Though highs in Phoenix finally dipped below 100°F this week, Arizona’s GOP U.S. Senate primary is aggressively heating up, as Peter Thiel’s super PAC goes negative on TV against Mark Brnovich.
Thiel, a tech billionaire and Facebook board member, has dropped at least $10 million into the Saving Arizona PAC, which today launched a TV ad boosting Thiel employee and GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters, while slamming Brnovich, one of his primary opponents.
Unsurprisingly, the ad — which focuses on spreading lies about the 2020 election — is full of claims that are “completely false.” But it’s the latest indication that Thiel genuinely intends to try to buy the GOP primary for his self-described employee — and a sure sign that the super PAC’s spending will guarantee a nasty and drawn-out primary that leaves all involved damaged.
“This Senate primary will only get more brutally negative in the months ahead, as Brnovich, Masters, Lamon, and McGuire argue over who’s told the most lies about the 2020 election,” said Brad Bainum, American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson. “No matter who wins this divisive, backward-looking primary, Arizonans will have a clear choice in the 2022 election, because they already have a senator who is focused on creating jobs, investing in infrastructure and families, and lowering health care costs.”
In recent weeks, Masters has sought $5,800 donations for a chance to have dinner with his boss (a move that the Campaign Legal Center’s Brendan Fischer on Twitter called “wild”). And he’s faced scrutiny for seeming to promote his boss’ business interests on the campaign trial.
Brnovich, Masters, and the rest of the GOP Senate field have gone all in to support Arizona Republicans’ sham partisan “audit” of the 2020 election. It’s a clear indication that they will always put politics ahead of getting done for Arizonans — further confirmed by their shared opposition to the bipartisan infrastructure deal passed last month in the U.S. Senate.
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Published: Sep 1, 2021