<p>A new report suggests that venture capitalist and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona&#8217;s</a> 2022 GOP Senate nominee Blake Masters will run again for office in 2024.</p>
<p>Masters, who was defeated by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) last fall, is expected to announce his candidacy in the coming weeks, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/blake-masters-plans-to-enter-race-for-kyrsten-sinemas-senate-seat-886280ac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>. Incumbent Senator Krysten Sinema (I-AZ) is up for re-election, but the state&#8217;s 2024 Senate GOP primary could prove to be contentious. Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has suggested she could also run for the seat next year.</p>
<p>Masters&#8217; last campaign was one of the most watched races of the 2022 cycle as it was widely seen as a key battleground in determining control of the Senate. Kelly was one of the best-funded candidates of the 2022 cycle, having raised over $70 million over the course of the campaign. Masters’ campaign was hampered in general by poor fundraising relative to Kelly’s machine.</p>
<p>Kelly led for the majority of his race for re-election despite significant perceived headwinds for Democrats. During that race, the Democrat distanced himself from President Joe Biden, never requesting that Biden come to Arizona to campaign with him and demurring when asked about it by reporters.</p>
<p>Polls tightened between Kelly and Masters in the closing weeks of the race. With one week left until election day, the Libertarian candidate in the race, Marc Victor, announced that he was dropping out and endorsed Masters. While Victor never polled high, Masters touted the endorsement as a “major boost” in the close race against Kelly.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Kelly took home <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/11/1131245617/arizona-senate-blake-masters-mark-kelly-results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roughly</a> 51% of the vote while Masters earned 46%.</p>
<p>Barrett Marson, an Arizona GOP strategist, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/30/blake-masters-arizona-senate-sinema-00113525" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predicted</a> to POLITICO that Masters could have a tough time in 2024 if Lake enters the race.</p>
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<p>“I think he is now under the impression that maybe Kari Lake isn’t going to run, because I’ll tell you if Lake and Blake are both in, he is wasting his time,” he said. “They occupy the same lane. They have nearly the same name. And she has much better positive name ID among Republicans than Blake does.”</p>
<p><em>Tim Pearce contributed to this report.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Blake Masters

Arizona’s Blake Masters Running For Senate Again: Report

Arizona's Blake Masters Running For Senate Again: Report

2024 Election

Arizona

Elections

Politics

<p>Supporters of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> claim that Senate Republican Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mitch-mcconnell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitch McConnell</a> (R-KY) is responsible for Senate losses because he failed to direct sufficient funding to candidates who ran with the endorsement of the former president. An analysis of campaign finance records by The Daily Wire explored whether that is true.</p>
<p>The most specific criticism came from Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters, who <a href="https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/1591419413701746690" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Tucker Carlson that &#8220;McConnell decided to spend millions of dollars attacking a fellow Republican in Alaska instead of helping me defeat Mark Kelly. Had he chosen to spend money in Arizona, this race would be over.&#8221;</p>
<p>It is true that McConnell&#8217;s super PAC did not spend in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-democrat-incumbent-mark-kelly-defeats-republican-blake-masters-in-arizona-senate-race-projection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Masters race</a>, and that it spent $6 million in Alaska in a race between two Republicans. However, those are the only examples like that, and the amount in question was relatively insignificant given the total spending, and highly unlikely to have closed the substantial gap in votes in that race.</p>
<p>Overall, the charge of not spending heavily on Senate races is diametrically opposite the reality of McConnell&#8217;s super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund. It was by far the largest spender of any super PAC in the 2022 cycle. It spent $230 million, vastly exceeding what its Democrat counterpart, the Senate Majority PAC, spent. Trump&#8217;s super PAC, MAGA Inc., spent only 6% of what McConnell&#8217;s did. At $15 million, it ranked #12 among super PACs.</p>
<p>With the exception of Masters, McConnell&#8217;s super PAC ran ads helping all of the Senate candidates that Trump&#8217;s super PAC did. And the amounts of money it gave in each were far greater than what Trump&#8217;s super PAC gave.</p>
<p>In Georgia, McConnell&#8217;s PAC spent more than 10 times what Trump&#8217;s did pushing Herschel Walker across the finish line, at $38 million to $3.4 million. In Nevada, McConnell spent $26 million to Trump&#8217;s $2 million on Adam Laxalt. In Ohio, McConnell spent $32 million to Trump&#8217;s $2.3 million on J.D. Vance.</p>
<p>And in Pennsylvania, McConnell spent a whopping $52 million boosting Mehmet Oz. That massive spending was viewed as necessary because Oz was viewed as a poor candidate. He had little traction even among Pennsylvania Republicans until Trump&#8217;s endorsement. (At a major conference for conservative Pennsylvanians during the primary season, this reporter observed Oz&#8217;s table with not a single person in line, as throngs of grassroots conservatives queued up at the tables of other candidates.) Despite the race arguably being so close because of Trump&#8217;s Oz pick, Trump&#8217;s super PAC spent only $3.5 million supporting Oz&#8217;s campaign.</p>
<p>McConnell&#8217;s PAC also spent money in competitive Senate races that Trump&#8217;s did not, including in North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.</p>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; padding-bottom: 15px;" colspan="3">SuperPAC spending in Senate general election</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; padding-bottom: 15px;" colspan="3"><span style="color: green;">Green=McConnell</span>, <span style="color: orange;">Orange=Trump</span>, <span style="color: red;">Red=Other Republican</span>. <span style="color: blue;">Blue=Democrat</span></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">AK (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 5%;">$6M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 6%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$13M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">AK (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;"></td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$0M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">AZ (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: orange; float: left; color: black; width: 3%;">4M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 41%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$53M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">AZ (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 47%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$57M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">GA (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 32%;">$38M</div>
<div style="background: orange; float: left; color: black; width: 3%;">3M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 25%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$72M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">GA (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 60%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$72M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">NC (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 32%;">$38M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 22%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$65M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">NC (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 18%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$22M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">NH (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 13%;">$16M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 6%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$23M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">NH (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 19%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$22M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">NV (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 21%;">$26M</div>
<div style="background: orange; float: left; color: black; width: 2%;">2M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 25%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$57M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">NV (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 56%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$67M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">OH (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 27%;">$32M</div>
<div style="background: orange; float: left; color: black; width: 2%;">2M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 3%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$39M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">OH (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 13%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$16M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">PA (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 43%;">$52M</div>
<div style="background: orange; float: left; color: black; width: 3%;">3M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 41%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$105M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">PA (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 88%;"> .</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$106M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="background: black; color: #ccc; width: 100%; border: 1px white solid;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">WI (R)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: green; float: left; width: 22%;">$26M</div>
<div style="background: red; float: left; width: 33%;">.</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$66M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 10%;">WI (D)</td>
<td style="height: 1em; width: 80%;">
<div style="background: blue; float: left; width: 36%;">.</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 10%;">$43M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Earning some conservatives&#8217; ire was the fact that the Senate Leadership Fund spent $6 million opposing Republican Kelly Tshibaka in an effort to help moderate Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski win. Because of Alaska&#8217;s ranked-choice voting system, the two Republicans are facing each other. Trump endorsed Tshibaka, but his super PAC did not pay for any ads in the race. Some Trump supporters believe that the $6 million would have been decisive if it was allocated to Arizona instead.</p>
<p>However, Masters already had a head start in outside spending thanks to billionaire Peter Thiel. Masters was supported by $53 million in super PAC spending, essentially tied with his opponent Mark Kelly, at $57 million. With spending so high already, it&#8217;s not clear that an extra $6 million would have made a difference. With 90% of votes counted as of Saturday night, <a href="https://results.decisiondeskhq.com/national/2022-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DecisionDeskHQ</a> has called the Arizona race for Kelly with a significant gap: 52% to 46%.</p>
<p>There was also no reason to assume that the $6 million would have been reallocated to Arizona instead of, say, Nevada, where Democrats were outspending Republican super PACs by a greater margin, and the race is <a href="https://results.decisiondeskhq.com/national/2022-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">far closer</a>. Additionally, it was Thiel who reportedly <a href="https://twitter.com/teddyschleifer/status/1591272582250385410" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backed away</a> from an additional $10 million in spending he was contemplating.</p>
<p>Trump&#8217;s own financial contribution to the Arizona Senate battle was $3.7 million, making up only 6% of Masters&#8217; outside cash. That&#8217;s despite Trump&#8217;s main PAC, Save America, taking in $107 million in the 2022 cycle, and having nearly <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00762591/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$70 million</a> in the bank as of October 19. If he had spent most of that money supporting his chosen Arizona candidate, Masters could have had double the super PAC spending of his opponent.</p>
<p>Instead, Trump set up a web page that purported to raise money for both himself and Masters. But hidden from the user — unless they clicked a toggle in the fine print — was the fact that for every $100 donated, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-spent-more-backing-trump-esque-candidates-in-primaries-than-trump-has" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$99 went to Trump and $1 went to Masters.</a> That&#8217;s despite Masters imminently facing a critical race and Trump not being on the ballot this year. Many donors may have refrained from giving directly to Masters after that, believing that they had already done their part.</p>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-453681" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/split4.png" alt="" width="465" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/split4.png 465w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/split4-272x300.png 272w" sizes=" (max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px" /></div>
<p>Masters spokeswoman Katie Miller did not object to the arrangement, telling The Daily Wire: “Blake is extremely grateful for all of President Trump’s support both financial and his energy and time spent campaigning in Arizona.&#8221;</p>
<p>If Masters views financial parity as key to closing the gap in votes, it is hard to fault the insignificant gap in outside spending versus campaign dollars, where Masters himself came out woefully short: Masters raised $12 million compared to $79 million by Kelly, the worst ratio of any of the Trump-backed Senate candidates. Campaign donations are limited to about $5,000 and, coming from ordinary people, can be a proxy for grassroots support. Because of this cap, super PACs don&#8217;t donate to campaigns, but they get around it by spending money on the campaign independently — though the lack of coordination with the campaign can diminish the strategic value.</p>
<p>It is true that Masters appears to have been snubbed by some national politicians, but the same people did not withhold cash from similarly America First candidates like Vance. The snub also appeared to extend beyond McConnell: The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which donates roughly $46,000 directly to candidates, also did not give to Masters, though it gave to other Trump-endorsed candidates like Vance, Oz, and Walker. The NRSC is chaired by Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who is not necessarily a McConnell ally: He is leading the charge in the Senate to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-lawmakers-push-for-change-in-congressional-leadership-after-lackluster-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postpone leadership elections</a> rather than blindly re-electing McConnell.</p>
<p><strong>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-has-spent-more-money-opposing-georgia-republicans-than-he-has-supporting-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Has Spent More Money Opposing Georgia Republicans Than He Has Supporting Them</a></strong></p>


