Blake Masters: Joe Biden, Mark Kelly ‘Like Business Partners’ with Cartels

Blake Masters, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Arizona, said at a press conference on Friday that his opponent, Sen. Mark Kelly, and President Joe Biden have “surrendered our southern border” to the “Mexican narcoterrorist drug organizations,” going so far as to say that the two Democrats are “like business partners” with the cartels.

Appearing alongside Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Masters attributed the crisis at the southern border — and the resulting influx of drugs — to policies advanced by Biden and Kelly, saying:

This isn’t some abstract crisis. This isn’t some act of God. This came from Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s White House. Mark Kelly has done more than anyone to help Joe Biden… [Biden] signed an order canceling the border wall. He rescinded all the successful policies that were helping our local law enforcement, that were helping our border patrol and our ICE agents, do their jobs — like remain in Mexico — got rid of it.

Joe Biden and Mark Kelly surrendered our southern border, our sovereignty. They gave it right over to the Mexican narcoterrorist drug organizations. They’re like business partners.

Discussing the impact of these policies, Masters noted that under President Donald Trump, the cartels were making approximately $500 million a year through human trafficking, a figure that has now risen to about $13 billion.

Masters went on to speculate, “if the Mexican drug terrorists — if the cartel members — could vote in this U.S. Senate election, 100% of them would vote for Mark Kelly.”

.@bgmasters: “Joe Biden and Mark Kelly surrendered our southern border, our sovereignty; they gave it right over to the Mexican narco-terrorist drug organizations. They’re like business partners.” pic.twitter.com/GmSszxU78r

— Blake Masters for U.S. Senate Press (@MastersPress) November 4, 2022

These remarks come just days after Masters dubbed his opponent, “Cartel Kelly,” as the incumbent senator’s role in the Biden administration’s border policies has become an important theme in the closing days of the race.

Over the last week, multiple polls have found that Masters and Kelly are neck and neck, with a Philips Academy poll released Tuesday indicating that the two candidates are tied as Arizona voters prepare to head to the polls.

You can follow Michael Foster on Twitter at @realmfoster.