Marc Victor, the Libertarian candidate running for Arizona Senate, dropped out of the race Tuesday and endorsed Republican Blake Masters, offering the GOP nominee a key "lift heading into the final week" of the 2022 midterms, The New York Times reports.
The backing from Victor "is another major boost of momentum as we consolidate our support," Masters, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D), told the Times.
"I've said from the very beginning that the reason I'm running for Senate is to promote and get us in the direction of freedom and peace and civility," Victor said in a YouTube video detailing his endorsement, per Fox News. Masters "really is — in his heart and in his mind — he's in favor of doing everything he can to get us very sternly, very smartly in the direction of 'live and let live.' And that seems like a good tradeoff to me."
Masters and Victor spoke on the phone for roughly 20 minutes on Monday. Victor had notably "made such a conversation a precondition to quitting, technically offering such an opportunity both to [Masters] and to [Kelly]," the Times writes. The Libertarian candidate was polling at just 1 percent, according to the most recent New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday.
Early voting is already underway in Arizona, where Kelly is currently leading Masters by 3 points, per FiveThirtyEight's updating polling average.