Senate Moves Ahead On US Funding After Dropping Energy Bid

Is It True That McConnell Tanked Senate Races By Not Funding Candidates Like Masters?

2022 Election

Donald Trump

Mehmet Oz

Mitch McConnell

Senate

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Democratic incumbent Senator Mark Kelly has been <a href="https://results.decisiondeskhq.com/2022/general/states/Arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> the winner of the Arizona Senate race, according to Decision Desk, besting Republican candidate Blake Masters, 51.78% to 46.1%.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The winner was projected </span>late Friday evening after a lengthy ballot count in which Masters trailed Kelly consistently.</p>
<p>On Saturday morning, Masters tweeted that “every legal vote” should be counted, indicating that despite the race being called by multiple outlets, he doesn’t view this as the end.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="zxx"><a href="https://t.co/XVbq4WU4nj">pic.twitter.com/XVbq4WU4nj</a></p>
<p>— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/bgmasters/status/1591475417646596109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The battle to represent Arizona in the Senate was a closely watched race, as it was widely seen as a key battleground in determining control of the Senate. Kelly was one of the best funded candidates of the 2022 cycle, having </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/politico-election-forecaster-shifts-az-senate-to-toss-up-after-late-blake-masters-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">raised</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> over $70 million over the course of the campaign. Masters’ campaign was hampered in the general by poor fundraising relative to Kelly’s machine.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly led for the majority of his race for re-election despite significant perceived headwinds for Democrats. In 2022, Democrats across the country faced poor approval ratings relative to Republicans in a number of key election issues, such as inflation, crime, and immigration. Democrats were also burdened with an unpopular Democratic president in the White House.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly tried to blunt Republican criticism of him on those topics by running somewhat as a maverick. Kelly </span><a href="https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/news-kelly-rated-among-most-bipartisan-senators-data-reveals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">touted</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> studies that ranked him as one of the most bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate. He also distanced himself from President Joe Biden, never requesting that Biden come to Arizona to campaign with him and demurring when asked about it by reporters.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Polls tightened between Kelly and Masters in the closing weeks of the race. With one week left until election day, the Libertarian candidate in the race, Marc Victor, announced that he was dropping out and </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/libertarian-candidate-endorses-blake-masters-in-late-shakeup-of-arizona-senate-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">endorsed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Masters. While Victor never polled high, Masters touted the endorsement as a “major boost” in the close race against Kelly.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Masters trailed Kelly for most of the race, he closed the gap in October. Election forecasters for outlets such as </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/politico-election-forecaster-shifts-az-senate-to-toss-up-after-late-blake-masters-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Politico</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/senate/arizona-senate/arizona-senate-shifts-back-toss" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cook Political Report</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> moved the Arizona Senate race from a Democratic-leaning race to a toss-up in response.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Masters won a competitive primary race largely because of the financial backing of tech mogul Peter Thiel and former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Masters was running third in the GOP primary behind Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and businessman Jim Lamon until Trump endorsed Masters in early June. Masters then </span><a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/senate/az/arizona_senate_republican_primary-7564.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">soared</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> into the top spot until winning the primary in August.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While he projected himself as an “America First” Trump ally in the primary, Masters pivoted in the general to put the spotlight on Kelly. Masters emphasized his conservative stances on immigration and federal spending, while hammering Kelly for voting with Biden </span><a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/mark-kelly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">95%</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly and Masters debated each other one time during the campaign. During the October 6 event, in which Victor also participated, Masters </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shows-you-what-his-priorities-are-blake-masters-hits-mark-kelly-for-backing-bidens-irs-buildup" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">attacked</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Kelly for his record voting with Biden. Kelly worked to distance himself from the president and claimed that he had secured “$1 billion more” in funding for the U.S. Border Patrol.</span></p>


