Blake Masters, a Republican hopeful representing the 8th district of Arizona in Congress, has come out in defense of controversial comments by fellow republican J.D. Vance concerning political leaders having children. Masters believes that “political leaders should have children” and they “should at least be married.” Masters was a mentee of the billionaire investor Peter Thiel.
Blake Masters’ background
Blake Masters is an entrepreneur/investor aged 36, who has never held any political office. Masters lost his bid for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and now is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Masters was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and touts himself as Arizona’s “true MAGA—Make America Great Again—candidate.”
Masters founded Judicata, a software start-up working on legal research, and was a coauthor of the bestselling business book “Zero to One” with Peter Thiel. He served as president of the Thiel Foundation and as a member of Trump’s transition team.
Masters’ defense of Vance’s remarks
Masters recently took to X (formerly Twitter) in agreement with comments by J.D. Vance on political leaders having children. Vance, the GOP vice-presidential nominee who had called Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, “childless cat ladies,” made the comments.
Masters opines, “Of course they at least should be married. If you’re not running, or can’t run a household of your own, how can you relate to a constituency of families or govern wisely with respect to future generations? Skin in the game matters.”
He also slung the same criticism at his political opponent, Abe Hamadeh, touting his “wonderful wife and four beautiful boys” and saying, “That’s called skin in the game. What we don’t need is somebody with no wife and kids.”
Reaction and criticism
Some have slammed Vance’s comments and Masters’ endorsement of them as a sexist, archaic view of leadership. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat and vice-presidential prospect, described Vance’s original comments as “utterly ridiculous and obnoxious and wrong.”
Kelly was troubled by Vance’s fitness for office, not least because of his stance on abortion rights, saying he claimed that “two wrongs don’t make a right” when talking about women who have been raped or are pregnant due to incest.
Masters’ campaign themes
The centerpieces of Masters’ campaign have included securing the U.S.-Mexico border, stopping inflation, and battling crime. He has been endorsed by the Border Patrol Council and the Arizona Police Association.
Masters has used very strong language in the past against abortion, calling it “demonic,” and has sponsored legislation at the federal level that would treat fetuses as people. During a recent debate, he claimed that each state should have its own laws on the matter but said he could support some federal limits on abortion, including its prohibition after 15 weeks gestation.
On the other hand, Blake Masters has managed to breathe a new wave of life into his campaign to become a Congressman in the 8th district of Arizona by defending J.D. Vance’s remarks that political leaders should have children. Business and investment career experience background, Masters is a first-time candidate who touts himself as an outsider in politics who can put fresh eyes on the problems plaguing Arizona and the country.
