Far-right firebrand and Donald Trump favorite Kari Lake has won the Arizona Republican Senate primary.
The Associated Press projected the race at 8:44 p.m. Arizona time on Tuesday night. Lake rose to prominence as a candidate for governor in 2022 when she refused to concede the race to her Democratic challenger, Katie Hobbs.
After securing a primary victory, she will face Democratic U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego for a Senate seat vacated by independent centrist Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
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Lake, endorsed by Trump, was widely favored to win the primary against Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff. Lamb, who has far less name recognition and campaign funding than Lake, won about 40 percent of the vote Tuesday night — a potential sign of general election trouble for Lake, which has alienated the more moderate voters needed to win statewide in Arizona.
His contest, along with several key electoral contests, is considered an indicator of the relative strength of the Maga movement in a swing state that has been plagued by electoral chaos provoked by a far-right flank pushing false claims about voter fraud.
Lake, a former news anchor who rose to prominence on the national stage by becoming one of the most ardent and telegenic faces of election denialism, once carried a sledgehammer on stage and told supporters she would use it on voting machines.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee quickly released an ad against Lake, where she talks about how abortion pills should be illegal and labels her as a “power-hungry liar who only cares about herself.” Galician tweeted: “It’s official – my opponent is Kari Lake. Arizona, the choice is clear: Kari wants to ban abortion. I will always protect the right to abortion.”
Election forecasters Sabato’s Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report classify the race as leaning Democratic, citing Lake’s election denialism and belief in abortion restrictions as factors moving the race toward the Democrats. The vote on the confrontation between Gallego and Lake was usually shown Gallego climbed a few points above the Lake.
Race is key nationally to balance of power in US Senate – Democrats I need to keep it under his control to maintain a 51-49 majority in the House. It’s one of the few close races nationwide that is expected to receive massive funding and attention as November approaches.
Far-right election deniers have starred in several other key Republican primary contests. Abe Hamadeh, who has repeatedly tried to overturn his defeat in the 2022 attorney general election and spread conspiracy theories about election security, is leading a crowded Republican primary in the state’s deep-red Eighth Congressional District, where Trump made the rare move to endorse two candidates, including Hamadeh.
His Republican rivals included venture capitalist Blake Masters, who Trump supported at the last minute, as well as state senator and fake voter Anthony Kern, Ben Toma, the speaker of the Arizona House; Trent Franks, who resigned from Congress after staffers alleged he asked them to serve as a surrogate for him; and political newcomer Pat Briody.
Meanwhile, Mark Finchem, who has not yet come to terms with losing his candidacy for Secretary of State in 2022, is leading the race against relatively moderate Republican Ken Bennett for a state Senate seat.
In Arizona’s Maricopa County — which includes Phoenix — election deniers jockeyed for positions that could give them oversight in future elections. Early results show a mixed bag of county officials advocating for the election.
Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder who became a nationally known voice defending elections and sued Lake for defamation over election falsehoods, was late in his re-election race Tuesday night. He’s falling behind Justin Heap, a state representative who won’t say whether he believes the 2020 or 2022 elections were stolen but has called the Maricopa County elections a “laughing stock” and supported accounts which resulted from electoral conspiracies. Another challenger, Don Hiatt, he said the 2020 election was stolen and wants to restrict access to voting and is in third place.
Debbie Lesko, an outgoing Republican congresswoman who is endorsed by Trump and voted to overturn election results on January 6, 2021, has a strong lead in the primary to join the county Board of Supervisors over another election denier, Bob Branch, a professor at the Christian college Grand Canyon University.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Recorders played a crucial role in 2020, facing pressure from Trump and his allies in their scheme to overturn the results of that year’s presidential election.
The recorder and many board members have faced ongoing threats, some of which have been prosecuted and led to prison sentences. Pressure remained intense ahead of this year’s elections, with errors such as printing problems in the 2022 elections adding fuel to right-wing conspiracies.
Amid the threats and harassment, two supervisors, Bill Gates and Clint Hickman, decided not to run for re-election.
For Gates’ seat, moderate former state legislator Kate Brophy McGee is far ahead in the primary against Tabatha LaVoie, who said on her campaign website that she wanted to restore voter confidence because: “Our county cannot continue to raise questions about the integrity of our elections.”
Jack Sellers, currently chairman of the board, is far behind Mark Stewart, currently a board member in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. Stewart I’m not telling whether he would have certified results in 2020 or 2022 and claims he will restore confidence in municipal elections.
Thomas Galvin, who was not on the council in 2020 but has championed municipal elections since taking office after defeating election-denying candidates in 2022, is fending off a challenge from Michelle Ugenti-Rita, a former state legislator and candidate endorsed by Lake who promised to “fight for election integrity” and “take Maricopa County out of the system.”
On the Democratic side, former state senator Raquel Terán is trailing in the primary for Arizona’s third district, for the seat that will be vacated by Gallego. A longtime organizer against anti-immigration laws in the state, Téran has focused her campaign on protecting the right to abortion. Her main rival, former Phoenix councilman Yassamin Ansari, has raised more funds and secured several key labor endorsements, and is in the lead as of Tuesday night.
And in what is likely his last unsuccessful bid for office, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, famous for his harsh immigration regime, was defeated in a race for local chairman to lead the Phoenix suburb of Fountain Hills. Arpaio, 92, was recently kissed on the cheek by Trump at a rally in Arizona. In his candidacy for mayor, one of his main ideas was to transform the city’s fountain of the same name. go higher.
