The two men come from worlds apart. Masters was the COO of billionaire PayPal co-founder and Republican donor Peter Thiel’s investment firm. Kelly was an engineer, then a captain in the U.S. Navy, a career path that led to becoming a NASA astronaut.
Masters is endorsed by former President Donald Trump. FiveThirtyEight places Kelly as having voted in line with current President Joe Biden 95% of the time, the seventh lowest percentage among Democrats.
Despite their differences, both candidates told Newsweek that inflation ranks among the top issues facing their home state. Each also addressed why they are better prepared than their opponent to tackle it and the other issues most important to Arizona.
The quotes below reflect their answers regarding top issues and their individual preparedness, and are reported in their entirety.
“Despite massive financial backing from the wealthy special interests who control him,” Masters told Newsweek in a statement, “Mark Kelly’s campaign is floundering because Arizonans know Mark Kelly is the one responsible for surging inflation, surging crime, and surging gas prices.”
“They also know that Mark Kelly is the single Senator most responsible for our open border disaster,” he added. “This election is a referendum on border security and Mark Kelly’s betrayal of every Arizona family. A vote for Kelly is a vote for open borders. A vote for me is a vote for secure borders and safe communities. That’s what is at stake in this election.”
In fiscal year 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered nearly 306,000 migrants at the Yuma and Tucson sectors that comprise Arizona’s border with Mexico. In fiscal year 2022, CBP encountered over 562,000 individuals, an increase of more than 83%.
Kelly has called the border situation a “crisis,” and made news in late March when he joined Republicans in urging the Biden administration to hold off on its plan to lift the Title 42 public health order that barred certain migrants from seeking asylum at the border.
When it comes to addressing inflation, Kelly focused on the need to reach across the political aisle, while emphasizing his financial and political independence.
“As a U.S. Navy combat pilot veteran, an engineer, and a former NASA astronaut, I learned that the political party of the person sitting next to you doesn’t matter,” Kelly told Newsweek in a statement. “The only thing that matters is tackling the mission ahead. In the Senate, I’ve brought that approach with me to break through partisan politics and actually deliver results. Because of that, I’m consistently ranked [as] one of the most bipartisan Senators in Congress.
“With Washington so divided, I think we need more people who are willing to put the politics aside and get to work,” he said. “I am the only Member of Congress to publish my official schedule, put my assets in blind trusts so I can’t trade on or benefit from insider information, and reject corporate PAC money contributions to my campaign.”
I think if D.C. functioned differently, we’d get a lot more done for the people we actually represent,” he added, “so I’m working to change the way it works.”
Kelly said that inflation will remain one his top priorities as he continues to focus on legislation that addresses it and related issues.
“When I travel across Arizona, the thing I hear about most is that folks are working hard but struggling with the high costs of gas, groceries, and prescription drugs,” Kelly said. “That’s why I’ve been working for months in the Senate to bring down costs.”
“I led a bipartisan law to bring microchip manufacturing back to America,” he added. “Microchips are in everything from our cars to our microwaves, and making them in America will ease our supply chain problems and lower costs. This law will also put Arizona at the forefront of chip manufacturing, creating thousands of good-paying jobs. And I recently passed a plan to let Medicare negotiate for lower prescription prices, helping Arizona seniors save on their prescription drugs.”
“On top of that, I’ve introduced legislation to cut the federal gas tax to save Arizonans money at the pump,” Kelly said. “I pushed President Biden to increase domestic oil production, which will help lower the cost of gas. And I’ve pressured the oil companies profiting off this crisis to stop their unacceptable price gouging.”
“There is a lot more that we need to do to support Arizona families struggling with costs,” he added, “and I’m committed to working with Republicans and Democrats to address this problem and deliver results for our state.”
The aggregate total of recent polls analyzed by FiveThirtyEight places Kelly ahead of Masters by three percentage points. In August, Kelly posted his greatest lead over Masters at over 10 percentage points. While the polling continues to narrow, FiveThirtyEight has never placed Masters ahead of Kelly.
