Blake Masters, president of the Thiel Foundation and the chief operating officer of Thiel Capital, is expected to enter the Arizona senate race. Billionaire Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, is reportedly spending millions to support his bid.
Thiel donated $10 million to the Saving Arizona PAC, a political action committee formed in April aiming to unseat former astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. The group plans to back Masters in the GOP primary and election.
It was reported in 2019 Masters might challenge Republican Sen. Martha McSally, but Masters bowed out of the race.
“My wife and I will welcome a new baby boy this spring, and I will help Republicans get elected in November. Beyond that, I look forward to building a stronger Republican Party in Arizona,” the Thiel Foundation president told The Arizona Republic at the time.
Thiel is a major donor for 2022 political campaigns. “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance confirmed he is running for the Senate in an interview with The Daily Wire in March. Thiel likewise donated $10 million to the super PAC Protect Ohio Values, which is looking to support Vance for public office.
Thiel also has floated the idea of backing Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s reelection, as well as Joe Kent, an army veteran looking to unseat Anti-Trump Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington.
Masters co-authored the #1 New York Times Bestselling book “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” in 2014 with Thiel. He joins a crowded field with the likes of probable candidates state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Jim Lamon, and software engineer Robert Paveza.
