For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Contact: Hannah Goss, hgoss@azdem.org
Senate Showdown: A Week of Brno Bashing and Full-Field Forums
PHOENIX — Welcome to this week’s edition of the ‘Senate Showdown’ — a weekly roundup of the latest news in Arizona’s “crowded,” “costly,” and “chaotic” GOP Senate primary.
With “no clear frontrunner,” these amateur candidates will be busy duking it out well into the summer, ahead of Arizona’s August primary date. Until then, the Arizona Democratic Party’s ‘Showdown’ is here to help you keep track of this race’s breaking news, cringiest Tweets, and nastiest doses of infighting.
Here’s what you missed this week:
THE STAGE IS SET: Now they just have to show up…On Sunday, the entire GOP Senate primary field will (supposedly) come together for a candidate forum — which, after months of dodged debates, is pretty exciting. So exciting, in fact, we made a bingo board to better enjoy the occasion.
BRNO BASHING: Following Trump’s lead, the GOP primary field is ripping into Mark Brnovich for his stalled investigation into the 2020 election. Given Brno’s history, we’d bet one Blake Masters NFT it’s only a matter of time before he falls in line and caves to party pressure yet again.
MONEY CAN BUY YOU MASTERS: To meet his end-of-quarter fundraising deadline, Blake Masters offered up dinner with himself and Big Tech billionaire Peter Thiel for a $5,800 max-out contribution. According to Blake, sample dinner topics include “VC, crypto, AI; UFOs, Epstein, conspiracy; China, globalization; the future,” which sounds….fun?
TALK ABOUT A NICE ROI: In what might be the deal of the cycle, Jim Lamon’s $40,000 payout to former Trump advisor Matt Schlapp bought him the CPAC endorsement, a CPAC speaking slot, and, as of this week, a local stump from Schlapp himself.
READ THE ROOM: After Doug Ducey signed one of the country’s most restrictive abortion bans, Mark Brnovich, Mick McGuire, and Blake Masters took to Twitter to celebrate. ICYMI: Here in Arizona, the majority of voters support the right to safe and legal abortion — a fact we’d remind the GOP candidates of if we thought they’d care.
“BRNO WANTED TRUMP TO LOSE”: Bold words, Blake. Give it a month and some campaign cash, and we’re guessing Blake Masters could likely turn his tweet into a new campaign ad attacking Brnovich (it wouldn’t be the first time). With some creative Trump targeting, it might even earn Masters another Mar-A-Lago invite.
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