Mark Kelly:Blake Masters

Democrat Incumbent Mark Kelly Defeats Republican Blake Masters In Arizona Senate Race: Projection

2022 Midterms

Mark Kelly

<p>A judge ruled against extending voting hours Tuesday in Maricopa County, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a>, after officials held an emergency hearing following 60 different voting centers experiencing ballot printing issues, according to <a href="https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/elections/decision/arizona-2022-election-top-republican-lawyers-file-to-extend-maricopa-county-voting-hours/75-d8a88ce2-4e6a-4110-91f1-4b9eabc6e01d">local media</a>.</p>
<p>If the officials were to pass the motion, polls in Arizona would be open until 10 p.m. while suspending any tabulated early ballot returns from public release in Maricopa County until 11:00 p.m.</p>
<p>The move comes after top Republican lawmakers filed a motion to extend poll hours in the Arizona county because voting machines in over 25% of voting locations have experienced printer issues, which resulted in tabulation machines malfunctioning. However, the error did not cause ballots to be misread.</p>
<p>“The widespread issues – in an election administered by Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs – are completely unacceptable, especially as Republicans flock to the polls to vote in person on Election Day,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel shared in a tweet. “We have dozens of attorneys and thousands of volunteers working to solve this issue and ensure that Arizona voters have the chance to make their voices heard.”</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The RNC is joining a Republican coalition to file an emergency motion to extend poll hours in Maricopa County because voting machines in over 25% of voting locations have experienced significant issues. (1/3)</p>
<p>&mdash; Ronna McDaniel (@RonnaMcDaniel) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonnaMcDaniel/status/1590129254859096064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer said on Twitter that officials dismissed the lawsuit.</p>
<p>“We are not responsible for Election Day or tabulation,” Richer wrote.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have now been dismissed from this lawsuit &#8212; we are not responsible for Election Day or tabulation. <a href="https://t.co/4ct1ZW5i1w">https://t.co/4ct1ZW5i1w</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) <a href="https://twitter.com/stephen_richer/status/1590157349406543873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Garret Archer, a data and political analyst at ABC15, said Republican attorneys told the judge they would challenge the fight over the conditional provisional ballots voted by individuals who checked in at a vote center and subsequently left because of tabulation issues.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">RNC attorneys telling the judge that there will be a fight over the conditional provisional ballots voted by individuals that checked-in at a vote center and subsequently left b/c of tabulation issues.</p>
<p>&mdash; The AZ &#8211; abc15 &#8211; Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) <a href="https://twitter.com/Garrett_Archer/status/1590160240183758848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Arizona Republican Party chairwoman Kelli Ward first reported that issues were occurring at several polling places in Maricopa County. Local media confirmed shortly afterward that at least one tabulation machine was having an issue; later in the morning, local outlets and county officials reported that as many as one in five polling places were having problems.</p>
<p>Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake tweeted out guidance to voters, urging them to follow the suggestions of county officials. Lake and Senate candidate Blake Masters urged their supporters to stay in line and wait until their vote is counted.</p>
<p>Arizona polls have officially closed at 7 p.m. local time.</p>


US-VOTE-ELECTION-ARIZONA

Maricopa County Held Emergency Hearing To Extend Voting Hours; Judge Denies Request

Kari Lake

<p>Republican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a> Senate candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blake-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Masters</a> has broken into the lead against Democrat Mark Kelly, according to new polls.</p>
<p>A new poll from InsiderAdvantage/Fox 10 News has Masters and Kelly tied. At the same time, the final poll of the cycle from Emerson College showed Masters with a slight lead; another poll from Big Data Poll found another lead for Masters. The polls come amid growing optimism for a Republican wave with just four days to go before the 2022 midterms.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/election/2022-arizona-election-poll-lake-leads-hobbs-in-governors-race-by-3-points-senate-race-tied" target="_blank" rel="noopener">InsiderAdvantage/Fox 10 poll</a> of 550 likely voters, taken on November 2, showed Masters and Kelly tied at 48% apiece. Libertarian candidate Marc Victor, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Masters on November 1, still took 2% of the vote. Another 2% were undecided. InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery told the outlet that Masters garnered support from more voters who identified themselves as independent. But the poll also found Kelly siphoning some 15% of self-identifying Republicans off from Masters.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, an <a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/arizona-2022-us-senate-and-gubernatorial-elections-in-dead-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emerson College poll</a> of 1,000 &#8220;very likely voters,&#8221; conducted from October 30 &#8211; November 1, showed Masters with a slight lead over incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly, 47.8%-47.3%. The poll was taken the day Victor announced he was dropping out; he took 2.8% of the vote. Just under one percent of voters were undecided, 1.3% said they were voting for someone else. Notably, Masters has gained three points since Emerson&#8217;s September poll, while Kelly has stagnated at 47%. Emerson&#8217;s poll found independents voting for Kelly, 50.4%-42.1%, but Masters was not losing as much support from his own party; 9.6% of Republicans said they were voting for Kelly.</p>
<p>Another poll of 1,051 likely voters conducted from October 31 &#8211; November 2 by independent pollster <a href="https://application.marketsight.com/app/ItemView.aspx?SharedFor=public%40bigdatapoll.com&amp;SharedBy=34090&amp;id=cbb3bec7-3bd2-4783-8cc8-af43012f99ec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Data Poll</a> found Masters with a lead of just over a full percentage point over Kelly, 48.7%-47.5%. Victor took 1.9% of the vote, and another 1.9% were undecided. Big Data Poll also found Kelly leading with independents, 47% to 44.2%; but again, Kelly siphoned fewer Republican voters away from Masters, just 8.6%. Big Data Poll Director Richard Baris explained on his podcast, &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6apHZSo96c&amp;t=1760s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inside the Numbers</a>,&#8221; that Masters&#8217; lead came from his small lead in Maricopa County, a solid support buffer in Pima County, senior citizens who did not buy Kelly&#8217;s rhetoric on Social Security, and inroads Masters has made with Hispanic voters, despite trailing slightly, 48.8% to 46.9%. He also speculated that Victor dropping out and endorsing Masters could be pivotal, since his supporters would favor Masters. &#8220;It&#8217;s an incredibly close race,&#8221; Baris said.</p>
<p>Victor dropped out and endorsed Masters on November 1. “At my invitation, Blake Masters and I had an unscripted, open, and recorded discussion and exchange of ideas on a variety of issues,&#8221; Victor said in a statement, via the Arizona Republic. &#8220;After that discussion, I believe it is in the best interests of freedom and peace to withdraw my candidacy and enthusiastically support Blake Masters for United States Senate. I intend to assist in any way reasonably possible to elect Blake.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/libertarian-candidate-endorses-blake-masters-in-late-shakeup-of-arizona-senate-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victor</a> consistently polled in the single digits throughout the race and was never believed to have a viable shot at winning. His single digit support could prove crucial for Masters in a close race, however. <a href="https://blog.ohpredictive.com/press-releases/ohpi-poll-of-record-close-races-up-and-down-the-ticket-in-arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ohio Predictive Insights</a> released a poll measuring Victor’s support on Monday, pegging it at 3%. The same poll had Kelly and Masters separated by just 2%: 48% to 46%, respectively.</p>
<p>“This is another major boost of momentum as we consolidate our support,” Masters said in a statement to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/us/politics/blake-masters-marc-victor-arizona.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> on Tuesday.</p>
<p><em>Tim Pearce contributed to this report.</em></p>


