Kari Lake tries to turn kingmaker by backing Blake Masters, other GOP hopefuls in Arizona

Samantha-Jo Roth

October 29, 10:16 AM October 29, 10:16 AM

MESA, ARIZONA — Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake utilized her name recognition to boost other Republicans on the ticket at a Halloween-themed campaign event on Friday night.

Lake, dressed as Rosie the Riveter, spoke for under four minutes before handing off the microphone to Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters. The family-friendly event was advertised on Lake’s website for about a week, but Masters and Abraham Hamadeh, the Arizona GOP candidate for attorney general, were added late Thursday night.

For several months, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) held a lead in the Senate race, but now the race is tightening. The Cook Political Report changed its rating on the Arizona Senate race from “Lean Democrat” to “Toss Up.”

WATCH: INFLATION, ABORTION, AND THE BORDER - ISSUES PUSHING THE ARIZONA MIDTERM ELECTION

Despite Masters's recent rise in the polls, he is garnering less support than Lake. According to a recent Fox 10 InsiderAdvantage poll, Lake leads Hobbs by 11 percentage points in the gubernatorial race.

Lake and Masters have been hitting the trail together recently and promoting one another on social media. As Masters gave his stump speech on Friday night, Lake’s official Twitter account live-tweeted his remarks with video. Masters is garnering less support than Lake, with polls showing he is in a competitive race against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.

Masters has not held any other open press events this week. A campaign aide said this is part of his strategy in the final days ahead of the election. In his stump speech Friday, Masters made immigration and the border a centerpiece of his message.

“One of the first executive orders President Biden signed halted the border wall. That’s when I knew it was about to be really, really bad. They gave our southern border up to the Mexican drug cartels,” Masters said to the crowd.

“This is a humanitarian disaster. I don't blame or begrudge any individual immigrant for wanting to come here fleeing some desperate situation, right. It's nothing personal, but you don't get to break into our country. And with the cartels. This is key. This is slavery. This is human trafficking.”

Inflation soared to 13% in Phoenix last month, a record for any U.S. city in data going back 20 years, a fact Masters highlighted.

“Here in Maricopa County, we’re suffering from the worst inflation in the whole country, brought to you by Mark Kelly. Mark Kelly denies responsibility," he said.

The Senate is split 50-50, but Democrats have the majority through Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaking vote. Republicans only need one seat in order to take back the majority.

Lake also recently released video advertisements in support of gubernatorial candidates Doug Mastriano of Pennsylvania and Michigan's Tudor Dixon, a rare endorsement for a candidate in the middle of a competitive race.