DistrictRepublican Rep. David Schweikert is running for reelection in this GOP-leaning district in the Phoenix area. His primary opponents are Josh Barnett and Elijah Norton.The Democratic contenders are Jevin Hodge and Adam Metzendorf.2nd DistrictThe sprawling district, which contains a sizeable Native American population and became more Republican-leaning after the last redistricting cycle, is currently represented by moderate Democratic Rep. Tom O'Halleran.The Republican candidates include state Rep. Walt Blackman, Eli Crane, Mark DeLuzio, Steven Krystofiak, Ron Watkins, Andy Yates, and John W. Moore, the mayor of Williams.3rd DistrictDemocratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is running for reelection in a deep blue district anchored in Phoenix. Jeffrey Zink is running unopposed in the Republican primary.4th DistrictDemocratic Rep. Greg Stanton, a former mayor of Phoenix, is running for reelection in a seat that became more competitive through redistricting.The Republican primary candidates include Kelly Cooper, Jerone Davidson, Dave Giles, Rene Lopez, and Tanya Contreras Wheeless.5th DistrictConservative Rep. Andy Biggs, a former member of the Arizona legislature, is running for a fourth term in a Republican-leaning district that contains Gilbert and parts of Chandler and Mesa.Javier Garcia Ramos is on the ballot in the Democratic primary.6th DistrictThis Tucson-anchored district will feature an open-seat race as a result of Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick's decision to retire at the end of her term.The Democratic contenders are state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, former state Rep. Kristen Engel, and Avery Anderson.The Republican candidates are Juan Ciscomani, Lucretia Free, Brandon Martin, Young Mayberry, and Kathleen Winn.7th DistrictRep. Raúl Grijalva is running for reelection in this majority-Hispanic, Democratic-heavy district that runs along most of the state's southern border of Mexico.Nina Becker and Luis Pozzolo are running in the Republican primary.8th DistrictIncumbent GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko is running unopposed for her party's nomination. There are no candidates running in the Democratic primary.9th DistrictRepublican Rep. Paul Gosar is running for reelection in this deeply conservative congressional district. He faces Sandra E. Dowling, Randy Kutz, and Adam Morgan in the GOP primary.There are no candidates running in the Democratic primary.

