Kari Lake is taking on Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and neuroscientist Elizabeth Reye in the race to replace Independent Kyrsten Sinema, who announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection. The winner will face off in the general election against Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who is running unopposed. Stay with LiveNOW for full coverage after the polls close.
For the second time in as many years, Kari Lake’s name will appear on the Arizona ballot, as she wins the Republican nomination for Arizona’s open Senate seat.
Lake, who ran to succeed Republican Doug Ducey as Arizona’s governor in 2022 and lost, defeated Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and other GOP candidates for the nomination.
In her victory speech in Phoenix, Lake struck a tone of appealing to her base, while also trying to appeal to some moderates and independents, a block political experts believe she will have challenges winning over.
“This is not a battle between Democrats and Republicans. This is a battle between good and evil,” said Lake. “This is a battle between the people who want to destroy this country, and the people whoi want to save America.”
At the time she ran for governor against Democrat Katie Hobbs, the Associated Press characterized Lake as an ally of Donald Trump.
During that campaign, she ran as a fierce critic of the mainstream media, which she said is unfair to Republicans. She earned Trump’s admiration for her staunch commitment to questioning the results of the 2020 election, a stand she never wavered from even after winning the GOP primary.
The AP also reported that Lake was considered to be a potential running mate for Trump, but Trump ultimately selected JD Vance as his running mate in this year’s election.
Since losing the gubernatorial race, Lake filed, and lost multiple election-related lawsuits. She also was sued for defamation by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican official who says he has faced death threats because she lied about how he conducted the election.
In March, Lake asked a judge to jump directly to the damages phase of Richer’s lawsuit. The extraordinarily rare request for a default judgment seeks to bypass the opportunity to argue her statements were true or weren’t defamatory.
At the time Lake launched her Senate campaign, incumbent independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema had yet to announce any decisions on her political future, and National Republican leaders believed at the time a GOP candidate could take advantage of what could be a three-way race.
Since Lake entered the race, Sinema announced her decision to not seek re-election. The AP reported that most analysts agreed Sinema had faced significant, likely insurmountable hurdles if she had decided to run.
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