MAGA darling Kari Lake failed to secure a victory in her second bid for public office in Arizona, despite Donald Trump winning the swing state.
The race was called Monday after Trump for Democrat Ruben Gallego, a congressman from Arizona two days earlier officially flipped the state to sweep all seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election.
In addition to a remarkable victory to regain the White House, the Republicans also turned the Senate red and the party is well on its way to retaining its majority in the House.
But Lake failed to expand the new Republican Senate majority as she tried to win the open U.S. Senate seat of retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
She faced a tough opponent in Rep. Gallego (D-Ariz.). victory was crucial for Democrats who lost their majority in the Senate and hoped that Republicans would not widen the gap even further.
The former television news anchor lost much of her pro-MAGA political momentum after she was defeated by Katie Hobbs in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.
Kari Lake lost her bid to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate
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And even before Election Day, Lake consistently trailed Gallego in almost every reputable poll.
Lake, a fierce MAGA darling and pro-Trump voice in Arizona, often appeared alongside him during the 2022 election cycle and helped publicize his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. She denounced Democratic leadership in Arizona, falsely claiming it allowed the election to be “stolen” for Joe Biden.
This cycle, Trump campaigned with Lake and fully endorsed her in the Senate race — even as she ran in a primary against Mark Lamb, whom she defeated by 15.7 percent.
Lake is also a staunch border hawk, joining the growing chorus of voices claiming that the Southern migrant crisis is the biggest problem facing the country.
Arizona, one of three southern land border states, is among the areas hardest hit by the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico divide.
In the 2022 gubernatorial race, Lake lost just 0.7 percent to Hobbs, making it one of the closest races in the midterm cycle.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) emerged victorious on Tuesday evening, replacing outgoing independent Senator Krysten Sinema in the Senate
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Trump and Lake embrace and share a cheek kiss while campaigning together at a rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona on October 13, 2024
Lake began her media career in the early 1990s and was an anchor for television station KSAZ-TV in Phoenix from 1999 to 2021. She resigned shortly before announcing her gubernatorial bid.
She easily won the Republican nomination with the support of former President Trump.
But her campaign was mired in controversy, including promoting false claims that Trump won the 2020 presidential election and calling for the jailing of those who accepted his defeat.
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Lake’s candidacy for office first encountered controversy in the 2022 election for governor, after she emerged as an early and vocal opponent of the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Sinema’s seat in the Arizona Senate was up for grabs after she decided not to seek re-election after her only term there and three terms in the House of Representatives.
She was first elected as a Democrat, but became independent in December 2022, contributing to a declining Democratic majority in the Senate.
Gallego will now join Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in Arizona’s delegation to the U.S. Senate.