OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The closely-watched U.S. Senate race in Arizona just kicked up a notch after the Libertarian candidate in the race dropped out and endorsed his Republican opponent.
“I’ve said from the very beginning that the reason I’m running for Senate is to promote and get us in the direction of freedom and peace and civility,” Marc Victor said in a YouTube video announcing his endorsement of Masters.
Victor said at one point in his video, “[Masters] really is — in his heart and in his mind — he’s in favor of doing everything he can to get us very sternly, very smartly in the direction of ‘live and let live.’ And that seems like a good tradeoff to me.”
“Libertarian senatorial candidate Marc Victor, who was polling at 1% in a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday, dropped out of the race Tuesday, throwing his weight behind Republican nominee Blake Masters. Masters is facing Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly in the midterm election,” Fox News reported.
Fox News added:
Kelly leads Masters 51%-45% in the New York Times/Siena College poll, outside the 4.4 percentage point margin of error. With one week before the midterm elections, Fox News’ Power Rankings put the Arizona Senate race as a toss-up.
The Cook Political Report adjusted its rating in the race from “Lean Democrat” to a toss-up, suggesting the GOP’s chances are improving in a crucial race that could determine which party takes control of the Senate this fall. Republicans are defending 21 of the 35 Senate seats on the ballot this fall. If the GOP wins the Senate race in Arizona, it could be the determining factor in their chances of taking control of the Senate this fall.
BREAKING NEWS: Libertarian candidate drops out of key Senate race, endorses GOP nomineehttps://t.co/3PnKaPt6z2
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 1, 2022
Masters recently appeared on Fox News and tore into President Joe Biden, Democrats, and Kelly.
Below is a transcript of the exchange, via Grabien:
HEMMER: “What a story. Griff Jenkins back on the border. Thank you, Griff. Dana.”
PERINO: “The Arizona Senate race now within the margin of error. Republican Blake Masters is closing the gap. In the latest Fox News poll, incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly ahead by 6, 46 to 40, in our poll, down from an 8 point lead in August, but there are other polls showing it even closer. Joining us now is Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters. Great to have you here. I know you’ve been out there campaigning, and I’m curious what you think are the key issues that will convince voters to fire Senator Mark Kelly in Arizona, when the election’s taking place?”
MASTERS: “Absolutely, Dana. I mean, the first is inflation. You know, here in the greater Phoenix Metro we have the worst inflation — literally the worst — in the whole country at 13 percent. And I suspect if you measure it properly, the real numbers more like 15 to 20 percent. So again, this is Mark Kelly’s fault. You know, Joe Biden Mark Kelly, they declared war on American energy, they surrendered our energy independence, and then they printed $6 trillion too quickly. And so that caused this massive inflation. And then the second is the border. You know, this wide open southern border. Again, Joe Biden and Mark Kelly, they caused this crisis. They gave the whole southwest border over to the Mexican drug cartels. It’s a human trafficking disaster. All the — the crime being committed. The fentanyl coming through. This is all on Mark Kelly. And so these are twin crises and Arizona is getting the brunt of it. The border crisis and this economic inflation crisis. People have had enough and it’s why they want to make a change in November.”
HEMMER: “Right now we have called for three guys. Arizona is a toss up in our power rankings. We think you and Mark Kelly are in for an interesting race come down in 34 days. If you look right to the middle of our screen, all that in yellow, there’s four races. [indecipherable] A question for you, sir. CBS had a poll this morning that has at 51-48, Mark Kelly with a three point lead but within the margin of error. President Trump had a rally for you in July. He’s coming back this weekend on Sunday. Can you win this race without him?”
MASTERS: “Oh — oh, we-re going to win this race. You know, I think it’s surprising the Democrats. You know, Mark Kelly and the Democrats, they’ve spent $75 million already, out the door, and they’ll probably spend another 30 million. And I thought — I think they thought they could buy it. But they can’t buy these things. They can’t fool people. And so the more money they spend the closer and closer I get in the polls. There’s reason to think it’s actually closer than three. I think we’re going to catch Mark Kelly, we’re going to pass and we’re going to win back the Senate seat for the people of Arizona. I have no doubt.”
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