New Polls Show Republican Blake Masters Breaking Into The Lead Against Democrat Mark Kelly In Final Days Before Midterms

Polls

U.S. Senate

<p>Libertarian candidate Marc Victor dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a> on Tuesday and endorsed his GOP opponent, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blake-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Masters</a>.</p>
<p>The late stage shakeup comes a week before the election and has the potential to swing what has become a close race between Masters and incumbent Democratic Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-kelly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Kelly</a>. Masters has trailed Kelly for most of the race but has closed the gap in the past month. Election forecasters for outlets such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/politico-election-forecaster-shifts-az-senate-to-toss-up-after-late-blake-masters-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico</a> and <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/senate/arizona-senate/arizona-senate-shifts-back-toss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cook Political Report</a> have moved the Arizona Senate race from a Democratic-leaning race to a toss-up in response.</p>
<p>Victor consistently polled in the single digits throughout the race and was never believed to have a viable shot at winning. His single digit support could prove crucial for Masters in a close race, however. <a href="https://blog.ohpredictive.com/press-releases/ohpi-poll-of-record-close-races-up-and-down-the-ticket-in-arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ohio Predictive Insights</a> released the latest poll measuring Victor’s support on Monday, pegging it at 3%. The same poll had Kelly and Masters separated by just 2%: 48% to 46%, respectively.</p>
<p>“This is another major boost of momentum as we consolidate our support,” Masters said in a statement to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/us/politics/blake-masters-marc-victor-arizona.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Victor, who campaigned as the “live and let live” candidate, said in video put out Tuesday morning that he made the decision to endorse Masters after having a conversation with the GOP candidate about his support for the “global peace movement.”</p>
<p>“We talked through many, many issues. We talked about a lot of economic issues, we talked about a lot of civil liberty issues. And while we don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, I feel very confident after that conversation that Blake Masters is going to do everything he possibly can to further the interests of the Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement,” Victor said.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Marc J. Victor Endorses Blake Masters for U.S. Senate" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ismjOQNzsIA?start=10&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>While Kelly has led most polls, he, along with numerous Democrats across the country, has faced significant headwinds heading into the midterms. President Joe Biden’s unpopularity with voters and concerns about inflation and crime have created a hostile election environment for Democrats. To compensate, Kelly has <a href="https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/news-kelly-rated-among-most-bipartisan-senators-data-reveals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted</a> analyses that name him one of the most bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate.</p>
<p>The Masters campaign has been quick to point out that Kelly has voted with Biden 95% of the time over the past two years, according to an analysis of Kelly’s voting record by <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/mark-kelly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FiveThirtyEight</a>.</p>


Libertarian Candidate Endorses Blake Masters In Late Shakeup Of Arizona Senate Race

<p>Politico elections forecaster Steven Shepard changed the rating of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Senate</a> race in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a> to a “toss up” Wednesday, shifting it away from Democrats less than two weeks away from the election.</p>
<p>Republican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blake-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Masters</a> has surged in recent weeks on a wave of support for GOP priorities such as immigration, inflation, and crime. Masters has also been aided by a strong Republican performance in the Arizona gubernatorial race by former television news anchor Kari Lake, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/27/arizonas-senate-blake-masters-forecast-00063661" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico</a>.</p>
<p>Masters is running to oust Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. Kelly won his seat in a special election in 2020 and is running to secure his first full term in the Senate. Kelly’s campaign has hammered abortion access following the overturning of <em>Roe v. Wade</em> while distancing the senator from President Joe Biden, who threatens to drag down Democrats with his <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unpopularity</a>.</p>
<p>Masters has lagged behind Kelly, but polling now shows him within the margin of error. A Trafalgar/Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-exclusive-poll-kari-lake-in-lead-for-arizona-gov-masters-trails-kelly-by-one-point-for-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> last week put the race within one point. It found Masters trailing Kelly 46% to 47%.</p>
<p>Arizona’s Senate race has joined contests in Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in Politico’s “toss up” category. The shift strengthens the GOP’s chances of taking control of the U.S. Senate next year. Republicans must score wins in three of the five “toss up” states to gain the majority if every other race goes with the favored candidate, according to Politico.</p>
<p>Kelly has one of the best-funded campaigns in the U.S. He has <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2022/10/18/mark-kelly-fundraising-dwarfs-blake-masters-senate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> well over $70 million for his re-election campaign and had an estimated $13 million on hand at the end of September.</p>
<p>Masters has struggled to raise funds and lagged behind in the money race for the entirety of the campaign. Masters’ largest backer is tech maven Peter Thiel, who backed Masters to the tune of $15 million during the primary. Theil has withheld additional support during the general, though reporting <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/13/thiel-masters-mcconnell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggests</a> that Thiel plans to spend $5 million in Masters’ race in the final weeks.</p>
<p>Masters has received some help in the final stretch from outside groups and political action committees. Saving Arizona PAC, initially backed by Thiel, has <a href="https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=61984925ded8da8ce9b4817c50926a1d35433d99a0cddde987b3b91eb800dc356ee1c4e35dd6847e120dad6026023689" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent</a> roughly $3.7 million on ads. It is unclear whether that additional spending is from money Thiel donated.</p>


Politico Election Forecaster Shifts AZ Senate To ‘Toss Up’ After Late Blake Masters Rally

