Arizona Republican Blake Masters: Mitch McConnell ‘Will Not Own Me’

Arizona’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Blake Masters, believes Republicans need “new leadership” in the Senate and declared that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “will not own me” should the candidate win his election against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) Tuesday.

During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Masters said he hopes a conservative senator challenges McConnell for the top GOP senate position, adding, “I certainly think we need new leadership.”

McConnell “won’t own on me,” Masters added, per the Journal’s Elza Collins. “McConnell doesn’t love me. And clearly, he had a chance to help. He didn’t do it. He doesn’t want me in there, but he’s about to be stuck with me.”

In September, a McConnell-aligned Super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), reportedly pulled $9.6 million in advertising that was reserved for the Grand Canyon State’s U.S. Senate race, according to Axios. The SLF was “confident” other conservative groups would place money behind Masters.

Ultimately, PACs, including the Sentinel Action Fund, MAGA, Inc., and Saving Arizona, poured millions of dollars into the race to bolster Masters. Now, the race is neck and neck on the eve of Election Day, with the Republican candidate showing a slight lead.

In a poll from the left-wing think tank Data for Progress, conducted from November 2 through Sunday, Masters holds a razor-thin lead over Kelly among likely voters at 50 percent to 49 percent. The pair have been polling within the margin of error in many of the latest polls.

Libertarian Marc Victor, who dropped out of the race on November 1 and endorsed Masters, drew two percent of the response. Victor’s crucial two percent of support could play a pivotal role in Tuesday’s outcome one way or another.

Data for Progress surveyed 1,259 likely voters, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.