RESULTS: Arizona Republicans compete to take on Sen. Mark Kelly

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An <keyword id="11907754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arizona" source="Orion">Arizona</keyword> Republican Senate candidate said the gender pay gap is "a left-wing narrative."</li><li><keyword id="13005786" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blake-masters" source="Orion">Blake Masters</keyword>, an acolyte of businessman Peter Theil, made the comments in a video obtained by NBC.</li></ul>Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters questioned the existence of a <a href="https://blog.dol.gov/2021/03/19/5-facts-about-the-state-of-the-gender-pay-gap">gender-based pay gap</a> in America in a newly obtained video from NBC News, even though data shows men typically earn more than women for comparable jobs."Women are not paid less in America than men," Masters said. "It's a left-wing narrative, this gender pay gap. When you control for the occupations, when you control for people taking time out to, you know, birth children, things are actually pretty equal. And men do the most dangerous jobs."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1524447329188823041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2022</a></blockquote>Masters' campaign declined to provide comment when Insider reached out.<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/gender-pay-gap-just-left-wing-narrative-ariz-senate-candidate-said-rcna28327">NBC News first reported on Masters' statements</a> on Wednesday. According to NBC, Masters made the comments during an appearance at a February 4 candidate forum in Scottsdale, Arizona. Masters is a close ally of <keyword id="12142474" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="peter-thiel" source="Orion">Peter Thiel</keyword>, a billionaire tech entrepreneur. Through a super PAC, Thiel has already spent<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/26/peter-thiel-arizona-senate-race-484585"> $10 million</a> to help Masters win.Masters said that the gap does not exist when it is taken into account that men do "most dangerous jobs." He made the remarks during a discussion of the Equal Rights Amendment. <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/gop-warming-equal-rights-amendment">The ERA once received bipartisan support,</a> but it has become heavily politicized in recent years as more Republicans oppose passing a Constitutional amendment that would prohibit discrimination on the ba"Men are the ones who are doing risky, you know, fishing–crab in Alaska," Masters said. And sometimes those jobs pay more. Sometimes those jobs pay more, and so I think we got to push back on the fake left-wing narrative that women don't have equal rights in this country."The reality is different from Masters' assertion as the gender-based pay gap has been extensively researched and documented. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/">Pew Research found last year</a> that the gap between men and women has "remained fairly stable for the last 15 years or so." In 2020, Pew found that women earned 84% of what men earned.Regarding Master's assertions, researchers concede that various factors and outliers can affect the size of the gap. But research that tries to take this into account still finds a gap exists. Glass Door's latest survey of the situation found "workers with the same job title, employer and location, the US gender pay gap is about 5.4 percent." In other words, according to their findings, <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/research/demystifying-the-gender-pay-gap/">women make 94.6 cents on the dollar compared to men.</a>The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, previously said there's some merit to suggestions that the gap narrows based on career differences. But researchers there have also argued that career choice isn't as straightforward as it seems."Gender discrimination doesn't happen only in the pay-setting practices of employers making wage offers to nearly identical workers of different genders," <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/what-is-the-gender-pay-gap-and-is-it-real/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elise Gould, Jessica Schieder, and Kathleen Geier wrote in 2016. </a>"It can happen at every stage of a woman's life, from steering her away from science and technology education to shouldering her with home responsibilities that impede her capacity to work the long hours of demanding professions."Masters is polling in the top three of Arizona's Republican Senate primary, just six percentage points behind Jim Lamon in first place, according to Trafalgar and the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/senate/Arizona.html">Real Clear Politics polling averag</a>e.Masters' has received <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/26/peter-thiel-arizona-senate-race-484585">more than $10 million from billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel</a>, mostly in the form of donations to a pro-Masters super PAC called Saving Arizona.Masters had been working as the chief operating officer of Thiel Capital and the president of the Thiel Foundation before officially launching his campaign.

GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters falsely says the gender pay gap is a 'fake left-wing narrative' because men do 'the most dangerous jobs'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump blasted "rumors" that <keyword id="11907754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arizona" source="Orion">Arizona</keyword> Gov. <keyword id="11949076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="doug-ducey" source="Orion">Doug Ducey</keyword> might <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/13/top-trump-enemy-might-join-gop-senate-primary-527070">enter</a> the state's 2022 <keyword id="11896866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate" source="Orion">Senate</keyword> race.</li><li>The former president has needled the governor for certifying President Biden's 2020 Arizona victory.</li></ul>Former President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> on Friday mocked Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, pledging to oppose the Republican leader if he jumps into the state's 2022 GOP primary race to face off against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.Trump — who continues to mull a 2024 presidential campaign and will visit the Grand Canyon State on Saturday for a rally — has been incensed with Ducey for over a year now for refusing to overturn President <keyword id="99719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword>'s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">victory</a> in Arizona during the 2020 presidential election."Rumors are that Doug Ducey, the weak RINO Governor from Arizona, is being pushed by Old Crow Mitch McConnell to run for the U.S. Senate," the former president <a href="https://twitter.com/realLizUSA/status/1482121674069876743">said in a statement</a>. "He will never have my endorsement or the support of MAGA Nation!"Last January, Ducey <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/23/us/politics/doug-ducey-arizona-republican-party.html">told</a> The New York Times that he was not gearing up for a Senate campaign."I'm not running for the United States Senate. It's a no," he expressed to the newspaper at the time. "I'm 100 percent focused on being the governor of the state of Arizona."At the time, Ducey said that his duties as Arizona's governor and as the chair of the Republican Governors Association were the focus of his energy.But <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/13/top-trump-enemy-might-join-gop-senate-primary-527070">a recent Politico report</a> raised the possibility that Ducey was eyeing an entry into the race, which would shake up a primary contest that has largely centered on most of the candidates expressing <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/10/13/arizona-utilities-regulator-justin-olson-enters-republican-senate-race/8429853002/">fealty</a> to Trump's debunked election claims. If Ducey did decide to enter the primary, he would have until the April 4 filing deadline to garner the required set of signatures. A potential entry into the race by Ducey would likely occur by the end of February, according to a source from the governor's orbit who spoke with Politico.The candidates in the GOP primary include state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Arizona Corporation Commissioner <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/10/13/arizona-utilities-regulator-justin-olson-enters-republican-senate-race/8429853002/">Justin Olson</a>, venture capitalist Blake Masters, solar power executive Jim Lamon, and retired Arizona National Guard adjutant general Michael McGuire.Trump has not made an official endorsement in the race, but last year, Arizona Mirror <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/blog/super-pac-funded-by-masters-ally-blasts-brnovich-over-false-election-fraud-claims/">reported</a> that a pro-Masters super PAC slammed Brnovich for dismissing Trump's claims about the state's election tally."Mark Brnovich says President Trump is wrong on voter fraud. Really? Brnovich failed to convene a grand jury, certified Biden as president. Now he's nowhere to be found, making excuses … instead of standing with our president," the ad stated.In November 2020, just days after the election, Brnovich rejected the notion that Arizona elections were anything but fair, stating that "if indeed there was some great conspiracy" to blunt advantages for Republicans, "it apparently didn't work," since the party kept their state legislative majorities despite Trump's loss."In Arizona, there was a prediction that the (Republican-controlled) Legislature would flip. It didn't," <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/11/arizona-attorney-general-mark-brnovich-dismisses-election-fraud-claims/6258889002/">he said</a> on Fox Business at the time.Most Arizona officials have long contended that there was no electoral malfeasance at the local level, but Trump has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ducey-ward-arizona-republicans-maricopa-election-audit-rally-2021-7">continued</a> to push the claim that the vote was tainted, notably in Maricopa County, the state's most populous jurisdiction and one that voted for Biden after decades of backing GOP presidential nominees.An election audit that was widely touted by Republicans nationwide <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-documents-show-arizona-audit-confirms-bidens-win-over-trump-2021-9">reaffirmed</a> Biden's countywide victory over Trump. In the 2020 election, Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee since Bill Clinton in 1996 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">to secure</a> Arizona's 11 electoral votes, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-presidential-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">edging out</a> Trump by 10,457 votes out of nearly 3.4 million ballots cast.Ducey supported Trump's 2020 campaign, but their relationship soured when the governor disavowed the former president's election claims and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-gop-gov-doug-ducey-slams-trump-state-certification-criticism-2020-12">certified</a> the 2020 results.The governor <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/23/us/politics/doug-ducey-arizona-republican-party.html">told</a> The Times last year that he adhered to the Constitution when it came to the election."After Nov. 3, the job is to count the votes, tabulate the number, audit the vote and make sure it's accurate. All 15 counties in Arizona certified the vote. I took an oath to uphold the law and abide by the Constitution. I did my duty," he said.He continued: "I have been outspoken that I think the people that have been misinforming Arizonans are wrong and they shouldn't be doing that and they should be held accountable for that."

Trump says he will 'never' endorse Republican Doug Ducey if the Arizona governor jumps into the state's 2022 Senate race