<p>Democrats spent more on pro-<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> candidates in Republican primaries than Trump himself directly ponied up to help his favored candidates get over the finish line, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Wire</a> analysis.</p>
<p>The findings, taken from Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, are a black mark for Democrats &#8212; who claim that Trump-esque candidates are threats to democracy, but helped them win primaries because they viewed them as easier to defeat in the general election compared to more moderate candidates.</p>
<p>But they also potentially reflect badly on the former president, who raised hundreds of millions of dollars but has steered little of it to fellow Republicans with only two weeks until the 2022 elections. Trump backers said money is just a small portion of the equation, and that Trump has helped candidates by hosting rallies aimed at energizing GOP voters. He also attends fundraisers for candidates, serving as a major draw to entice donors.</p>
<p>Trump raised huge sums as he vowed to challenge the results of the 2020 election, and as of the end of September – the most recent FEC report &#8212; <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00762591/1645837/">$92 million</a> was sitting in a political action committee called Save America PAC.</p>
<p>During the 2022 primaries, Trump-controlled PACs donated $315,000 to Republican candidates for federal office. At the state level, it also gave $2.8 million to <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/david-perdue-is-getting-another-2m-boost-ahead-of-may-primary/FGBFMCNJGBCTLNEBD6EZ2T2KIA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Take Back Georgia</a> and $1.5 million to <a href="https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/04/14/television-ad-attacking-brian-kemp-makes-unsubstantiated-georgia-election-claim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get Georgia Right PAC</a>, both of which attacked Republican governor and Trump nemesis Brian Kemp, who nonetheless won the Republican primary for governor against former Sen. David Purdue. After Purdue lost to Kemp, the Trump group sent $95,000 to an entity called Georgians PAC. But that PAC has not reported running any ads &#8212; or filed any quarterly report at all, drawing a <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/463/202208020300150463/202208020300150463.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rebuke</a> from the FEC.</p>
<p>For the general election, Trump-controlled PACs gave $150,000 to the Republican National Committee and $425,000 to federal candidates, as of the end of September, the latest report on record with the FEC. As a traditional political action committee, it is limited to donating $5,000 to candidates. It donated to 63 candidates in the primary election, and 85 in the general.</p>
<p>Getting around these restrictions merely required creating a “super PAC,” which could spend unlimited amounts supporting candidates on its own, and transferring Save America PAC funds to it. But it wasn&#8217;t until September 23, 2022 that such an entity was <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00825851/?tab=filings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incorporated</a>. Called Make America Great Again Inc., it shares some staff with Save America PAC, but staff declined to say whether any of the $92 million has been transferred to it.</p>
<table style="background: black;color: #ccc;width: 100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 30%">Democrats backing Trump-aligned candidates in Republican primaries</td>
<td style="width: 70%">
<div style="background: red;width: 44%">$44M</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 30%">Trump spending in primary</td>
<td style="width: 70%">
<div style="background: red;width: 5%">$5M</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 30%">Trump spending in general</td>
<td style="width: 70%">
<div style="background: red;width: 9%">$9M</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 30%">Trump war chest</td>
<td style="width: 70%">
<div style="background: red;width: 93%">$92M</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>When a super PAC spends money boosting candidates, it must report the expenditures to the FEC within 24 hours. But with just over two weeks before the November 8 election, it has reported spending $8.5 million total, in five Senate races. MAGA Inc. spent about $2.3 million in Ohio; $1.8 million in Arizona, $1.6 million in Pennsylvania, $1.5 million in Georgia; and $1.2 million in Nevada, according to FEC records.</p>
<p>The super-PAC is likely to continue to spend more in the coming days. But a problem with not creating a super PAC until so late in the cycle is that much of the TV ad time has already been bought, and buying election-eve ads at the last minute can require paying highly inflated prices, if it is possible at all. It also has no effect on early voters, and all of the Senate races it has bought ads in offer early or mail-in voting.</p>
<p>As control of the Senate hangs in the balance in a series of tight races, Save America PAC has spent heavily on fundraising and rallies. The PAC has also paid nearly a half million dollars in rent to Trump Tower, a quarter-million dollars to Trump Hotel Collection, and $52,000 to the Mar-A-Lago Club, according to FEC records.</p>
<p>Taylor Budowich, who runs MAGA Inc. and serves as a spokesman for Save America PAC, said the rallies Trump holds, which often include praising local candidates, are priceless. Trump is &#8220;introducing millions of new voters to his endorsed candidates and energizing voters who usually sit-out midterms. At this point, the entire Republican Party, from fundraising, to data, to get-out-the-vote, is on Donald Trump’s shoulders and together they will deliver massive GOP victories come November 8,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire.</p>
<p>Save America PAC said that at recent rallies, more than half of registrants were attending their first rally, and 38% of those who were registered to vote did not vote in the last midterms.</p>
<p>“These are people who are less likely to vote in 2022, if it wasn&#8217;t for President Trump, his endorsement, and his encouragement of attendees to vote in 2022,” it said.</p>
<p>Trump has also served as a draw at party fundraisers at least seven times this election cycle. He has done the same for other candidates, including 22 events for candidates who were navigating primaries, and 36 for candidates who were either incumbents or were in general election season.</p>
<p>Still, some moves by Trump have seemed to prioritize his own finances over those of Republicans who are headed into races that could determine whether Republicans control the Senate. When people donated online to a fundraiser that said &#8220;Your contribution will benefit Save America Joint Fundraising Committee and Blake Masters for Senate,&#8221; what donors didn&#8217;t see &#8212; unless they clicked the fine print &#8212; is that a $100 donation defaulted to <a href="https://secure.winred.com/save-america-joint-fundraising-committee/final-countdown-fund-7x-bm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$99 for Trump and $1 for Masters</a>.</p>
<p>Katie Miller, a spokesman for the Masters campaign&#8211;which will have the list of donors and can solicit future donations from them, a valuable item for a campaign&#8211;said she wasn’t troubled by the arrangement and that the solicitation was only a small part of Trump’s contribution to the race.</p>
<p>“Blake is extremely grateful for all of President Trump’s support both financial and his energy and time spent campaigning in Arizona,” Miller said.</p>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-453681" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/split4.png" alt="" width="465" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/split4.png 465w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/split4-272x300.png 272w" sizes=" (max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px" /></div>
<p>The outside spending could be especially welcomed because <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/spending-bythenumbers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all six</a> of the highest-spending candidates this cycle are Democrats, according to the FEC.</p>
<p>Other national kingmakers with massive war chests, however, have plunged more of it into the current election. The Senate Leadership Fund, which is controlled by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has spent $181 million on the 2022 general election, according to FEC independent expenditure data. Trump’s $8.5 million in federal independent expenditures is less than even obscure groups like the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund.</p>
<p>More surprisingly, the amount is far less than the $44 million that Democrats spent boosting Trump-aligned candidates in the primary election, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/07/democrats-spend-millions-on-republican-primaries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OpenSecrets.org</a>. For example, Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Democratic Governors Association spent $35 million successfully boosting Trump endorsee Darren Bailey against his more moderate Republican primary opponent &#8212; more than three times what the candidate himself spent. In Pennsylvania, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro spent $840,000 on TV ads successfully helping Trump endorsee Doug Mastriano get the nomination &#8212; more than Mastriano spent. In both cases, the reason is that the Democrats thought they could beat the Trump-aligned candidate more easily in the general election.</p>
<p>Of course, this put Democrats in the ethically dubious position of setting up candidates that they painted as extremist threats to democracy to actually win the election.</p>
<p>But Democrats’ calculation also signaled that polling suggested these candidates could have an uphill battle prevailing in the general election, making it all the more important for Trump’s primary support to turn into robust support to help them win the general elections.</p>
<p>FEC records do not show any expenditures from Trump-affiliated PACs to or on behalf of Bailey or Mastriano to help them beat their Democrat opponents. During the general election, Trump has appeared with Mastriano at one <a href="https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2022-09-28/mastriano-gets-a-boost-from-trump-to-end-a-difficult-campaign-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rally</a> and one <a href="https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2022-09-04/trump-returns-to-familiar-issues-and-teases-a-presidential-run-in-election-rally-in-wilkes-barre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online event</a>. After endorsing Bailey in June, Trump has not joined him at any events, with Bailey appearing to <a href="https://www.wnns.com/2022/10/10/report-bailey-distancing-himself-from-trump/">calculate</a> that while the Trump connection was valuable in a primary, it could be a liability in a general election.</p>


