For Immediate Release
Friday, July 15, 2022
Contact: Hannah Goss, hgoss@azdem.org
DEBATE DOWNLOAD: Watch Key Moments from Wednesday’s “Explosive” #AZSen Debate
PHOENIX — Wednesday’s GOP Senate primary debate brought the ongoing Masters v. Lamon attack ad war to primetime, capturing this “increasingly nasty” primary’s rampant infighting and underscoring just how damaged these “decidedly weak” candidates are.
When they weren’t lying about their plans to dismantle Social Security, they spent the time “throwing jabs,” “exchang[ing] harsh words,” and “striking on more personal terms.”
See below and catch up on the chaos for yourself:
MASTERS’ MELTDOWN: After Lamon called out Masters’ decade-long stint of living in California, Masters got defensive, made fun of Lamon’s accent, and screamed, “I’ve spent more years of my life in Arizona than Jim Lamon has…I am an Arizonan, and this is a bullshit attack. I grew up here!”
A BOZO IN A CLOWN SHOW: Masters next went on offense, touting his endorsement from Donald Trump and slinging mud at Lamon, saying Trump “met with Jim Lamon, he thought he was a bozo. I’m the America First candidate. That’s why I’m endorsed.”
“OWNED”: Drawing from his laundry list of attack ads for inspiration, Lamon slammed Masters for his Peter Thiel dependence, saying, “Who’s holding the purse for this guy? Seventeen million dollars coming out of a Big Tech, California globalist guy who he will owe that to…He’s owned right now and will be in the US Senate.”
BOY BLAKE: Lamon went after Masters for being “young,” “inexperienced,” and never having “gone through the wringer.” He also slammed Masters for his previous calls for “open borders” — the latest oppo de jour featured in Lamon’s attack ads.
As if the hour-long debacle wasn’t embarrassing enough for the GOP “bozo[s],” in the days since, Arizonans have read all about how Lamon and Masters “slug[ged] it out” for viewers across the state to see:
Vanity Fair: GOP Senate Candidates in Arizona Pledge Allegiance to Trump Ahead of his Visit
- Trump has already endorsed Blake Masters in the Arizona Senate race, but the other candidates are still trying to prove they are the closest to the former president.
- Ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to the state this weekend, the two leading candidates in the GOP Senate primary in Arizona duked it out in an explosive final debate Wednesday, fighting over who the real “America First” candidate is.
- Former energy executive Jim Lamon called Blake Masters “a fake” border hawk and accused him of using “California talk, buddy, not Arizona [talk].” But at the end of the day, it’s Masters, not Lamon, who has the former president’s backing and will be promoted at the “Arizona Trump Ticket” rally on Saturday.
CBS News: Arizona GOP Senate candidates sharpen attacks in final debate
- With primary day less than three weeks away, recent polls suggest the race could come down to the wire. Ad spending from the top candidates and their supporters is turning the Arizona GOP Senate primary into one of the most expensive primary campaigns of this cycle.
- While the ads have increasingly turned negative, the final primary debate also featured plenty of attacks. Masters and Lamon exchanged sharp words throughout the hour-long debate, as the two look to gain an edge in the closing days.
Arizona Republic: Where is Jim Lamon from? Masters, Lamon snipe about their backgrounds in Arizona GOP Senate debate
- Masters lorded his endorsement from former President Donald Trump over Lamon and cast the former solar power executive as an outsider whom Trump rejected. For his part, Lamon hit Masters over the millions in backing he’s received from California billionaire Peter Thiel.
KTAR: Arizona’s GOP US Senate debate gets heated between Blake Masters, Jim Lamon
- The two leading candidates began throwing jabs in the opening minutes of the hourlong debate, with Lamon accusing Masters of previously being for open borders.
- “The border guys know a fake when they see it,” Lamon said…Masters responded “Jim Lamon ladies and gentleman, keeping it classy,” before bringing up his endorsement from the former president.
- “He (Trump) met with Jim Lamon, he thought he was a bozo,” Masters said. “I’m the America First candidate. That’s why I’m endorsed.”
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