Former Arizona gubnatorial candidate Kari Lake has revealed her plans to officially enter the race for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Az.) Senate seat next month, as the former news anchor confirmed to The Wall Street Journal.
This announcement is poised to ignite a hotly contested campaign, likely making it one of the most closely watched races of the upcoming 2024 election.
In her interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Sept. 28, Ms. Lake, a prominent conservative figure since the 2022 election, announced her plans to officially kickstart her next political campaign.
“We need to get a senator in there who is going to fight back and put America first,” Ms. Lake said in her interview.
Ms. Lake also posted a video on Sept. 26 to her social media account on X, formerly Twitter, showing clips of newscasts and interviews with speculation that she would mount a campaign, saying followers should “stay tuned.”
Despite her previous loss in the 2022 gubernatorial race, Ms. Lake remains steadfast in contesting the election results. She revealed that her campaign will commence with a highly anticipated rally scheduled for Oct. 10.
In the upcoming race, it appears that we can expect a three-way competition between Republican candidate Ms. Lake, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and Ms. Sinema, who has recently declared herself as an independent.
In a pivotal race that could potentially shift the balance of power in the United States Senate, the outcome of the seat is set to determine which political party gains control.
Ms. Lake, who narrowly lost last year’s Arizona governor’s election to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), has maintained that election fraud played a part in her loss.
Blake Masters (R), a former candidate for the Senate in Arizona, was reportedly preparing for another run in the Grand Canyon State, though he has not yet made an official announcement.
“Ruben Gallego and Kyrsten Sinema are rubber stamps for Joe Biden and his radical agenda. It’s time Arizona has a true conservative fighter in the U.S. Senate. The people of Arizona want Kari Lake to stay in this fight and are calling on her to run and she’s very likely to answer that call,” Ms. Lake senior adviser Caroline Wren told The Hill.
In the past year, Ms. Lake has toured the country to raise money for lawsuits regarding her gubernatorial race. The former candidate has also published a book, and served as an official surrogate for President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
She also recently canvassed for the former president in Iowa and served as a surrogate at Wednesday’s Republican debate.
She has been mentioned as a possible running mate for the former president, but she may be a less probable choice if she is the Republican nominee in a crucial Senate race.
Ms. Lake did not respond to the question of what she would do if President Trump offered her the vice presidential nomination.
Even national Republicans who initially expressed skepticism about a potential run by Ms. Lake have largely come to accept that she will likely be the party’s nominee, as Republicans look for an opportunity for their party to pick up more Senate seats.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not committed to spending national campaign funds in the state, and those close to him say they would require Ms. Lake to demonstrate she is capable of running a competitive race before doing so.
The former gubernatorial candidate stated during her interview that she hopes to meet Mr. McConnell shortly and that she would vote for him if he were the leading Republican candidate for party leader.
Next week, during a trip to Washington, D.C., she plans to meet with Republicans from across the ideological spectrum.
Arizona is viewed as a potential pickup opportunity for Republicans, who have a more favorable Senate landscape than Democrats in this election cycle, with Democrats defending a greater number of seats.
Republicans in the state anticipate Ms. Lake to be the Republican nominee if she runs, but a prospective three-way race would be unpredictable.
