(The Center Square)– Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake announced her bid for United States Senate on Tuesday.
Lake officially filed last week after months of speculation, and her repeatedly saying that she was considering a bid for the seat currently held by Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
“I will stop the push toward communism and I will be the most pro-America senator in the entire country. And the only way to fix our problems is with America-First policies,” Lake said at a rally in north Scottsdale.
It’s unclear if Sinema will enter the race, but Democrat Congressman Ruben Gallego is the presumptive nominee for his party’s nomination. Gallego and Lake got into a spat at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport last week, where their discussion of issues like the border crisis was captured on video, according to The Daily Caller. Gallego posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that Lake was on his flight back from Washington D.C. and invited her to talk.
While the Republican has been waiting to launch, she’s been serving as an official surrogate for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, as well as pursuing legal actions related to her 2022 loss in Arizona.
As for other Republican challengers to Lake, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb entered the race in April. Lamb endorsed and campaigned for Lake when she ran for governor last year.
State Democrats are already preparing for a general election battle against the Trump-aligned Republican, including the launch of an X account dubbed “The Lake Tapes” on Monday by the party. The account describes its purpose as “rolling the tapes on Kari Lake’s record.”
“Arizonans know Kari Lake has dangerous views like banning abortion without exceptions, ending Medicare and Social Security, and pushing a host of fringe conspiracy theories,” Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano said in a statement Tuesday morning. “Lake’s Senate candidacy is Republicans’ worst nightmare – voters of every political persuasion have rejected her before and will do so again.”
Early polling indicates a tight race, regardless of whether it’s two- or three-way, but does show that Lake has a viable path to victory. A National Research Inc. poll among 400 likely voters has Lake leading with 37%, compared to 33% for Gallego and 19% for Sinema, according to The Washington Examiner. However, Gallego and Lake are tied at 44% in a one-on-one matchup.
A Nobel Predictive Insights poll paints a better picture for Gallego and Sinema as of July, with Gallego leading at 34%, Sinema in second at 26% and Lake in third at 25%. The poll was taken among 1,000 Arizona registered voters. In addition, the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling released a poll of 522 likely voters Tuesday showing Gallego at 41%, Lake at 36%, and Sinema at 15%, The Hill reported.
The primary election for both parties is Aug. 6, 2024.
