Blake Masters, the Republican Senate nominee in Arizona, said in a new interview that he would prefer a new GOP leader in the upper chamber instead of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Masters told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that he wants a conservative challenger to oppose McConnell for leadership.
“I certainly think we need new leadership,” he said.
Masters, who is challenging Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), also said he would not prioritize sending aid to Ukraine to defend itself in its war with Russia, instead placing an emphasis on securing the southern border.
Congress has repeatedly sent military aid packages to Ukraine on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February. But some conservative Republican candidates have called the amount of aid the United States is providing into question, saying the priority should be on spending money for domestic issues.
Masters also told the Journal that McConnell “doesn’t love me” and will not “own” him.
“He doesn’t want me in there, but he’s about to be stuck with me,” he added.
A McConnell-aligned super PAC pulled millions of dollars out of the Arizona race in the months leading up to Election Day. But the Journal noted that a spokesman for the super PAC said a sister PAC spent more than $13 million in the race.
Masters said in an interview with the Daily Mail last week that he is prepared to be a “thorn in the side” of McConnell if elected to the Senate and that he is prepared to block legislation until the southern border is secure.
Polls have shown a tightening race between Masters and Kelly in recent weeks, with Kelly leading by about 2 points in FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.