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sen. <keyword id="13025090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mark-kelly" source="Orion">Mark Kelly</keyword> of <keyword id="11907754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arizona" source="Orion">Arizona</keyword>, a Democrat, is up for re-election this year.</li><li>His colleague, Sen. <keyword id="11930701" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kyrsten-sinema" source="Orion">Kyrsten Sinema</keyword>, just blocked key voting rights legislation in the <keyword id="11896866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate" source="Orion">Senate</keyword>. </li></ul>Arizona <keyword id="11896865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="democrats" source="Orion">Democrats</keyword> are growing increasingly alarmed that the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-democratic-party-unanimously-censure-sen-kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-2022-1">drama surrounding Sen. Kyrsten Sinema</a> will make it harder for her counterpart, Sen. Mark Kelly, to win re-election in November.It's an unintended side effect stemming from the intra-party outrage that Sinema kicked up after her decision last week to block a major voting rights bill that sits atop President Joe Biden's legislative agenda. Now, Sinema is the talk of Grand Canyon State <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword> when Democrats very much would rather the focus be on Kelly, a former astronaut running in a tough 2022 midterm cycle where <keyword id="11899267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="republicans" source="Orion">Republicans</keyword> need to pick up just one Senate seat to win back the majority."I do think that Kyrsten Sinema is making it significantly more difficult for Mark Kelly to get re-elected," said one Arizona Democratic Party official, who requested anonymity to speak bluntly about the race. "This is not what we wanted to talk about right now," the official said. "It's like a vacuum that's taking away from the focus that needs to be on Mark Kelly right now … instead we're fighting against ourselves here."Kelly is a gun safety activist and <a href="https://www.insider.com/mark-kelly-gabrielle-gabby-giffords-relationship-timeline-2021-1">husband of Gabrielle Giffords</a>, the former Arizona congresswoman who in 2011 was <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona/2021/01/05/gabrielle-giffords-shooting-tucson-arizona-who-was-shot/3987786001/">shot outside a grocery store</a> in her district during a constituent event. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-senate-race-martha-mcsally-vs-mark-kelly-polls-fundraising-2020-8">beat the Republican incumbent</a> in a 2020 special election to serve out the final two years of the late Sen. John McCain's term and now is running for a full six years in Washington. To do that in swing-state Arizona, Kelly will need to win over independents and moderate Republicans.So far, Kelly is miles ahead of his potential Republican challengers in the fundraising race. He <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/07/politics/mark-kelly-9-million-fourth-quarter-arizona/index.html">pulled in $9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020</a>. But the <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings">Cook Political Report rates</a> the Arizona 2022 Senate race as a toss-up, meaning the political winds could blow either way in November. That's why Democrats would very much prefer the main story out of Arizona to be about the contrast between themselves and Republicans. Instead, intra-party friction within the Democratic Party is soaring after state officials took the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-democratic-party-unanimously-censure-sen-kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-2022-1">unusual step of censoring Sinema</a> on Saturday for voting against a change to the Senate's filibuster rules and effectively blocking a bill her party says is essential to protecting democracy and the 2022 election's integrity. "I share that concern as long as we continue to focus on Sinema," said Priya Sundareshan, who volunteers on the Arizona Democratic Party's Asian American and Pacific Islander caucus. "I think that the focus is rightly shifting back on Senator Kelly now."<h2><div type="image" title="GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters chief operating officer of Thiel Capital and president of the Thiel Foundation." height="1333" width="1777" msid="89103406" hostid="261"></div></h2><h2>Republicans on the attack</h2>Arizona Republicans will pick their nominee to run against Kelly during an August 2 primary. Notable Republican candidates vying to take on Kelly include Blake Masters, a chair of the Thiel Foundation, businessman Jim Lamon, and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.Amalia Halikias, Masters' campaign manager, told Insider that the Senate filibuster will be a "huge issue" in the 2022 race to take out Kelly, who her boss said in a statement had "betrayed Arizona.""He is disgusting and he's got to go," Blake Masters said.No matter who wins the primary, Republicans are also already busy highlighting the contrasts between Kelly and Sinema. "Kelly is no moderate," National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Katharine Cooksey said after last week's vote. "He is a far-left senator who will do whatever Joe Biden and Washington Democrat leadership tell him to in order to pass a radically liberal agenda."While Kelly voted with his party to change the filibuster rules, the Arizona Democratic Party official said Sinema's refusal to do the same means that Kelly will ultimately have fewer accomplishments to tout to voters come November."Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly could have joined with their 50 Democratic senators and passed significant legislation on health care, on voting rights, on environmental issues, on climate change, and gone back to the people of Arizona in October 2022 and said, look at all of the things we have passed," he said. "Kyrsten Sinema's decided to block all of it," the official said. "So Mark Kelly doesn't have as much material to work with in his re-election."Ann Heitland, chair of the Coconino County Democratic Party that includes Flagstaff, downplayed the ultimate effect Sinema could have on Kelly. "I think Democrats worry too much," she said. "We just have to move on and deal with the elections that are on the ballot in 2022."For his part, Kelly brushed off a question about whether he had concerns Sinema would negatively hurt his own reelection chances. "I spent 25 years flying airplanes off an aircraft carrier, and flying a space shuttle," he told Insider. "Politics — that's not my focus, my popularity in the state, or hers. I'm focused on making smart decisions that help the folks in Arizona and this country."

