Arizona (AP) — Marc Victor, the Arizona senatorial candidate for the Libertarian Party, announced his withdrawal from the campaign on Tuesday and advised his supporters to support Republican Blake Masters instead.
A week before the midterm elections, Victor’s support for Masters could help him close the deficit with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.
The endorsement occurred after Masters’ campaign staffers made approaches to Victor and after Masters convinced Victor over the phone to support him. On his website, Victor put up a video of their 25-minute conversation.
After the conversation, Victor declared in a statement provided by the Masters campaign, “I believe it is in the best interests of freedom and peace to withdraw my candidacy and wholeheartedly support Blake Masters for United States Senate.”
I’m going to do everything I can to help Blake get elected.
One of a few contests that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate is this one. Republicans and Democrats are now evenly represented in the chamber, and vice president Kamala Harris can break ties.
Some Republicans had worried that Victor would act as a spoiler, drawing votes from right-leaning voters who might have supported Masters in a head-to-head matchup against Kelly.
But because Victor’s name will still be on every vote because the decision was made so close to the election, the effect will be muted. Numerous others have mail-in ballots in hand, and hundreds of thousands of people have already cast their votes.
Victor is a defense attorney and longtime advocate for Libertarian ideas he terms the “live and let live” movement. During the sole debate that was broadcast on television, he was scathing of both Masters and Kelly.
Additionally, he has stated that he is thinking about switching to the Republican Party in order to challenge Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema in 2024.
In a statement, Masters said, “This is another significant boost of momentum as we solidify our support against the extreme and extremist plans of Mark Kelly and Joe Biden.”
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Libertarian withdraws from Arizona Senate race and supports GOP Masters
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