Kari Lake was declared winner of the Arizona Republican Senate primary Tuesday, setting her up to face Democrat Ruben Gallego in November.
Lake defeated her opponent, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, after receiving the endorsement of former President Donald Trump earlier this year. Lake campaigned for Trump across the country in the early months of the Republican presidential primary before pivoting to focus on the Arizona Senate race.
Lake and Gallego are running to replace Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who ran as a Democrat but switched to become an independent senator midway through her term.
Lake previously ran for governor in 2022, losing to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, and had been floated as a potential running mate for Trump before deciding to run for Senate. After losing to Hobbs, Lake refused to concede, filing several unsuccessful lawsuits in an attempt to overturn the results.
But Lake, a former TV news anchor in Phoenix, is no longer talking about her gubernatorial run, instead focusing on her race against Gallego.
At her election night victory party, Lake said she would be a “backup” in the Senate for Trump, if he wins reelection in November. She also criticized Gallego, a U.S. representative, who she said has a “destructive voting record that is destroying Arizona,” according to The New York Times.
Arizona is considered a swing state, and voters there could determine the outcome of both the presidential race and control of the Senate in November.
