Arizona’s Libertarian nominee Marc Victor announced Tuesday his withdrawal from the Senate race, endorsing Republican nominee Blake Masters on his way out the door. Masters said this endorsement is another stepping stone to taking down incumbent Mark Kelly.
“Marc Victor joins a growing list of Arizonans from across the political spectrum who are fed up with open borders, big government corruption, and rising crime,” Masters said. “We are building a broad coalition to defeat the worst Senator in America. This is another major boost in momentum as we consolidate our support against the extreme and radical policies of Mark Kelly and Joe Biden. Live and Let Live.”
https://twitter.com/MastersPress/status/1587400307381878788
In an endorsement video, Victor said that he reached out to both Masters and Kelly and told them he would drop out of the race on the condition that either of the nominees sat down to have a public conversation with him to exchange ideas. Masters approached Victor, and the two had their talk.
The Arizona Sun Times asked the Kelly campaign why he did not return the invitation, and Kelly’s spokesperson Sarah Guggenheimer said that a week out from the election, the incumbent is proud of the bipartisan support he has received thus far. Guggenheimer also said that Arizonans should not let any endorsement distract them from Masters’ “dangerous and harmful agenda” regarding abortion and social security. Kelly’s campaign pointed out that Masters previously called libertarianism “kind of childish.”
However, Victor said he did not expect to see eye to eye with Masters on every political issue but wanted to know if Masters supported the movement for peace and freedom.
“I found Blake to be generally supportive of the Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement [LLL]. Likewise, we found ourselves in general agreement about how to improve America and advance the cause of freedom and peace,” Victor said. “After this discussion, I believe it is in the best interests of freedom and peace to withdraw my candidacy and enthusiastically support Blake Masters for United States Senate. I intend to assist in any way reasonably possible to elect Blake.”
Victor is the co-founder of the LLL, which focuses heavily on giving people complete and total freedom to be holistically in charge of their own life. Victor modeled his campaign on LLL principles and spoke out against the tribalism and divisiveness he saw in the current political landscape.
The conversation between Victor and Masters marked the first time the two had spoken since the Arizona Senate debate. Victor and Masters only had 20 minutes to talk, so the two rapid-fired many of the prevalent issues facing Arizona and the country.
Of note, Masters told Victor he believes social security should be privatized, but does not agree with taking away resources from anyone who has already paid into government programs. On the issue of abortion, Masters said he wants to see reasonable limits implemented by states and not the federal government. Masters also said he supports exceptions for instances of rape, incest, or to protect the mother’s life.
Another issue the two lingered on was the separation of church and state. Masters said he takes the First Amendment “deadly seriously” and that it should be a shield used to protect people and allow them to carry out their beliefs. Moreover, he said he would protect religious liberty from any government interference.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Marc Victor” by Marc Victor. Photo “Blake Masters” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
