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Kari Lake wins Arizona Senate primary, teeing up showdown with Gallego

Kari Lake wins Arizona Senate primary, teeing up showdown with Gallego

Decision Desk projects that Kari Lake will win the Republican Senate nomination. Lake had a 12% advantage over her main rival, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, as of 8:15 p.m. Lake will now face Arizona congressman Ruben Gallego in the November election. Gallego faced no opposition from Democrats.

Kari Lake posted on her X, “Arizona, 

I stand before you today to officially accept your nomination as the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from the great state of Arizona!”

Lake is running for office in a statewide election for the second time. She ran against Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in 2022 but was unsuccessful. She challenged the election’s legitimacy in court after losing, citing Maricopa County’s use of “unreliable” computerized voting machines as one of the main reasons.

“Kari Lake has won the primary with great command tonight,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines stated. “To defeat one of the nation’s most radical Democrats, Ruben Gallego, Arizonans must band together. Along with Kamala Harris, Ruben Gallego plans to defund the police, eliminate ICE, and enact more careless spending that would raise costs. President Trump and Kari Lake will collaborate to protect the border, reduce crime, and lower costs.

Gallego attacked Lake over reproductive rights in a statement she published after winning her primary on Tuesday night.

“Arizonans across the state have made it clear in the 554 days since we started this campaign that they want a U.S. Senator who can unite people to defend abortion rights, lower costs for families, safeguard our future water supply, and care for our veterans—and that’s precisely what I intend to do,” Gallego stated.

“I invite all Arizonans, Democratic and Republican, to join our team and help defeat Kari Lake and her dangerous plan to ban abortion and harm Arizonans from now until November.”

Lake, a former local news anchor as well, has consistently denied the election result, even after several judicial challenges were dismissed. With mixed results, the fiery conservative has attempted to win over moderate Republicans and doubters that she alienated during the previous round.

Gallego, on the other hand, has made an effort to renounce his leftist credentials, even letting his Congressional Leftist Caucus membership lapse. According to a compilation of Decision Desk HQ’s Arizona Senate polls, Gallego leads Lake 47 percent to 43 percent.