Former President Trump Holds Rally In Ohio Ahead Of State’s Primary

Democrats Spent More Backing Trump-esque Candidates In Primaries Than Trump Has

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Readers Pass

<p>Republicans are close to holding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a>’s governor’s seat and potentially flipping a U.S. Senate seat, according to a new Trafalgar Group/Daily Wire poll.</p>
<p>Republican gubernatorial candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a> is ahead of her Democratic opponent, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, with a lead just inside the poll’s 2.9-point margin of error: 49.2% to 46.4%. Republican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blake-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Masters</a> at 46.4% is running close behind incumbent Democratic Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-kelly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Kelly</a> (47.4%).</p>
<p>The poll consists of responses from 1,078 likely 2022 general election voters taken on October 16-17.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thetrafalgargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AZ-Gen-1017-Poll-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>READ THE LATEST TRAFALGAR/DAILY WIRE POLL ON KEY ARIZONA RACES</strong></a></p>
<div id="attachment_452181" style="width: 669px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-452181" class=" wp-image-452181" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EW_AZ_GOV_Poll-300x169.jpg" alt="Democrat Katie Hobbs is running behind Republican Kari Lake in the race to become Arizona's next governor. (Daily Wire)" width="659" height="371" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_GOV_Poll-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_GOV_Poll-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_GOV_Poll-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_GOV_Poll-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_GOV_Poll.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px" /><p id="caption-attachment-452181" class="wp-caption-text">Democrat Katie Hobbs is running behind Republican Kari Lake in the race to become Arizona&#8217;s next governor. (Daily Wire)</p></div>
<p>One of the chief advantages Republicans have in Arizona is President Joe Biden’s unpopularity. Tying Democrats to Biden’s administration, which has struggled to handle a multitude of domestic and global crises, could pay dividends for GOP candidates.</p>
<p>“Most of the undecideds have a negative opinion about how Biden is handling his job as president, 55.9% in the Senate race and 56.9% in Governors race,” Trafalgar founder Robert Cahaly told The Daily Wire.</p>
<div id="attachment_452185" style="width: 663px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-452185" class=" wp-image-452185" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EW_AZ_Senate_Poll-300x169.jpg" alt="Incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly is edging out Republican Blake Masters by one point to keep Kelly's seat in the U.S. Senate. (Daily Wire)" width="653" height="368" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_Senate_Poll-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_Senate_Poll-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_Senate_Poll-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_Senate_Poll-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/EW_AZ_Senate_Poll.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 653px) 100vw, 653px" /><p id="caption-attachment-452185" class="wp-caption-text">Incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly is edging out Republican Blake Masters in Kelly&#8217;s bid for reelection to the U.S. Senate. (Daily Wire)</p></div>
<p>Lake has a slight <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/governor/az/arizona_governor_lake_vs_hobbs-7842.html#polls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">edge</a> over Hobbs in Real Clear Politics average of recent polling. Lake has hammered Hobbs in recent weeks over the Democrat’s refusal to debate Lake head-to-head. The Republican candidate has said Hobbs’ reticence is a sign of cowardice while Hobbs has repeatedly denounced Lake as a “conspiracy theorist.” Hobbs has insisted that Arizona voters are better served by her refusal to debate than facing off against Lake, a former television news anchor and talented on-air presence, one-on-one.</p>
<p>“Arizonans want answers and solutions and they deserve a gubernatorial debate. If Katie Hobbs is too afraid to debate, how can we trust her to make the tough choices. Katie Hobbs is too weak to lead Arizona,” a GOP ad launching in Arizona this week said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">It&#39;s been disastrous headline after disastrous headline for going on nearly 8 weeks as <a href="https://twitter.com/katiehobbs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katiehobbs</a> refuses to debate <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KariLake</a>.</p>
<p>And with early voting just beginning in AZ, it&#39;s top of mind for voters.</p>
<p>Watch this new ad hitting AZ airwaves today. <a href="https://t.co/9RfOctCAgd">pic.twitter.com/9RfOctCAgd</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Will Reinert (@willreinert) <a href="https://twitter.com/willreinert/status/1582058009147998209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Masters has focused his campaign on Kelly’s voting record with Biden; the two Democrats have agreed with each other 94% of the time over the past two years, according to <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/mark-kelly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FiveThirtyEight</a>. Kelly has tried to fend off Masters’ attacks by pointing to <a href="https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/news-kelly-rated-among-most-bipartisan-senators-data-reveals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analyses</a> that rank Kelly as one of the most bipartisan senators.</p>
<p>“Two thirds [of independents] know that Biden has failed. They want to send a senator to D.C. to check Joe Biden – only one third want ascend a senator to D.C. to enable Joe Biden,” Masters told The Daily Wire in an interview last month. “Mark Kelly is carpet bombing the airwaves pretending to be an independent. … He&#8217;s not an independent. Actually, he votes in lockstep for Joe Biden&#8217;s agenda.”</p>


Abraham Hamadeh, Kari Lake, Blake Masters

EXCLUSIVE POLL: Kari Lake In Lead For Arizona Gov, Masters Trails Kelly By One Point For Senate

