EXCLUSIVE Kari Lake joins Donald Trump for Mar-a-Lago weekend as she weighs Senate run
Kari Lake is still battling to undo her defeat in last year’s race to become governor of Arizona, but in recent days she has given her clearest indication yet that she is moving on, building her national profile and weighing up a run for the U.S. Senate.
She spent the weekend at Donald Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, where she will address a border crisis fundraiser on Tuesday night.
And in a podcast with Kimberly Guilfoyle, she revealed that she has written a book that will be published in a few months.
It’s because a new poll shows she’d dominate the Republican primary field if she threw her hat in for the Arizona Senate race.
Video obtained by DailyMail.com shows her being greeted by Trump and cheering from supporters over a busy weekend as she underlined her credentials as one of the MAGA world’s biggest stars.
Photos obtained by DailyMail.com show Kari Lake being greeted by former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago this weekend as she plots her next move
Photos show her soaking up the Florida sun on a yacht owned by socialite Kim Glaser as she chats with Caitlyn Jenner and former child star Ricky Schroder.
At Mar-a-Lago, she posed fists up with mixed martial arts fighter Colby Covington.
Her close ties and warm relationship with Trump have led to speculation that she is one of the contenders to be his vice presidential choice.
But she downplayed that notion in an interview with Guilfoyle, insisting that her focus remained on challenging the outcome of last year’s gubernatorial defeat and on the Senate.
“Once it goes through the courts I’ll make my next move and hopefully my next move is moving into the governor’s office,” she said Monday.
“But if for some reason it’s that far, then I’ll definitely watch the Senate race.
“I saw a poll today showing that no one can be the only one who can win who can beat me to the US Senate seat in Arizona, and that would be President Trump. And we know he’s running for president.”
Lake chatted with Caitlyn Jenner in the Florida sun over the weekend, in between fundraising events at Mar-a-Lago. Lake plots her next move
Lake was a guest of socialite Kimberly Glaser aboard the Sea Tabby yacht
Lake is building her national profile, appearing in Iowa and at major conservative conferences, sparking speculation she could be Trump’s VP pick
Lake poses with mixed martial
A poll released Monday by JL Partners showed that Lake would win 38 percent of the vote in the Arizona Senate GOP primary among registered Republican and undeclared voters.
It makes her the clear front runner in the hypothetical race.
She is followed by Karrin Taylor Robson, defeated by Lake for the 2022 gubernatorial nomination, at 10 percent, Lake ally Sheriff Mark Lamb, at eight percent, and 2022 nominee Blake Masters at seven percent.
“It’s too early to talk about VP picks,” said a GOP strategist, who asked for anonymity to talk freely about the game.
“But Kari Lake has spent the past year developing a rock star profile in the MAGA world and it’s clear she would start out as the clear favorite if she decided to go after the Senate nomination.”
Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s seat is up for re-election next year.
Lake with former child star Ricky Schroder, who rose to fame early in life in the 1979 movie ‘The Champ’ before appearing on TV shows like NYPD Blue and 24
Lake was speaking at an event for Make 22 Zero Again, which is dedicated to reducing suicides among military veterans, which some estimates suggest are 22 every day
Trump with actor Kevin Sorbo at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend for a suicide reduction event among military veterans
Lake has already started building from Arizona with a national profile. She spoke to Republicans in Iowa earlier this month — at a time when the state is criss-crossed by likely 2024 presidential candidates.
And then there’s the previously unannounced book, due out in late June or early July.
The book, which will be published by Winning Team, which has published books by Trump, had been kept secret. And Lake seemed surprised when Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancé, brought it up during the podcast.
“And you worked very hard. I mean it’s that good. She’s been here in the house working on it and reading aloud the stuff that she writes, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God,'” Guilfoyle said.
“It will work out,” Lake said.
Over the weekend, she spoke at a fundraiser for Make 22 Zero Again, a charity dedicated to reducing suicides among military veterans.
“That event was so beautiful last night,” she told Guilfoyle.
“I mean, there were several times when I burst into tears and thought of the unbelievable.”
And on Tuesday she will be a guest at a ‘Border 911’ dinner organized by the America Project. Trump and Tom Homan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will also speak.