(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) As former President Donald Trump loses faith in Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Senate candidate Blake Masters has surged in the Republican primary by receiving more individual donations than any other candidate.
Masters pulled in $1.16 million from Jan. to March. 2022, besting all the other Republican candidates, including Brnovich, who raised $735,000, and businessman Jim Lamon, who received about $275,000, according to Breitbart.
Trump said he will endorse a candidate in Arizona‘s Republican Senate primary “in the not too distant future,” but he indicated that Brnovich may not receive the endorsement if he does not follow through on investigations into election fraud.
Trump said Brnovich received “massive information on the fraud and so-called ‘irregularities” but has not acted on it.
“Well, he did a report, and he recites some of the many horrible things that happened in that very dark period of American history but, rather than go after the people that committed these election crimes, it looks like he is just going to ‘kick the can down the road’ and stay in that middle path of non-controversy,” he wrote in a statement.
Trump contrasted Brnovich with “some very good people” in the race.
Brnovich’s campaign is not in a solid financial position. He spent $974,269 dollars in the first quarter, a $240,000 spending deficit, and he has only $529,000 in remaining cash.
Masters spent about $700,000 and has $2.253 million in cash.
Campaign manager Amalia Halikia said that Masters has proven himself as a candidate who can rouse grassroots support from America-First Republicans.
“Kelly is going to have well over $100 million in his war chest by November,” Halikias said, adding that Democrat incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly raised $61.5 million in the first quarter. “Republicans need to win this seat back — fortunately, the smartest, strongest candidate has proven he can seriously fundraise.”
Lamon has self-funded his campaign. He gave himself $5 million in the first quarter and has given $13 million to his campaign overall.
“We have an attorney general who is unable to even cover what he’s spending. We’ve got a self-funder setting his money on fire,” Halikias said. “Blake’s opponents are letting consultants take them for a ride.”
