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 for Democrat Rubén Gallego, a congressman from Arizona, on Monday after Trump officially flipped the state two days early to sweep all seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election.
In addition to a notable victory to take back the White House, Republicans also flipped the Senate and the party is on track to retain its majority in the House.
But Lake was unable to increase the new Republican Senate majority as he attempted to capture outgoing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
He faced a tough opponent: Rep. Gallego (D-Ariz.), whose The victory was crucial for democrats who lost their majority in the Senate and hoped not to allow the Republicans to widen the gap further.
The former television news anchor lost much of her pro-MAGA political momentum after being defeated in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election against Katie Hobbs.
Kari Lake lost her bid to represent Arizona in the US Senate
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And even before Election Day, Lake was consistently trailing Gallego in nearly every reputable poll.
Lake, a fierce MAGA favorite and a pro-Trump voice in Arizona, often appeared alongside him in the 2022 election cycle and helped fuel his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. He harshly criticized Democratic leadership in Arizona, falsely claiming that he allowed the election to be “stolen” from Joe Biden.
This cycle, Trump campaigned with Lake and had fully endorsed her in the Senate race, even while running in a primary against Mark Lamb, whom he defeated by 15.7 percent.
Lake is also a staunch border hawk and joined the growing chorus of voices saying the southern immigration crisis is the biggest problem facing the country.
Arizona, one of three states with a southern land border, is one of the areas most affected by the flow of illegal immigrants emerging over the divide between the United States and Mexico.
In the 2022 gubernatorial race, Lake lost to Hobbs by just 0.7 percent, making it one of the closest races in the midterm cycle.
Rep. Rubén Gallego (D-Ariz.) cruised to victory Tuesday night to replace outgoing independent Sen. Krysten Sinema in the upper chamber.
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Trump and Lake hug and kiss each other on the cheek 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 Phoenix television station KSAZ-TV from 1999 to 2021, resigning shortly before announcing her candidacy for governor.
He easily won the Republican nomination with the endorsement of former President Trump.
But his campaign was mired in controversy, including promoting false claims that Trump won the 2020 presidential election and calling for the imprisonment of those who accepted his defeat.
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Lake’s run for office first generated controversy in the 2022 gubernatorial election after she emerged as an early and vocal opponent of the 2020 presidential election results.
Sinema’s Arizona Senate seat was up for grabs after she decided not to run for re-election after her only term there and three terms in the House.
She was first elected as a Democrat, but in December 2022 she ran again as an independent, contributing to a shrinking Democratic majority in the upper house.
Gallego will now join Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in Arizona’s delegation to the U.S. Senate.
