Dueling rallies for rival candidates in the forthcoming Republican primary for governor will take place in Phoenix on Friday, when temperatures are forecast to soar to a high of 115 degrees. Former president Donald Trump and former vice president Mike Pence will be there.
With early voting already started and less than two weeks before primary day, Trump is endorsing former local TV news reporter Kari Lake while Pence is endorsing land use policy expert Karrin Taylor Robson. Trump supported Blake Masters, a student of Peter Thiel, in the Republican Senate primary.
Since Trump’s support last month, Masters has seen a rise in the polls, but a sizable chunk of Republican voters are still unsure.
According to a recent OH Predictive Insights poll, Masters has a seven-point advantage over Jim Lamon, a businessman. A choice was made in the race, though, according to more than a third of prospective GOP voters in the poll.
After Trump’s backing, Lamon’s criticism of Masters has increased. Lamon referred to Masters as a transplant from California who is under the grip of Big Tech at the previous discussion. Masters responded by calling Lamon a “bozo” and making fun of his accent. The more moderate contender in the race is state attorney general Mark Brnovich, but because he was absent from the most recent debate, his early advantage has been losing ground. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly will be the opponent of the primary winner.
Trump backed Lake early in the run for governor, and many GOP insiders in Arizona believe her polling numbers have peaked. In the meanwhile, Robson is gaining ground, in large part because of the $17 million she’s spent on TV advertisements. Robson has given her campaign a $13 million loan. Her husband made a fortune by creating retirement vacation complexes. Gov. Doug Ducey, who is not able to run for re-election, has also endorsed her. Comparatively, Lake’s TV spending totals less than $1 million.
In a poll conducted last month, Robson trailed Lake by five points with over a quarter of respondents still unsure.
On Friday morning, Pence and Ducey will be campaigning with Robson in the expanding Phoenix suburb of Peoria. They will next go to Tucson in the south where they will attend a rally for the National Border Patrol Council.
Prescott Valley, one of the state’s more conservative regions, will host Trump’s evening event. Abe Hamadeh, Trump’s favored candidate for Arizona attorney general, and State Rep. Mark Finchem, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, are both scheduled to attend in addition to Lake and Masters.