Trump-backed Blake Masters takes Arizona GOP Senate nominee win

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — No surprises in the Arizona Republican primary for Senate. Blake Masters will be the GOP nominee, taking on Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly in the November general election. The outcome of that race could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

The Arizona Senate race had gained national attention as experts wondered how influential former President Donald Trump’s endorsements would be. In this case, it paid dividends for Masters. Trump officially endorsed him in June, giving Masters a big bump in the polls as he was just at 9% two months earlier. But with the endorsement, he had a double-digit lead in one poll over wealthy businessman Jim Lamon and a comfortable lead in another. Masters joined Trump and other Trump-backed candidates at a rally in Prescott Valley last month.

Millions of dollars were spent on commercials as both campaigns for Masters and Lamon went after each other. Lamon claimed Masters was a shilling for big tech and supported open borders, while groups supporting Masters claimed Lamon was a “liberal” who supported communist China. Wednesday morning, Lamon released a prepared statement encouraging all Arizonans to rally around Masters.

Also running for the nomination were Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire. Brnovich was the frontrunner in the race early on but then dipped to third as the primary approached. McGuire stayed a distant fourth.