Kari Lake Officially Launches Bid To Run for Senate in Arizona

(Photo : Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Republican Kari Lake's announcement of her bid for U.S. Senate in Arizona was met with various reactions from both colleagues and opposition lawmakers.

Conservative firebrand and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake officially launched her bid for the US Senate in Arizona for the 2024 races.

In her announcement, the Republican lawmaker said she would not retreat and would stand with every American. Her remarks were made to a crowd in Scottsdale, Arizona, as they cheered Lake, a longtime former television anchor turned MAGA champion. She also narrowly lost her race to become Arizona's governor last year.

Kari Lake for Senate

This will pit Lake off with Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the only other major candidate in the race for the GOP nomination. The winner between the two will likely face off against Phoenix-area Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego, who many see as the front-runner for his party's nomination.

On the other hand, incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party to become an independent lawmaker last year, has not yet said if she plans to run for re-election. As per Fox News, Lake spent several months in the lead-up to her announcement boosting her national profile by hitting the pavement as a top surrogate for former United States President Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

In the last three months, the conservative traveled to 14 states to headline events and address Republican organizations at the state and county levels. She has even expressed her support for candidates in other Senate races.

Following Lake's announcement to join the US Senate race in Arizona, Lamb said he was the "only one proven conservative winner" running for Senate in the state. He added that he is a lifelong conservative who dedicated his life to protecting the state's people and keeping them safe when Democratic policies make it harder to do so.

Facing Off Against Other Candidates

Lamb noted that what separates him from his opponents is that he is not a talker but a doer, which makes him win elections. On the other hand, Gallego's campaign reacted to Lake's announcement by predicting that voters would reject her again. This referenced the conservative's loss to current Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

During her speech announcing her bid, Lake tossed a pre-taped video of Trump, who said he was endorsing the conservative firebrand. The Republican also supported the former president's false claims about extensive fraud in the 2020 presidential election, according to CNN.

On top of that, Lake claimed she won the gubernatorial race against Hobbs last year. Since her loss, the conservative has lost a series of legal challenges that sought to overturn the election result, in which she was down by more than 17,000 votes.

Lake is now courting support from Republicans she previously insulted as she tries out new messages amid her bid for US Senate in Arizona. She is also not backtracking on the qualities that made her a star on the far right: her combativeness with perceived enemies, her loyalty to Trump, and her willingness to defend his election lies said Yahoo News.