Blake Masters | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Masters in 2022 | |
| Born | Blake Gates Masters August 5, 1986 |
| Education | Stanford University (BA, JD) |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer(s) | Thiel Capital, Thiel Foundation (former) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Catherine Blanton[1] |
| Children | 4 |
Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist and former political candidate.[2][3] Frequently referred to as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel,[4] Masters co-wrote Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future with Thiel in 2014, based on notes Masters had taken at Stanford Law School in 2012. He later served as chief operating officer (COO) of Thiel's investment firm, Thiel Capital, as well as president of the Thiel Foundation.
In the 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona, Masters defeated state Attorney General Mark Brnovich and businessman Jim Lamon to become the Republican Party's nominee. He aligned himself with Thiel, who funded his primary campaign with US$15 million, and former president Donald Trump, both of whom endorsed him in June 2022.[5] He lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly.[6] The Washington Post described him as one of the "worst candidates of the 2022 election," as he received the fewest votes among all the Republican statewide candidates in the 2022 Arizona elections.[7]
Masters ran for the U.S. House in 2024 for Arizona's 8th congressional district.[8][6] He lost the Republican primary to Abraham Hamadeh, coming in second.[9]
- ^ "Arizona GOP Senate Candidate Suggests Fed Diversity to Blame for Economic Woes". Bloomberg.com. August 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ Dent, Alec (October 14, 2022). "The Right's Quiet Uncanceling of a Dead White Supremacist". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Kaczynski, Andrew; Steck, Em (August 29, 2022). "Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters scrubbed language on campaign website saying the 2020 election was stolen from Trump". CNN. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
- ^
Sources that call Masters a protégé of Thiel include:
- Ecarma, Caleb (May 10, 2022). "Blake Masters, Peter Thiel's Protégé, Threatens Arizona News Outlet With the Gawker Treatment". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
For Blake Masters, a Peter Thiel protégé...
- Kieffer, Cohlton (July 11, 2022). "Blake Masters Assumes Front Runner Status in Arizona Senate Race After Trump Endorsement". Western Tribune. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
Blake Masters, the Trump-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona and Peter Thiel protégé, has taken the lead...
- Lanard, Noah (July 18, 2022). "Blake Masters Is Peter Thiel's Dream Candidate—and a Total Nightmare for Democracy". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
Masters was the perfect Thiel protégé.
- Lanard (July 18, 2022). "6 Revealing Moments From Our Profile of GOP Senate Candidate Blake Masters". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
...a profile of US Senate candidate Blake Masters, the 35-year-old protégé of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
- Ecarma, Caleb (May 10, 2022). "Blake Masters, Peter Thiel's Protégé, Threatens Arizona News Outlet With the Gawker Treatment". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ Swan, Jonathan; Kraushaar, Josh (October 12, 2022). "Billionaire Peter Thiel offers to double down on Arizona Senate race to boost Blake Masters". Axios. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ a b "Former Arizona GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters is running for Congress". NBC News. October 27, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Blake, Aaron (November 30, 2022). "Analysis | The worst candidates of the 2022 election". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ Huynh, Anjali (October 26, 2023). "Blake Masters Announces Run for Congress, Skipping New Senate Bid". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Metzger, Bryan (July 31, 2024). "Blake Masters, a close ally of JD Vance and Peter Thiel, just lost another election". Business Insider.