Arizona Republicans are preparing for a potentially volatile Senate primary featuring Kari Lake and Blake Masters, both of whom were Donald Trump-aligned candidates in 2022, running for a single Senate post.
While in Milwaukee during the first Republican presidential primary debate, Lake said she was "seriously considering" a run and would decide "by the end of the year." Masters, according to The Wall Street Journal, plans to enter Arizona's Senate race in the coming weeks.
If seen to fruition, both Republican candidates would be eyeing Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat.
"This is obviously going to be the race to watch across the nation," Arizona-based Republican strategist Lorna Romero Ferguson said, according to The Hill. "I think this race will really set the tone of: 'OK, what is the path forward for Arizona?'"
Meanwhile, Sinema, the incumbent, hasn't said whether she'll run for reelection. And with Rep. Ruben Gallego running for the Democratic Party's nomination, it's possible Arizona will have a three-way contest for a single Senate seat.
"You can't count Sinema out," Ferguson stated. "This kind of unknown about having a legitimate third-party candidate running for a statewide office for U.S. Senate — at least in Arizona, but I'm pretty sure most states — is completely unheard of."