Donald Trump praises Blake Masters in rare last-minute dual endorsement for Congress

In a blow to Republican House candidate Abe Hamadeh, former President Donald Trump announced on Saturday evening he also would support one of Hamadeh’s campaign rivals — the venture capitalist Blake Masters — as both compete to represent an Arizona district in Congress.

Trump, who initially had backed Hamadeh, made the rare dual endorsement just days before the July 30 primary election.

"Blake Masters is a very successful businessman, and an incredibly strong supporter of our Movement to Make America Great Again — He is smart and tough!" the former president wrote in a social media post .

"Likewise, Abe Hamadeh, a Veteran, former prosecutor, and fearless fighter for Election Integrity, has been with me all the way!"

Both candidates have his "Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump wrote: "THEY WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

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Hamadeh secured an endorsement from Trump, the Republican Party’s standard-bearer, in December.

Masters and Hamadeh are two of several candidates squaring off in the Republican primary in Arizona's 8th Congressional District, which covers parts of Maricopa and Yavapai counties, including Glendale, Peoria, Sun City West and New River. It's a heavily Republican area, and the winner of the primary would be heavily favored to win in the November general election.

Publicly released polling has been variable and often has shown several of the candidates tightly clustered.

Masters, in an interview Saturday evening, said he was grateful for Trump’s support. He said that while he didn't have "clear visibility" into the circumstances of the endorsement, he suspected some elected officials, members of the Trump campaign, and “friends” helped make the case that the former president should back him.

"I think the president saw polling, I think he saw me run a very pro-Trump campaign," Masters said. "I think everybody saw a close race with the momentum on my side."

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Hamadeh spokesperson Erica Knight responded to Trump's move Sunday.

“Abe Hamadeh is confident that he will win this race because he was not only one of the first races in the country to have the support of President Trump, but also has the unwavering support of grassroots patriots and the powerful backing of (Senate candidate) Kari Lake," Knight said in a written statement. "While Blake 'the Snake' Masters has run a despicable campaign attacking an Army veteran, Abe has been focused on the issues that are affecting everyday Arizonans. Abe and Kari are the true America First team, committed to fighting for election integrity and conservative values. Together, they will ensure victory on Election Day."

Both candidates received Trump’s backing during the 2022 election cycle, when Hamadeh ran for Arizona attorney general and Masters for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat. Since then, the two have become fierce rivals in the six-way primary race that also includes former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, state Sen. Anthony Kern, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma and political newcomer Patrick “Pat” Briody.

The members of Trump’s inner circle have been divided over the race. Several allies of the former president, including loyalists Richard Grenell, Kash Patel, and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, have endorsed Hamadeh. Masters received early backing from U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who Trump has since selected to be his 2024 running mate, and he has maintained ties with Trump allies, posting a photo of himself with Donald Trump Jr. during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Masters said on Saturday evening he hadn't spoken with Trump "in a few days” and that he didn't discuss the possibility of an endorsement “directly” with the former president.

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The Trump campaign’s public posture toward Masters had been neutral leading up to the endorsement. Earlier this month, a top Trump adviser privately had asked Masters to take down or revise a TV ad suggesting that Trump had endorsed his candidacy. Still the campaign stayed mum as Masters continued airing those and similar ads.

Asked why voters should choose him over Hamadeh, Masters said he was a stronger candidate on the issue of illegal immigration. He reiterated a campaign attack that Hamadeh, whose father once faced removal from the U.S. for not being in the country legally, is "compromised" on the issue.

Masters has leaned heavily on attacks on Hamadeh's religious and cultural identity to discredit his campaign rival and has taken an aggressive tack on matters of race and immigration, including flirting with an immigration conspiracy theory first popular among white nationalists.

Hamadeh has in turn branded Masters a “snake” for his campaign barbs and argued some of the attacks denigrate his military service. He has emphasized that, unlike Masters, he mounted persistent though unsuccessful legal challenges to his narrow 2022 loss — a display of his commitment to Trump-led discredited claims of stolen elections.

It’s unclear how much the endorsement will affect the outcome of the race: Early voting, popular in Arizona, began July 3.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Donald Trump praises Blake Masters in rare last-minute dual endorsement for Congress