EXCLUSIVE: Kari Lake is ‘open’ to challenging Gavin Newsom to a debate to show how his ‘communist’ and ‘disastrous’ policies have sparked 143,000 Californians to flee to Arizona in two years

Republican Kari Lake says she is “open” to challenging California Gov. Gavin Newsom to a debate contrasting his “communist” Democratic policies with the “America First” platform on which she is running for Senate.

“I’m open to that because I want to show how disastrous Democratic policies are,” Lake responded this week during an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

“I mean, this is the guy who almost single-handedly destroyed California. And I know because there are literally tens of thousands of Californians who fled California and moved to Arizona, many of whom voted for me in the last election. And told me they had just upgraded their lives, sold everything and walked away because of Gavin Newsom.”

According to the US Census, Californians are moving to Arizona in large numbers. In 2021, 69,000 Californians moved to Arizona and in 2022, 74,000 moved across state lines.

In 2021, 69,000 Californians moved to Arizona and in 2022, 74,000 moved across state lines

Republican Kari Lake says she’s ‘open’ to challenging California Governor Gavin Newsom to a debate

It also raises the question of whether the vast number of new Arizonans are Democrats who hail from the deep blue state, or conservatives who are moving away from the state’s more progressive policies.

The mass exodus from California could also affect the results of the 2024 election. Arizona was won by Joe Biden against Donald Trump in 2020 by a margin of just 10,000 votes.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to debate him because I think when it comes to the America First policy, and what I would talk about and explain to the American people, versus his communist California policy that those destroyed the state, I think I would win hands down,” continued Lake, a Trump ally.

“And we would wake up some people in the process to come along and vote for America First candidates.”

Newsom’s office did not comment on whether he would consider debating Lake in the future.

The “America First” platform is a campaign slogan that former President Donald Trump used in 2016 and is currently seeking re-election in 2024.

Trump and Lake are close — she told DailyMail.com that the two speak “regularly.”

‘I consider him a good friend. More importantly, I have great admiration for him. I think he has been a really great president, and we really need him right now,” she added.

Lake has made trips to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago in Florida for fundraising events.

Trump is a big fan of the outspoken Republican, and he has already endorsed her race.

“When I get back to the White House, I need strong fighters like Kari in the Senate. She’s a fighter. She is strong and she is good. She has a big heart by the way,” he said in a post on Truth Social last month.

Lake has also been floated as a potential vice presidential running mate for Trump, but she says she is currently focused on winning her race in Arizona.

But her response did not completely rule out her ever joining a future Trump ticket or cabinet.

“I’m going to do what I can to help my country and help Arizona where I’m best served. Right now I think this is the US Senate,” she told DailyMail.com.

The Senate hopeful also said she thinks Democrats are working behind the scenes to find an alternative to Biden because they are “ashamed of him.”

“The politicians in DC – the Democrats – know he can’t get them across the finish line. And I think they’re going to try to maybe find other alternatives to Joe Biden, hoping that someone can win,” she told DailyMail.com.

Newsom is considered a potential future presidential candidate and the Democrat has increased his domestic and international travel.

He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China last month to discuss the climate crisis. He recently traveled to Israel in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas terror attack on innocent civilians on October 7.

The “America First” platform was founded by former President Donald Trump

Donald Trump and Kari Lake have a close working relationship, she says

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Gavin Newsom in China in October

Lake has never held public office herself and was a news anchor for many years before running for governor.

‘I have worked in the media for thirty years. I understand how it works,” she said of Biden’s re-election bid.

Lake suggested it’s doomed because the press is starting to become even more critical of Biden, from whom they normally get “marching orders.”

“But the bottom line is that all of the Democrats’ policies are so disastrous, and I don’t think it matters who they align with.”