Robert C. O’Brien is endorsing Blake Masters in the race for the Republican Senate nomination in Arizona, which could prove crucial in this competitive primary with important 2022 implications.
O’Brien served as national security adviser to former President Donald Trump and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That resume could help Masters, 35, appeal both to Trump supporters who are prevalent in GOP primaries in Arizona and to the state’s influential voting bloc of conservative Mormons. O’Brien, considered a 2024 presidential contender, was poised to unveil his endorsement of Masters on Tuesday.
“Like President Trump and President [Ronald] Reagan, he believes in a peace through strength approach to American foreign policy and national security,” O’Brien said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner. “Blake has the business background to bring new, innovative companies to the state. If we want bold solutions we need a new generation of leaders like Blake in office.”
Masters is a recent former employee of Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, and his Senate race is backed by a super PAC that is flush with cash courtesy of a $10 million investment made by Thiel. As it happens, O’Brien has also endorsed J.D. Vance, a Republican primary candidate for Senate in Ohio, who also is backed by a super PAC funded by Thiel’s largesse. In both Arizona and Ohio, the Republican primary is wide open.
In the Arizona primary, Masters is joined by state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, the front-runner according to recent public opinion polls, businessman Jim Lamon, and Mick McGuire, former adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard. The winner faces Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in the midterm election.
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O’Brien, who is based in Los Angeles, matriculated from the traditional wing of the GOP and was Trump’s fourth and final national security adviser in the White House. But notably, he seemed to work with the former president most effectively and have the most staying power.
