Masters changes tune on McConnell, says he’s hopeful GOP leader will offer financial support in Arizona

Blake Masters, the Arizona Republican nominee for Senate, has changed his tune on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying he now hopes the Kentucky Republican will offer financial support for his campaign. 

Masters vowed to “find a way to work together” with McConnell to defeat incumbent Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly in November.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Masters said he believes McConnell will “come in and spend” money in Arizona to support his candidacy in the race.

“I think he’ll come in and spend. Arizona’s gonna be competitive. It’s gonna be a close race, and I hope he does come in,” Masters said after a roundtable with construction industry leaders outside Phoenix. “And we’ll find a way to work together.”

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Masters’ remarks came one day after McConnell suggested that GOP efforts to win control of the Senate could be in jeopardy due to “candidate quality,” a comment interpreted as a direct aim at those like Masters, J.D. Vance in Ohio and Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.

“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate,” McConnell said Thursday amid a luncheon in Florence, Kentucky. “Senate races are just different – they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.”

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Noting that he is “not Mitch McConnell’s favorite candidate,” Masters affirmed that McConnell “wants to win Arizona.”

“I think I’m a much better candidate than Mitch McConnell gives me credit for,” Masters said.

During the primary, Masters called for McConnell to be replaced as GOP leader, saying he’d support Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri or Tom Cotton of Arkansas for the position. He also said at the time he believed McConnell was “not good at” legislating.

“I’ll tell Mitch this to his face,” Masters said during a GOP primary debate in June. “He’s not bad at everything. He’s good at judges. He’s good at blocking Democrats. You know what he’s not good at? Legislating.”

Masters, who received an endorsement from former President Trump in the primary race, predicted Friday that McConnell will get another term as GOP leader and that no Republicans will challenge him, but he insisted that he would not be a senator who “falls in line to whatever” McConnell says.

“I think he’ll be in charge. And I’m not just going to be a senator that falls in line to whatever he says,” Masters told construction company officials. “I’ll hear him out. I’m happy to listen. But my vote doesn’t belong to Mitch McConnell. It doesn’t belong to Donald Trump.”

Despite his mention of the “quality” of individuals running in Senate races across the country, McConnell has endorsed several of the candidates.

McConnell has also offered financial support to many of the Senate hopefuls looking to defeat their Democratic challengers in November. This week, the McConnell-controlled Senate Leadership Fund bought $28 million in advertising to boost Vance in Ohio, a seat many Republicans thought to be safe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.