Democrats are worried Kyrsten Sinema will end up hurting Mark Kelly's 2022 reelection chances

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Arizona GOP gubernatorial primary has turned into a proxy war between Donald <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump" source="Orion">Trump</keyword> and Mike <keyword id="12123389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pence" source="Orion">Pence</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="14479895" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="karrin-taylor-robson" source="Orion">Karrin Taylor Robson</keyword> says she has the electability, experience, and temperament that <keyword id="12307873" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kari-lake" source="Orion">Kari Lake</keyword> doesn't.</li></ul>CHANDLER, Arizona — When the four Republican candidates running for governor of Arizona finally met for their first and only televised debate at the end of June, chaos ensued."I feel like I'm on an SNL skit here," remarked Kari Lake, a former <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> anchor for Fox 10 Phoenix who's been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, during the hour-long event full of cross-talk and head-scratching non-sequiturs.But perhaps the most significant moment of that debate — a <a href="https://twitter.com/endajodowd/status/1542915789845561346?s=20&amp;t=xNnUEVibLeVInDwaZiNprg">clip of which</a> was widely shared and mocked online — came when Lake challenged the other candidates to raise their hands if they believed Arizona had a "corrupt, stolen election" in 2020.While Lake and the two other minor candidates promptly raised their hands, one candidate did not: Lake's main competitor, Karrin Taylor Robson.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Enda O'Dowd (@endajodowd) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1542915789845561346">July 1, 2022</a></blockquote>"It was a debate in name only, really," Robson told Insider during a phone interview on Sunday. "I think it was quite unfortunate, because the voters of Arizona deserve better."Robson, a business-minded Republican who's worked in real estate development and land use consulting, is now the one person standing between Lake and the GOP nomination — and perhaps even the governorship itself. She's <a href="https://seethemoney.az.gov/PublicReports/2022/C1E0B47F-EDC1-415B-9F93-1AC932521C86.pdf">poured more than $13 million of her own money into the effort</a>, accounting for more than 80% of the $16.5 million raised by her campaign ahead of the August 2 primary.She comes from a political family: Her father, Carl Kunasek, served as president of the Arizona Senate during the late 1980s, while her brother Andy Kunasek served for 20 years on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.Robson is also an ally of Doug Ducey, the state's term-limited incumbent governor: He appointed Robson in 2017 to the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing board that oversees the state's major public universities including Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and University of Arizona.But it's her first time running for office, and the otherwise traditional, Ronald Reagan-loving Republican finds herself seeking the nomination of a party that's fixated on cultural issues and remains under the shadow of Trump.Meanwhile, Lake may be one of the most Trump-like candidates running this year. A broadcast journalist in Arizona for nearly three decades before making a hard-right political turn in recent years, Lake opened up an early lead in the race by securing Trump's endorsement in September 2021.And much like Trump, Lake is a former Democrat who's embraced illiberal and extreme rhetoric in her first quest for political office."Frankly, I think she should be locked up," Lake <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremyduda/status/1444484819312787459?s=20&amp;t=32pzcnF3P6T78meu05j0Sg">has said</a> of the likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee, current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.Lake also fervently pushes the idea that the 2020 election was stolen, has said that she would not have certified her own state's election results, and has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/04/politics/kfile-kari-lake-nazi-symapthizer-qanon-figure/index.html">attracted fringe figures</a> at some of her campaign events. She's also — like Trump — liable to get into Twitter fights, <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1547412342786461698?s=20&amp;t=staVMphXohl9Z4w2tyFAgQ">most recently with Meghan McCain</a>, the daughter of the state's long-serving late Republican Sen. John McCain.<div type="image" title="A yard sign for Kari Lake featuring the image of President Donald Trump in Phoenix, Arizona." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93092932" hostid="261" sizebytes="689292"></div>But despite that early lead, Lake and Robson are now polling neck-and-neck. And in the race's final weeks, it's become something of a national GOP proxy war.While Lake has long been endorsed by a variety of Trump-world figures, Robson now has the <a href="https://twitter.com/Karrin4Arizona/status/1548955739133054977?s=20&amp;t=JiIXnbg02f7TCpX8nO6YTg">backing of</a> former Vice President Mike Pence, Arizona Gov. <a href="https://twitter.com/Karrin4Arizona/status/1545029868521398272?s=20&amp;t=ORz2HneGiRDToJptiAEfAA">Doug Ducey</a>. She also has the backing of a constellation of other stalwart GOP figures, including both critics and allies of Trump, such as Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.