Masters, Blake 1986-

Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist and former political candidate. Often regarded as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel, Masters co-wrote Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future with Thiel in 2014, based on notes Masters had taken at Stanford Law School in 2012. He later served as chief operating officer (COO) of Thiel's investment firm, Thiel Capital, as well as president of the Thiel Foundation. In the 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona, Masters defeated state Attorney General Mark Brnovich and businessman Jim Lamon to become the Republican Party nominee. He aligned himself with Thiel, who funded his primary campaign with $15 million, and Donald Trump, both of whom endorsed him in June 2022. Masters lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly. Masters received the fewest votes among all statewide Republican candidates in the 2022 Arizona elections. The Washington Post called him one of the "worst candidates of the 2022 election." Masters ran for the U.S. House in 2024 for Arizona's 8th congressional district. He lost the Republican primary to Abraham Hamadeh, coming in second.