When Masters clinched his party’s nomination, Kelly’s team was pleased, too.
By Ronald J. Hansen || TheArizona Republic
Blake Masters began August with high hopes after clinching the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate race in Arizona and ended it with ominous signs of a problem that plagued him throughout his ill-fated campaign.
It was a span in which Masters easily dispatched his four GOP primary rivals, aided by the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
But it was also a period when Sen. Mark Kelly’s well-funded campaign turned fully to Masters, whose coffers were nearly bare from an extended primary battle. Kelly and his allies saturated TV screens all over Arizona with the image of Masters as an extremist with little response.
Unofficial election results show Kelly defeated Masters by 4.9 percentage points.
In the end, Kelly’s vote share was almost unchanged from his 2020 victory over former Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz. It underscored an electoral status quo that helped preserve Democrats’ Senate majority in Washington and left Republicans ruminating about another missed opportunity in the nation’s newest swing state.
This story, drawn from interviews with people involved in both major parties, details how one of the most important races in the country in 2022 unfolded after the primary.
Masters’ campaign declined to comment.
Emma Brown, Kelly’s campaign manager, said the election cycle had “peaks and valleys” that led many to presume Kelly’s seat was likely to fall to Republicans, then a lock for Kelly to keep, and, by the end, a toss-up.
“The culmination for us was understanding that we were in an unpredictable political environment and in a close race,” Brown said. “I don’t think we were ever in a position where we thought to ourselves that we’ve got this locked down and that we’re going to win.”
Even so, when Masters clinched his party’s nomination, Kelly’s team was pleased, too.
The GOP’s choice ensured Democrats faced the candidate they viewed as easiest to paint as an extremist and who had made numerous controversial remarks they could roll out against him.
