JD Vance backs Blake Masters in Arizona congressional race

EXCLUSIVE — First-term Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) endorsed Blake Masters’s campaign for a seat in Arizona‘s 8th Congressional District on Friday.

The move comes a day after the venture capitalist announced he’s running for Congress in a district located in Phoenix, ultimately deciding against another run for a U.S. Senate seat occupied by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).

WHY TRUMP’S FULTON COUNTY CO-DEFENDANTS KEEP TAKING PLEA AGREEMENTS

Masters will now compete for the seat, which is now open after Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) announced her decision to retire last week. The primary race is already heating up as Masters will compete against Abe Hamadeh, last year’s attorney general nominee, Anthony Kern, a member of the state Senate, and potentially Ben Toma, speaker of the Arizona House, who has expressed interest.

The 37-year-old had contemplated running for the seat held by Sinema before Kari Lake announced her bid for the seat. Masters, who ran for Senate, and Lake, who ran for governor, both won their primaries last cycle with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement but lost in the general election.

“Blake is the conservative fighter we need in the House to combat the extreme liberal policies of Joe Biden and to put the GOP establishment in its place,” Vance said in a press release sent to the Washington Examiner. “He will fight for Arizona’s 8th district and be the ally I need in the House to secure our border, defend our families, bring our jobs home, and restore America to greatness.”

Both Vance and Masters won their primary elections in 2022 with the backing of billionaire Peter Thiel, who put tens of millions of dollars into super PACs for each candidate. Vance is a former employee of Thiel’s Mithril Capital, and Masters also ran the Thiel Foundation and served as the COO at Thiel Capital. Recently, Thiel said he doesn’t have any plans to be involved in political spending.

The two men have ties to the “New Right,” a growing populist wing within the GOP that’s critical of corporate power and is more socially conservative.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Earlier this year, Vance was not ready to endorse Masters as he contemplated running for Senate.

“We have not talked details about him running this cycle, but I think that he’s a great guy that has a great future in the party, and in the movement,” Vance said in September, speaking with Business Insider. “Let’s see what he actually wants to do first, and I’ll make decisions about who I’m endorsing once candidates actually enter the race.”