Arizona’s Libertarian Senate candidate drops out of race, endorsing Masters

Libertarian Marc Victor dropped out of the Arizona Senate race on Monday, encouraging voters to vote for Republican Blake Masters in his challenge to Sen. Mark Kelly (D).

Polls have shown Victor gaining support in the low single digits, but his small bloc of supporters could provide a critical boost to the Masters, as polls show the Republican trailing Kelly by just a few percentage points .

“Don’t vote for Marc Victor for Senate, vote for Blake Masters,” Victor said Tuesday. “Blake is in a very tight race here with Mark Kelly, and I want to see him win.”

Victor virtually met with Masters before leaving the race and posted a video of their conversation lasting about 20 minutes.

“While we don’t see eye to eye on everything, I feel very confident after that conversation that Blake Masters will do everything he can to promote the interests of the Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement,” said Victor. , referring to an initiative he founded in 2019.

“He’ll probably do some things I’m not excited about? Yeah, I think so,” Victor added. “Is it likely to do other things that are very happy? Yes. There are no perfect choices here, I think we have to recognize this.”

Masters, a former executive at conservative super-donor Peter Thiel’s venture capital fund, is challenging Kelly in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races, which has tightened as the day approaches. elections.

Kelly first had a considerable advantage after Masters’ primary victory, as his masterful fundraising operation allowed for an onslaught of advertising in the state.

A GOP super PAC with ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), meanwhile, canceled millions of dollars in advertising bookings in the state in late September.

But Masters has benefited from a recent influx of outside spending by groups such as the Club for Growth and Former President Trump’s MAGA, Inc.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report last week changed his rating from “Lean Democrat” to “throw away” after private polling showed Kelly’s lead narrowing.

A survey from the left Data for Progress published last Wednesday showed candidates tied at 47 percent supporting each, while other recent polls also recorded a small gap in their margins of error.

Some strategists have He suggested that the Masters benefit from the presence of Kari Lakethe Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, who has led his Democratic opponent in recent polls.