Election Wire

<p>U.S. Senate candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blake-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Masters</a>, a Republican running in Arizona, slammed his opponent, Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-kelly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Kelly</a> (D-AZ), during an interview this week for the state of deterioration that the U.S. is in, saying that &#8220;Mark Kelly [is what] happened.&#8221;</p>
<p>Masters made the remark during an interview with Fox News host Harris Faulkner Wednesday afternoon where he touched on a wide range of issues.</p>
<p>&#8220;Just two years ago, we had a secure border, and crime was under control, and prices were low, people could actually afford to live,&#8221; Masters said. &#8220;Fast-forward two years, we have a wide-open southern border, crime is going through the roof in Arizona and all throughout America. And the cost of everything you need to live just keeps going up, and up, and up.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;And so it&#8217;s like, what happened? Well, Joe Biden happened. Mark Kelly happened,&#8221; Masters continued. &#8220;They&#8217;re joined at the hip. Mark Kelly supports Joe Biden&#8217;s agenda in lockstep. And just look around, everything&#8217;s on fire. It has failed. And people here in Arizona are pissed off. They are more than ready to make a change in November.&#8221;</p>
<p>WATCH:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big Senate race in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/arizona?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#arizona</a> — Republican candidate Blake Masters <a href="https://twitter.com/bgmasters?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bgmasters</a> going big against his opponent: “Crime is going through the roof… what happened? Well, Joe Biden happened. Mark Kelly happened there. Joined at the hip.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/midterms2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#midterms2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thefaulknerfocus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thefaulknerfocus</a> <a href="https://t.co/fbPGuD9Mbo">pic.twitter.com/fbPGuD9Mbo</a></p>
<p>&mdash; The Faulkner Focus (@FaulknerFocus) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaulknerFocus/status/1580343402734170113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED VIA FOX NEWS:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS HOST: Well, Republican Blake Masters is challenging Democrat incumbent Mark Kelly. They had quite a spirited debate just last week. The midterms, 27 days away now and Fox News Power Rankings show control of the Senate is too close to call as we project this out.</em></p>
<p><em>There are four toss-up races that it will all come down to. One of them is Arizona, a contest that hinges on crime, abortion and illegal immigration. Blake Masters, Republican candidate in that race, is in focus now.</em></p>
<p><em>So talk to me, if you will, just looking back and then forward, what were the contention points? What separates you from the Democrat in the race?</em></p>
<p><em>BLAKE MASTERS (R), ARIZONA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, just look at how Mark Kelly&#8217;s been voting. He&#8217;s been voting as a rubber stamp for Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden&#8217;s failed agenda.</em></p>
<p><em>You know, Harris, just two years ago we had a secure border, and crime was under control and prices were low, people could actually afford to live.</em></p>
<p><em>Fast-forward two years, we have a wide-open southern border, crime is going through the roof in Arizona and all throughout America. And the cost of everything you need to live just keeps going up, and up and up.</em></p>
<p><em>And so it&#8217;s like, what happened? Well, Joe Biden happened. Mark Kelley happened. They&#8217;re joined at the hip. Mark Kelly supports Joe Biden&#8217;s agenda in lockstep. And just look around, everything&#8217;s on fire. It has failed.</em></p>
<p><em>And people here in Arizona are pissed off. They are more than ready to make a change in November.</em></p>
<p><em>FAULKNER: You&#8217;re out there talking with voters right now, and are any of them talking about the fentanyl that’s coming across the border in Arizona? You&#8217;ve got human smuggling that has been going on at a fierce pitch in Texas.</em></p>
<p><em>And now you&#8217;re getting some of that, too. What are some of the answers that people are seeking?</em></p>
<p><em>MASTERS: It is absolutely heartbreaking to be on the campaign trail and &#8212; this has happened two or three times now, I&#8217;ve run into someone who’s child has died from fentanyl. And there &#8212; I mean, there are just no words. You know, I’ve stopped using the term &#8220;overdose&#8221; to talk about these kind of deaths because what they really are, Harris, are poisonings.</em></p>
<p><em>China is sending the predicate chemicals over to be compounded up in these Mexican drug cartels factories that ship this poison north through our wide-open southern border.</em></p>
<p><em>And apparently, Joe Biden and Mark Kelly like it this way because they haven’t done a darn thing to stop it. I actually think Senator Kelly should have to attend some of the funerals, right. That would give him a better understanding of the consequences of his support for Joe Biden’s open borders.</em></p>
<p><em>I am sick of this problem. We’re losing 2,000 Arizonans every single year, mostly teenagers, and it’s just got to stop. And it will stop when we take back the U.S. Senate.</em></p>
<p><em>FAULKNER: All right. I don&#8217;t know if he has done any of that, but certainly if his district would have any of those victims&#8217; families, you would hope that he would attend. So I would have to do some homework to figure out if that’s happened.</em></p>
<p><em>A big day for you yesterday. This happened. Let’s watch together.</em></p>
<p><em>(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)</em></p>
<p><em>MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Arizona and America need Blake Masters in a Republican majority in the United States Senate.</em></p>
<p><em>(END VIDEO CLIP)</em></p>
<p><em>FAULKNER: And you also have the endorsement of former President Trump. I, first of all, just want to get your response to the help that you&#8217;re getting and why it’s so necessary at this point. How tight is that race?</em></p>
<p><em>MASTERS: Oh, it’s super tight. You know, a lot of people wanted to write this race off in August. And no, we’ve just kept working. We’re outworking our opponent.</em></p>
<p><em>We had a great performance in the debate last week. I think Mark Kelly struggled to defend his record, which is no surprise because his record is indefensible.</em></p>
<p><em>But we need all Republicans on deck. This race is winnable. It’s neck and neck here in Arizona, and I could take all the support we can get. So we’re going to win this race, and I’m &#8212; I&#8217;ve never been more sure of it than I am today.</em></p>
<p><em>FAULKNER: I want to ask you about something. And you know, I&#8217;ve done my homework on what it looks like &#8212; and maybe &#8212; I don&#8217;t even know if you know this, but 60 percent of the country will see somebody on a ballot somewhere who believes that 2020&#8217;s election was not fair and that Joe Biden actually &#8212; this is according to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies &#8212; and that Joe Biden is not the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. 70 percent of people polled are saying that, Quinnipiac, &#8220;Washington Post.&#8221;</em></p>
<p><em>So with that as a backdrop, I know at one point your website had featured this statement, “If we had a free and fair election, President Trump would be sitting in the Oval Office today.”</em></p>
<p><em>That comment no longer sits on your website. Why not?</em></p>
<p><em>MASTERS: Well, I still believe it. That’s for sure.</em></p>
<p><em>And like I said in my debate last week, I think if everyone followed the law President Trump would be in the Oval Office. Look at how the FBI pressured Facebook and other big tech companies to censor true information about Hunter Biden’s very serious crimes in the weeks before the election. So millions of people didn’t get to read about it.</em></p>
<p><em>And then the media said, oh, well that’s OK. That’s just Russian disinformation. No, it was true. Hunter has got all these corrupt business dealings with China and the Ukraine. And millions of people here in Arizona, millions of people in the country, didn’t get to read about that in the weeks before the election.</em></p>
<p><em>I think that one act of corporate censorship, of big tech censorship, that sent Biden into the White House. And unfortunately for all of us because he’s doing a really bad job as President of the United States.</em></p>
<p><em>FAULKNER: Now, that’s interesting because that has nothing to do with the election process. You&#8217;re talking about why you think it was not fair and what Americans need to know.</em></p>
<p><em>I don&#8217;t know if these polls drill down as much on the issue as you just did right there. I would just ask, again, why it was taken down. One of the people in that debate with you was an independent, and I know it was an issue that he was willing to use against you. So just your last thought on that and we’ll move forward.</em></p>
<p><em>MASTERS: Like I said, I think states change their rules to flood the zone with mail-in ballots. I think that’s messed up.</em></p>
<p><em>But I think the biggest problem, Harris, with the 2020 election was big tech working with big media, and apparently being pressured by the FBI to censor true information about Hunter Biden’s crimes. Call me old-fashioned, I think the American people should determine who the president, not Google or Facebook.</em></p>
<p><em>FAULKNER: Well, and more evidence to what you&#8217;re saying just in terms of the federal level we now know that a former CIA agent &#8212; Bret Baier interviewed him last night &#8212; he was part of a petition signed, a letter signed, saying that he thought it was misinformation about Hunter Biden at the CIA, just to pitch into what you&#8217;re saying right there.</em></p>
<p><em>Blake Masters, good luck this fall. Thank you for being in focus.</em></p></blockquote>
<p><b>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shows-you-what-his-priorities-are-blake-masters-hits-mark-kelly-for-backing-bidens-irs-buildup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Shows You What His Priorities Are’: Blake Masters Hits Mark Kelly For Backing Biden’s IRS Buildup</a></b></p>


Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Support Of Arizona GOP Candidates

Blake Masters Torches Opponent Over Deteriorating Conditions In U.S.: ‘Mark Kelly Happened’

Blake Masters Torches Opponent Over Deteriorating Conditions In U.S.: 'Mark Kelly Happened'

Crime

Illegal Immigration

<p>Republican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blake-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Masters</a> challenged Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-kelly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Kelly</a> (D-AZ) on Thursday over the Democrat’s support for legislation beefing up the IRS with up to 87,000 more employees while voting against an amendment that would have funded 18,000 more Border Patrol agents.</p>
<p>Kelly and Masters faced off in a debate, the first and likely only one in the race for one of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a>’s seats in the U.S. Senate, in Phoenix on Thursday evening. The two major party candidates were joined on stage by Libertarian candidate Marc Victor.</p>
<p>Shortly after opening remarks, Kelly and Masters entered a back-and-forth over immigration and inflation. Masters hit Kelly over his votes on the Inflation Reduction Act by contrasting the bill’s funding of up to 87,000 additional IRS employees and Kelly’s vote against an amendment that would have funded an additional 18,000 Border Patrol agents to help handle the immigration crisis.</p>
<p>“Mark Kelly said no to 18,000 more Border Patrol agents, but yes to 87,000 new IRS agents. That shows you what his priorities are,” Masters said. “Mark Kelly left our southern border wide open, voted for all the trillions in spending that caused this massive inflation, and he thinks the fix is 87,000 new IRS agents.”</p>
<p>Kelly stated that he voted for additional resources for the U.S. Border Patrol in other votes.</p>
<p>“There are votes that happen in D.C. that have nothing to do with Border Patrol agents, and it might have the title on it and nothing happens, right? So what I have done is I got $1 billion more for Border Patrol agents, for staffing, you know, for the technical systems to monitor the border, and, where they make sense, to build more border barriers,” Kelly said.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="WATCH LIVE: 2022 Arizona Senate Debate featuring Mark Kelly, Blake Masters and Marc Victor" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vt7oJ1lnfro?start=840&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-740-billion-inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> the Inflation Reduction Act, which is <a href="https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2022/8/12/senate-passed-inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to have no near-term impact on inflation, into law in August after the legislation was passed through both chambers of Congress with no GOP support. The bill allocated $740 billion toward the IRS, Affordable Care Act subsidies, and green energy subsidies and tax credits among other spending.</p>
<p>The IRS’s portion was $80 billion, allowing the agency to potentially hire tens of thousands more agents to conduct audits and enforce the tax code.</p>


Blake Masters, Mark Kelly

‘Shows You What His Priorities Are’: Blake Masters Hits Mark Kelly For Backing Biden’s IRS Buildup

Inflation Reduction Act

<p>Welcome to this week’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/2022-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Midterm Exam</a> (part one) — complete with tidbits and stories from races around the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">country</a>.</p>
<p>Extensive midterm coverage, and more detailed reports, can be found <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p>Now, we’ll go over some governor and Senate races from Arizona and Wisconsin &#8230; why? Why not!</p>
<p><strong>Peter Thiel, Doug Ducey Fundraise For Blake Masters in Arizona</strong></p>
<p>Tech mogul Peter Thiel and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey <a href="https://twitter.com/teddyschleifer/status/1577499678710431744" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> Republican U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters for a fundraiser in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on Tuesday. Masters has struggled in the money game after the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund pulled out of Arizona. Thiel heavily financed Masters&#8217; primary run, but has so far refused to repeat that kind of backing in the general election against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.</p>
<p><strong>Trump To Rally In Arizona</strong></p>
<p>Former President Donald Trump will hold a <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1577412648995475456" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rally</a> for Kari Lake, Blake Masters, and other Republicans running for office in Arizona. The rally is set to take place in Mesa, Arizona, on Sunday.</p>
<div class="yj6qo ajU">
<p><strong>Tavern Owners Slam Evers, Back Michels</strong></p>
<p>The Tavern League of Wisconsin has <a href="https://www.channel3000.com/tavern-league-endorses-michels-in-bid-for-governor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed</a> Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels while slamming Democrat Governor Tony Evers for COVID restrictions they say harmed their livelihoods.</p>
<p>“We need to get back on track, we need to get everybody rolling in the right direction and keep it going and not get shut down ever again unless it needs to be, and I will tell you Tim Michels is our guy,” said bar-owner and league executive board member Keith Koehler.</p>
<p>The Tavern League took aim at Evers&#8217; directive in 2020 that businesses were only allowed to permit one quarter occupancy because of COVID. Michels and the League had an event in Baraboo to announce the endorsement.</p>
<p>“I&#8217;m proud to have earned the support of these Capitalists, these risk takers, who sacrifice and work hard to chase their American Dream,” Michels tweeted. “Big Government edicts during COVID. Governor Evers&#8217; illegal shutdown orders pushed many past the brink. Those that survived now face a labor shortage and runaway inflation. But, November 8th is near. Help is on the way.”</p>
<p><strong>Never-Trumpers Back Democrat Wisconsin Governor For Re-Election</strong></p>
<p>The so-called “Republican Accountability PAC,” headed by never-Trumpers Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell, is <a href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/anti-trump-republican-pac-launches-campaign-against-michels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spending $1 million</a> to oppose Michels, a construction executive who is backed by Trump.</p>
<p>Longwell, a publisher of the Bulwark, claims that Michels is “extreme” and an “election denier.”</p>
<p>The announcement comes amid a tight race for governor that will be monumental for control of the purple state. Evers, who narrowly defeated then-Governor Scott Walker in 2018, has been able to block much of the legislative initiatives of Republicans, who control the state Assembly and Senate, and are expected to retain that control.</p>
<p>If elected, Michels could sign legislation in the state regarding school choice, election integrity, abortion, and other critical issues.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson For The Win?</strong></p>
<p>After months of outlets <a href="https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/recent-polls-show-ron-johnson-increasing-lead-over-mandela-barnes-in-u-s-senate-race/article_5e04eabf-3187-5f2f-aa86-5839b19f49f4.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaring</a> incumbent Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) as one of the most vulnerable seats for Republicans to hold onto in November, Johnson appears to be taking the lead, according to several polls.</p>
<p>At the same time, Democrat Senate candidate Mandela Barnes has claimed that he has hauled in $20 million in third-quarter fundraising, easily the most money his campaign has raised so far.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the race will likely come down to whether voters are more motivated by abortion, which Barnes has focused on, or crime and inflation, which has been Johnson’s emphasis.</p>
<p><em>Stay tuned for part two on Friday.</em></p>
</div>


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