<h2>'I'm not a fake, I'm not an actress'</h2>On policy matters, there's relatively little that separates the two candidates; it would be a mistake to cast Robson as a moderate, at least based on how she's running her campaign.Rather, Robson contends that she has everything that Lake lacks: experience, electability, and the temperament to govern her state."I am who I say I am. I'm not a fake, I'm not an actress," Robson told Insider when asked to name the biggest difference between her and Lake. "I have a lifetime of executive experience and getting results, and she has a lifetime of reading a teleprompter."It's the same argument that many of Trump's 2016 Republican primary opponents unsuccessfully made against him, even as he outflanked them on high-salience issues like immigration and trade. Now, it's Robson arguing that Lake is not a real conservative, even as Lake stakes out a base-friendly position on the 2020 election — 2022's hot-button topic de jure among the party faithful.<div type="image" title="A yard sign for Karrin Taylor Robson in Phoenix, Arizona." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93092934" hostid="261" sizebytes="590722"></div>For her part, Robson stops short of calling the election stolen. At <a href="https://youtu.be/zgkoNLPIAc0">the debate</a>, she said the 2020 election was "absolutely not fair" before Lake interjected to tout her endorsement from Dinesh D'Souza, the director of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kelly-townsend-wendy-rogers-nick-fuentes-trump-white-nationalism-arizona-2022-7">widely-debunked film "2000 Mules"</a> that purports to reveal rampant fraud in the 2020 election.To support her claim that the election "wasn't fair," Robson gestured towards Republican conspiracy theories about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7070695-CTCL-CEIR-Press-Release-9-1-20-FINAL.html">election-related philanthropic contributions</a> and pandemic-era changes to voting procedures."You look at the media suppressing the news," she said at the debate. "I don't need to say anything more than 'Hunter Biden' or Big Tech suppressing — silencing conservative voices."Asked by Insider why an election-denying Republican should support her over Lake, Robson argued that she was more electable than her opponent while alluding to partisan control over the state's vote certification process."We must maintain the Republican governorship in Arizona, because Arizona is a battleground state," she said. "The last thing this country needs is a battleground state like Arizona being led by a Democrat."Long a Republican strong-hold, the state now has two Democratic senators and in 2020 voted Democratic at the presidential level for the first time since 1996, raising the sense of urgency for Republicans.Meanwhile, the primary between the two women has grown nasty and personal, with Lake insinuating that middle-aged Robson — who's married to 91-year-old real estate developer Ed Robson — is "wasting her inheritance on a failed vanity project." "This lady has spent MILLIONS of her husband's money and has nothing to show for it!" Lake <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1535039692923469824?s=20&amp;t=LoRhiS1I-5XW1H69X0D3fQ">wrote in one tweet</a>.Lake has also hammered Robson over the use of the phrase "female-identifying restroom" at a stadium named after her husband in Colorado, <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1510391193435136000?s=20&amp;t=pChR4z-abmgGOM07ViC6dA">saying</a> her opponent "supports Trans Bathrooms."But Lake's own past has muddled her ability to appeal to voters on cultural grounds. After she <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1537998506702430208?s=20&amp;t=zdu7qyqMnuCBKSS9oRNhog">began criticizing drag queens</a>, a drag performer who used to be friends with Lake <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/06/18/arizona-drag-queen-barbra-seville-calls-out-kari-lake-for-hypocrisy/7674085001/">came forward</a> and released photos of the two together.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—azcentral (@azcentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1541878632515354636">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>'The fake crazy or the real crazy'</h2>As part of Robson's campaign to brand her opponent as "Fake Lake," hundreds, if not thousands, of yard signs have been placed along roadsides across the state noting that Lake donated to former President Barack Obama.At an event for Senate candidate Jim Lamon in Prescott, Pat Newbert, 66, told Insider that Lake's background proved she was a liberal, chiding Trump for endorsing the former journalist."What makes him think that all of a sudden, now, she's gonna be a Republican?" said Newbert. "He's backing people that — come on, Trump! You know, you're smarter than that. And these liberals, they get in there, and then they go right back to being a liberal."Lake doesn't shy away from the fact that she's a former Democrat, pointing to both Trump and Ronald Reagan as prior examples while <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1542312655678885888?s=20&amp;t=DKNVvfo4_uKH8WxcM7qMEA">embracing</a> the so-called #WalkAway movement.<div type="image" title="A yard sign highlighting Lake's past support for President Barack Obama paid for by Robson's campaign in Phoenix, Arizona." