REPORT: Trump Revealed His Pick For Arizona’s GOP Senate Nomination In Phone Call To Candidate

On Sunday, former President Donald J. Trump reportedly reached out to Blake Masters, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the Arizona Senate. Trump expressed his doubts about Masters’ chances of winning a primary against Kari Lake, the former news anchor who had an unsuccessful gubernatorial run last year, the New York Times reports.

During recent weeks, it was reported that Masters was planning on running for Senate. Last year, Masters secured the GOP nomination but was ultimately defeated by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in the pivotal battleground state.

The two individuals cited by the Times, who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to share details of the private conversation, described the call between the former president and Masters. One of the sources mentioned that Trump hadn’t firmly decided against backing Masters and had hinted in other discussions that Lake might choose not to run.

The New York Times wrote:

By contrast, so far in this cycle, Mr. Trump, the dominant front-runner for the G.O.P. presidential nomination, has endorsed only one Republican Senate candidate who isn’t an incumbent, and it was a safe choice: Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, who is backed by the Republican establishment and is regarded as a lock for that seat.

Mr. Trump’s comparative caution is by design and serves not only his own interests but also those of the same Republican leaders who despaired of his interventions in 2022 midterm primaries…

In a statement shared by an aide, Ms. Lake said, “I am strongly considering getting in the race and will be making my final decision in the coming weeks,” and cast herself as someone who would be loyal to Mr. Trump in the Senate. Sheriff Mark Lamb of Pinal County is already in the race.

A person close to Mr. Masters who was not authorized to speak publicly stressed that Mr. Masters “believes the party needs a candidate with a proven ability to fund-raise and campaign and is prepared to run in the absence of such a candidate.”

Mr. Masters has told associates that he thinks another “bloody” primary would hurt the party’s chances of winning the seat — and that a battle against Ms. Lake would surely be bloody, according to the person close to him. Mr. Masters has also privately questioned whether Ms. Lake will run, that person said.

The person said Mr. Masters had seriously considered announcing his candidacy shortly after Labor Day but that no plans were set.

Mr. Trump’s skepticism about Mr. Masters long predates their weekend conversation. The former president has told associates he thinks Mr. Masters was a “bad candidate” in 2022, according to two people who have spoken to the former president.

Both Lake and Masters have repeatedly supported Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Last month, Lake urged all GOP candidates to suspend their campaigns and rally behind the former president. Lake’s passionate plea came in the wake of the Trump’s fourth and, at least for now, final indictment.

“His poll numbers will continue to go up. I really believe that those other people running in the Republican race should stand up, speak out in support of President Trump, talk about how this is an injustice, unlike we’ve ever seen with our Department of Justice going after an innocent man.”

Lake finished: “Frankly, they should suspend their campaigns and step behind and support President Trump and the American people so we can save this great country.”

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