(Fox News) Former President Donald Trump made unfounded claims of “voter fraud” in Maricopa County after Republican Blake Masters, his endorsed senatorial candidate in Arizona, lost to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. The race was called late Friday evening.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the result was “a scam” that could be attributed to “voter fraud” and that acting forces “stole the election,” which he said should be held again.
“People were forced to wait for hours, then got exhausted or had other things to do and left the voting lines by the thousands” in Maricopa County, he claimed.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters at a campaign rally at Legacy Sports USA. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The former president said even Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is running against Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, was affected by the delays.
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“Even Kari Lake was taken to a Liberal Democrat district in order to vote. Others weren’t so lucky,” Trump wrote.
He added: “This is a scam and voter fraud, no different than stuffing the ballot boxes. They stole the Electron from Blake Masters. Do Election over again!”
Kelly remained ahead of Masters by about 115,000 votes for most of Friday afternoon, as mail-in ballots continued to be tabulated in Maricopa County. The Fox News Decision Desk projected that Kelly won re-election in Arizona shortly after 10 p.m. Friday.
Left: Mark Kelly in New York on February 22, 2018. Right: Blake Masters in Phoenix, Arizona on August 1, 2022. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Brandon Bell)
Trump backed Masters, a successful businessman, early in the summer and he later won the Arizona GOP primary in August.
The race remained under the national spotlight since the primaries as Republicans highly anticipated winning the seat, as it was one of the best pickup opportunities for them to do so.
A Republican victory would have secured them 50 seats in the U.S. Senate, one seat away with two remaining, of a majority.
