[1] Having joined the Liberal Party in 1984, Masters first stood for parliament at the 1987 federal election, unsuccessfully contesting the Division of Brand against Labor's Wendy Fatin.
He also ran at the 1990 federal election, standing in the unwinnable fourth position on the Liberal Party's Senate ticket in Western Australia.
Masters was subsequently included in the new shadow cabinet formed by Colin Barnett, who had replaced Richard Court as Liberal leader after the election loss.
[2] Masters resigned from the Liberal Party in February 2004 after losing preselection for the 2005 state election to Troy Buswell, and thereafter sat as an independent.
[1] Masters reprised his candidacy against Buswell at the 2013 state election, but polled just 8.0 percent on first preferences and failed to make the 2CP count.