Blake Masters defeated Jim Lamon, Mark Brnovich, and two other candidates in the Republican primary for United States Senate in Arizona on August 2, 2022. Incumbent Mark Kelly (D) is running for re-election.
Masters, a tech entrepreneur, co-authored Zero to One: Notes on a Startup, a business book based on a class tech investor Peter Thiel taught at Stanford. Masters joined Thiel Capital in 2014 and was named president of the Thiel foundation in 2015. Masters supported increased regulation of technology companies and privatizing Social Security. Thiel, former President Donald Trump (R), and TV show host Tucker Carlson endorsed Masters.
Lamon founded DEPCOM Power, a solar energy company he sold in 2021. Lamon largely self-funded his campaign. According to Open Secrets, Lamon contributed $14M to his campaign as of August 2, 2022, or 93% of all funds donated. Lamon cited U.S.-China trade relations as a top issue, saying, “Communist China is the biggest threat to our economic security and national sovereignty.” The Conservative Political Action Coalition, the National Border Patrol Council, and a number of state legislators endorsed Lamon.
