Fealty to Trump defines Republican Senate primary in Arizona

By JONATHAN J. COOPER
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The race for Arizona Senate doesn’t fit easily into the Donald Trump vs. GOP establishment pattern that’s defined so many GOP primaries to date. All the major candidates in Arizona aggressively sought the former president’s backing and haven’t been shy about advancing his false claims of election fraud. Since Republican Gov. Doug Ducey declined to run for the Senate, the party’s mainstream hasn’t coalesced around any particular candidate. First-time candidate Blake Masters has gobbled up most of the attention since he was endorsed by Trump. He faces solar energy executive Jim Lamon and Attorney General Mark Brnovich in Tuesday’s Republican primary. The winner will take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, one of the GOP’s top targets.