With calls for a nationwide abortion ban and a campaign ad declaration that “Trump won” in 2020, Masters has adopted some of the farthest-right stances and rhetoric in a staunchly conservative field — fueling some concerns among GOP strategists that his embrace of extremes could imperil their efforts to regain control of the narrowly divided Senate. Many Arizona Republicans view Masters as the front-runner after Trump’s endorsement.

On the 2020 election, some see a calculated attempt to win political support. Two longtime associates said Masters admitted privately as recently as 2021 that Biden won the 2020 election, but felt he needed to call the election fraudulent to win Trump’s endorsement. One of the associates said Masters argued at the same time that there were voting irregularities in Arizona.

Katie Miller, an adviser to Masters’s campaign, called the associates’ claims “categorically false” and said, “The Washington Post is allowing anonymous sources to fulfill their narrative about the only true America First candidate in the race.”