The first Republican primary debate for the U.S. Senate race in Arizona took place Thursday night in downtown Phoenix, organized by FreedomWorks. Three candidates polling in the lead participated; Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, solar billionaire businessman Jim Lamon, and Trump-endorsed, Thiel Foundation President Blake Masters. Two candidates who are lagging in the polls also debated; former Adjutant General of the Arizona National Guard Mick McGuire, and former Arizona legislator Justin Olson.
The debate got quite heated at times, with the candidates calling each other out and the audience often wildly cheering or loudly booing – despite organizers requesting decorum. Lamon and Masters, the candidates with the most money in the race, have been running TV ads attacking each other the last few weeks, and those attacks played out throughout the evening.
The candidates laid out their qualifications and achievements during opening statements. Brnovich pointed to his Supreme Court victory in Brnovich v. DNC, fending off a Democrat challenge to Arizona’s laws against ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting when Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs refused to. He cited many of his lawsuits against Democrats, including being the first person in the country to sue the Biden administration over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Lamon emphasized his unanimous endorsements from the National Border Patrol Council and the Arizona Police Association. Masters said he would start an America First caucus in the Senate and took a potshot at “weak establishment candidates.”
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