PHOENIX — Blake Masters hopes his combination of outsider views, a Donald Trump endorsement, and millions from a mentor may put his name on November's ballot for a U.S. Senate seat.
Meet the candidate: Blake Masters
"I would say I'm a normal business guy, I'm a father, and I want things to work,” Masters said.
Blake Masters grew up in Tucson. In middle school, he met his wife and has three children. After high school, he attended Stanford University and earned his law degree.
While attending Stanford, Masters met PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor, Peter Thiel.
“Peter is a friend and a mentor. And I think he's one of the smarter conservatives that we have,” Masters said.
Thiel is a billionaire and one of the first people to support former president Donald Trump. Together Masters and Thiel wrote the New York Times Bestseller "Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build the Future."
Masters eventually became the president of the Thiel Foundation and the chief operating officer of Thiel Capital, an investment firm.
Masters moved back to Arizona a few years ago.
"I still think it’s conservative, still a Republican state, but it had changed, mostly in ways I didn’t like," the candidate said.
If elected, what is your number one legislative priority?
Like other Republican Senate hopefuls, Masters says the border is his number one priority.
Masters supports completing the wall, reinstating Trump-era policies, and a technology-focused approach to stop illegal immigration.
"I think we need mandatory E-verify. I'm a tech guy. I want tech at the border. That means drones with thermal imaging cameras. We can find where the drug tunnels are and blow them up," Masters said.
Masters told potential voters at a campaign event Wednesday that, if elected, he would not vote for any President Biden nominee or long-term spending plan until the president resumes work on the border wall.
Masters said Biden should be held responsible for the recent influx of illegal immigrants.
"I've said Joe Biden deserves to be impeached, [US Homeland Security Secretary] Mayorkas deserves to be impeached for dereliction of duty on the southern border,” Masters said.
The 2020 election and moving forward
"I think Trump won in 2020,” Masters said in a Twitter video posted last year.
Masters blames tech companies like Facebook and Twitter for swaying voters. In a New York Post op-ed he cowrote with Ohio Senate hopeful J.D. Vance, the two said, "Given the narrow official margins in critical swing states, tech manipulation alone likely changed the outcome of the election." The two also railed against Mark Zuckerberg spending millions of dollars to help administer the 2020 election.
Masters said if elected he would try to crack down on "big tech".
Master said he will likely accept the results of the upcoming elections.
“Yeah, I certainly intend to. This time we are going to have a lot more poll workers and poll observers and a slightly better set of laws on the books. So I hope not to see crazy irregularities.”
The Trump factor
“I'm grateful for President Trump's endorsement. I'm grateful for what he did for the country," Masters said.
Masters said while he will be his own person if elected to the U.S. Senate, Masters supports President Trump's views on the issues.
“I think President Trump was right on the issues, that’s why everyone was better off four years ago than they are today," Masters said. "I can't think of a single issue I would prefer Joe Biden on to President Trump.”
DECISION 2022
Arizonans will go to the polls this November for the midterm elections. Here's everything you need to know leading up to election night.