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93092937" hostid="261" sizebytes="628780"></div>Asked about the signs, a spokesperson for the Lake campaign chided Robson for spending "a mountain of her Billionaire Husband's money" on signs "across Arizona with Kari and Obama's face on them.""The Kari Lake Campaign extends our thanks to Robson for getting a head start on helping us in the General," said the spokesperson.Lake has also countered Robson's attacks by pointing to the businesswoman's prior contributions to Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who Lake has called the "AOC of Arizona."Insider asked Gallego — who's <a href="https://twitter.com/RubenGallego/status/1534699913312878594?s=20&amp;t=g7nbwu8C6ARp_ESTo8ZGtg">joked</a> that Robson is "my best donor" — about what he made of her past contributions."The reason she did that is because, you know, she needed access to Democrats in power, because a lot of what they needed in terms of land development had to go through Democratic hands," said Gallego at the US Capitol on Tuesday. "Largely she was doing it, I think, to try to have influence."Robson made the same point when asked about the contributions, which amounted to just $1000 in 2015."Ruben Gallego was already elected," said Robson, noting the deep-blue hue of his Phoenix-area district. She then pivoted, noting her history as a major source of GOP money, "including well over a million dollars to Donald Trump while Kari Lake was calling Joe Biden the duly elected president."But Gallego had more to say about Robson, suggesting that she, rather than Lake, was the one being inauthentic in the race."Karrin Taylor Robson was a very moderate businesswoman when it was helpful to her," said Gallego, adding that when he knew her, she would "look down and talk bad about conservatives in Arizona."Arizona Democrats have also seized on the contributions, <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremyduda/status/1546643411700068353?s=20&amp;t=S0KPlQxmuLYBeejXwIJ6ng">sending an email release</a> that back-handedly thanks Robson for her past contributions to other Democrats in a likely effort to boost Lake, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/trump-backed-kari-lake-gets-hand-unlikely-source-arizona-democrats-rcna38084">who is seen as potentially easier to defeat</a>.But when asked who he thought would be a more favorable opponent for Democrats, Gallego — who is himself <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ruben-gallego-kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-primary-challenge-arizona-progressives-2022-1">mulling a primary challenge to sitting Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema</a> in 2024 — demurred."I mean, like, the crazy train will get derailed no matter who does it," said Gallego. "Whether it's the fake crazy or the real crazy, so it doesn't really matter."<h2>'I'm kind of passionate about civil discourse'</h2>While Robson may represent a more genteel kind of Republican, she's also currently competing for primary votes against a candidate who's been endorsed by Trump.To compensate, Robson is having to lean into demagogic rhetoric to win over potentially skeptical conservatives, even as she conceded during the gubernatorial debate that she would not be radically different than Ducey, the current Republican governor.At an event last Thursday with her campaign's Asian-American Coalition in a Chandler dim sum restaurant, the contradictions of that kind of message were on full display. Matt Salmon, a former long-time Republican congressman who recently dropped out of the governor's race to endorse Robson, gave an opening speech on her behalf."We're not at a crossroads. We were at a crossroads many, many years ago," said Salmon just moments after pleasing the crowd with his ad-libbed Mandarin skills. "We took the wrong turn, and we're about to fall off the cliff."When it was Robson's turn to speak, she opened her address by suggesting that the "left" wants to turn states like Arizona and Utah into California, relaying an anecdote from an attendee at another event about how "Utah's already gone" because so many out-of-staters have moved in."So, we are on the frontlines of keeping our country safe and free," said Robson, her father sitting in the audience.But she seemed most at ease discussing her desire to turn Arizona into the "small business capital of America" and talking about how her upbringing taught her the "exceptional nature of this country, and that if you work hard, you treat people well, you can achieve anything." <div type="image" title="Karrin Taylor Robson speaks to a group of supporters at Phoenix Palace restaurant in Chandler, Arizona on July 13, 2022." height="1500" width="2000" msid="93092939" hostid="261" sizebytes="346480"></div>It was a pitch that might have been more typical of a Republican politician prior to Trump's ascent to the top of the party.Robson also spoke glowingly of her father's friendship with Art Hamilton, a Democratic state legislator, which she said was a model for her. "That's the beauty of America," she said. "We can be different. We can come together and respect one another, and work together to solve complex problems.""I'm kind of passionate about civil discourse, and civics and civic education," she remarked. Attendees, representing communities ranging from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean to even Assyrian and Lebanese, were largely already Robson supporters. At one point, attendees from each represented community were asked to speak about why they were supporting Robson. One middle-aged woman who identified herself as being from the Filipino-American community praised Robson for her executive experience before bashing Lake."The woman who's running against you, she looks like… I'm not very politically correct, so let me call her a space cadet," said the woman, prompting laughter. "To me, she's an airhead."

