Arizonans have chosen Kari Lake, an election denying ally of former President Donald Trump, as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in a race that could determine control of the chamber this fall, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
With results from early voting reported, Lake led with approximately 54% of the GOP primary vote, well more than the roughly 40% held by her rival, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and a distant third challenger, Elizabeth Reye. Lake's margin of victory may change as more votes are counted.
At an election night rally in Phoenix after her race was called, Lake told a crowd of supporters that Arizonans had less than three-and-a-half months to save the country alongside Trump.
“He can’t do this alone,” Lake said. “He needs backup in Washington, D.C.”
Someone in the crowd shouted, “He needs Kari Lake!”
“He needs backup in Washington, D.C. and I’m gonna be his backup!” Lake added.
She’ll face Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who ran unopposed for his party’s nomination to the Senate seat now filled by retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
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Lake has been a MAGA Republican ever since launching her political career with a failed campaign for governor of Arizona in 2022. While running for the Senate, Lake continues to deny her loss to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, and earlier this month filed yet another lawsuit seeking to have the outcome of that gubernatorial race overturned – and have herself instated as governor.
Her persistent election denialism may have helped her receive the support of Trump, who swiftly endorsed Lake when she entered the U.S. Senate race last fall. But it’s considered a weakness by some Arizona Republicans who worry she’ll lose another statewide race this fall to Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran who’s consistently led Lake in polls thus far.
Her shifting position on abortion has also come under fire from Democrats in a state grappling with a ballot measure to enshrine the right to abortion in the Arizona Constitution this fall.
In April, Lake denounced an Arizona Supreme Court ruling reviving a near-total ban on abortion in the state — a law she previously praised as a gubernatorial candidate, when she said she was “thrilled” Arizona would have the ban on the books in the event the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“From now until November, I welcome all Arizonans — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike — to join our team and help defeat Kari Lake and her dangerous plan to ban abortion and hurt Arizonans,” Gallego said in a statement Tuesday night.
Gallego has been a fierce ally of the abortion ballot measure in Arizona, and has vowed to abolish the Senate's filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade.
At times during her victory speech on Tuesday, Lake sought to strike a collaborative tone, calling on “Trump Republicans” and “traditional Republicans” alike to join together to support her.
And she also made overtures to conservatives, independents, Libertarians, and even “disaffected Democrats.”
“Who is ready to save this country? This is an all-hands-on-deck moment,” Lake said.
Arizona has become a key swing state in the presidential contest, meaning even primary races have attracted high-profile endorsements and attention. The state helped President Biden clinch his win in 2020, and Democrats swept key statewide races, including the U.S. Senate seat that Masters lost, in 2022.
But Republicans now hold nearly a 260,000-person advantage among registered voters, and hope to use that to reclaim the state for Trump.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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