Kari Lake Wins Senate GOP Primary In Arizona

Kari Lake emerged victorious on Wednesday in her bid to become the GOP nominee in Arizona‘s 2024 U.S. Senate race.

Multiple news outlets declared Lake the winner over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and neuroscientist Elizabeth Reye.

With nearly 80% of the votes counted, Lake led with 340,213 votes or 55.4%. Lamb received 240,877 votes or 39.2%. And Reye got 33,287 votes or 5.4%.

“This isn’t about right or left. This is about what’s right for America and what’s wrong,” Lake said in a post to X. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment to save this country.”

She added, “So, I invite everyone, conservatives, independents, libertarians, and Democrats to join our movement. We welcome you with open arms.”

Lake is poised to face off against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who secured the Democratic Party’s nomination in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race while running unopposed.

The candidates are vying for the seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who opted not to run for re-election this year.

Lake is a former journalist who ran to become Arizona’s governor in 2022 against Democrat Katie Hobbs while making election integrity a top priority of her campaign.

After Hobbs won the gubernatorial contest, Lake took legal action over alleged problems in the race and ultimately did not prevail.

In her 2024 Senate bid, Lake raised $10.3 million through the end of June, while Lamb collected $2 million, according to the Associated Press.

Lake had the backing of former President Donald Trump, who is running another campaign for the White House this year.

“She’s fantastic. She will not let us down. Kari Lake, I just think she’s going to be as good as you can get. There’s nobody going to be better,” Trump reportedly said of Lake in a telephone rally on Monday.

The election will determine which party controls both chambers of Congress. At the moment, Democrats lead the Senate.

Gallego is already pushing abortion as a wedge issue in the Arizona Senate race, while Lake presses for “America First” policies on issues such as immigration and the economy.

The Cook Political Report noted in a post to X that Lake won the GOP primary “by a smaller margin than expected” while assessing that “Lake remains a slight underdog” against Gallego and rating the contest “Lean Democrat.”