You Searched For "jim lamon" and got 10 results

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is under fire from Arizona Republicans hoping to defeat his Trump-backed protégé Blake Masters in Senate primary

Bryan Metzger

An independent candidacy by Kyrsten Sinema could help Democrats win the 2024 Arizona Senate race as she appears to pull more support from Republicans than from her old party, a new poll says

John L. Dorman

GOP candidate releases ad showing a faux shootout with husband of Gabby Giffords, the Arizona lawmaker who was shot in the head in 2011

Sinéad Baker

Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego recently outraised Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in what could be the most unpredictable Senate race of 2024

John L. Dorman

RESULTS: Arizona Republicans compete to take on Sen. Mark Kelly

John L. Dorman

GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters falsely says the gender pay gap is a 'fake left-wing narrative' because men do 'the most dangerous jobs'

Brent D. Griffiths,Jake Lahut

Trump says he will 'never' endorse Republican Doug Ducey if the Arizona governor jumps into the state's 2022 Senate race

John L. Dorman

Democrats are worried Kyrsten Sinema will end up hurting Mark Kelly's 2022 reelection chances

Kayla Epstein

Meet Karrin Taylor Robson, the Pence-endorsed Republican who could stop Trump-endorsed Kari Lake from winning the Arizona GOP gubernatorial nomination

Bryan Metzger

A guide to the most important primary elections of the 2022 midterms, which will test Trump's influence over the GOP

Grace Panetta