For Immediate Release
Friday, April 22, 2022
Contact: Hannah Goss, hgoss@azdem.org
Senate Showdown: The #AZSen GOP Candidates’ Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
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:
I WANT IT, I BUY IT: Clearly, Jim Lamon has no shame when it comes to his game of buying endorsements in his attempt to purchase a U.S. Senate seat. In the last year, he’s ponied up $100,000 for statewide candidates and groups as he tries to buy a name for himself here in AZ. Maybe he should start with actually living in Arizona? Just a thought.
(ANOTHER) DANGEROUS TAKE FROM BLAKE: This week, a long-form Vanity Fair piece gave readers an inside look into Blake Masters’ deep-rooted Thielian ideology, including an apparent soft spot for the Unabomber and appreciation for his deadly manifesto. We’d make a joke…but unlike Blake, we recognize the line and don’t cross it.
WE’RE SHOCKED, TRULY: Turns out, Arizonans don’t love the fact that Alabama native and Utah resident Jim Lamon is trying to buy Arizona’s seat in the U.S. Senate. Apparently, folks find him, his self-funding strategy, and his aggressive ads to be “offensive,” “arrogant,” and “inappropriate” — and we tend to agree.
WE’LL BRING THE POPCORN: Earlier this week, Blake Masters issued a debate challenge to Mark Brnovich that sounded an awful lot like inviting a schoolyard rival to “take it outside.” Setting aside Brnovich’s habit of dodging debates, we’re counting on our resident tech bro Blake to live stream the entire face-off.
FRIDAY FUNDAY: This afternoon, the field is (supposedly) coming together for a GOP Senate primary forum. According to a recent survey, folks are expecting Brno to bail, Masters to endlessly tout his billionaire benefactor, and Lamon to be the first one to spread Trump’s election conspiracies. Regardless, it’s bound to be pure chaos.
RUMOR HAS IT: According to the “kingmaker” himself, a Trump endorsement is on the horizon in this wide-open primary. Like everyone else, we have questions: Is this the one endorsement Lamon can’t buy? Will Peter Thiel’s backing be enough to land Masters the golden ticket? Did Brnovich’s half-hearted apology(?) do enough to satisfy the former president? Either way, Trump’s support is sure to pour gasoline on this dumpster fire of a primary, and we say let it burn.
###