July 31 (UPI) — Republican Kari Lake won the Arizona GOP U.S. Senate primary to face Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego in November.
Lake, a former Phoenix TV local news anchor who launched a failed run for governor in 2022, won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump as she won 55.4% of the vote, beating out Mark Lamb and Elizabeth Jean Rya to serve as the Republican candidate to fill the seat set to be left vacant by departing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
After her primary win Lake called Trump “bulletproof” and said he’s a hero as she thanked him for his endorsement.
Republican National Committee Chairman Steve Daines congratulated Lake on her win and called on Arizonans to defeat Gallego.
“Kari Lake will work with President Trump to secure the border, get crime under control, and bring down prices,” Gaines said.
Gallego said he welcomed all Arizonans whether they’re Democrats, Republicans or independents “to join our team and help defeat Kari Lake and her dangerous plan to ban abortion and hurt Arizonans.”
“In the 554 days since we launched this campaign, Arizonans in every corner of the state have made clear that they want a U.S. Senator who can bring people together to defend abortion rights, cut costs for families, protect our water future, and take care of our veterans – and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” he said.
Lake falsely alleged fraud in her 2022 gubernatorial election loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs.
Arizona’s Supreme Court fined Lake’s lawyers for repeated false statements about the election, including a lie that claimed 35,563 ballots were wrongly added to the vote count.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court opted not to hear a case brought by Lake alleging electronic voting machines are vulnerable to hacking.
That let a 9th U.S. Court of Appeals ruling stand that dismissed Lake’s allegations about the voting machines.
In June 2023 Maricopa County‘s top election official sued Lake for defamation, accusing her of spreading false claims that he intentionally sabotaged her election in the governor’s race.
Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sued Lake and her political action committees Kari Lake for Arizona and Save Arizona Fund for damages.
Arizona is an election battleground state and the U.S. Senate race there is one of the key races that will help determine whether Democrats retain their slim Senate majority.
According to the Cook Political Report, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Senate races currently lean Democratic while Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio are currently toss-ups.