Republicans fear 2022 repeat as challengers for Kari Lake remain slim
Rachel Schilke
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Republicans are running out of alternative options to challenge Kari Lake in the Arizona Senate primary, as the party seemingly tries to step away from extreme candidates after a less-than-expected GOP performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
Lake, who lost her gubernatorial race to now Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) in the midterm elections, is mulling a return to national politics by entering the Senate race. As speculation surrounds her impending bid, she has ramped up her attacks against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) but has mostly kept her mudslinging toward Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) to a minimum.
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Republicans are coming to terms with the idea that she may be the party’s front-runner, as strong GOP choices are dwindling and polling shows Lake leading in surveys of primary voters. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has officially launched a GOP campaign for the Senate bid, but Republicans increasingly see few other high-profile candidates likely to wade into the race.
Lake’s primary opponent, Republican Karrin Taylor Robson, announced last month that she would not be running for Senate in 2024. Former Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey declined to run for Senate in 2022 and appears to be maintaining that position for the next cycle.
Former Senate Republican candidate Blake Masters, who lost to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-AZ), is reportedly considering another run. Masters and Lake are two of Trump’s endorsed candidates, offering similar far-right stances on social and political issues. A primary battle between the two of them would likely set up a fiery showdown and make former President Donald Trump choose between his favored candidates.
Like Masters and Lake, many of Trump’s endorsed candidates in the 2022 midterms lost to Democrats in the general election after beating out more centrist Republicans in the primaries.
Similar to Trump’s frequent cries, Lake has long maintained that election fraud deprived her of victory in the recent election. She has challenged the 2022 election results all the way to the Maricopa County Superior Court. The court dealt Lake her final blow with a ruling against her in May. The court determined that Lake did not present enough evidence to prove election interference or tampering.
Despite her legal battle coming to an end, Lake continues to perpetuate claims of election fraud — something Republican strategists believe may cost the GOP in the 2024 election.
“I think most people are facing reality that if she runs for that seat, she has a significant number of Republican primary voters who are going to vote for her, and why put good money after bad, I think is what a lot of people are thinking,” Republican strategist Chuck Warren told the Hill.
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“So unless somebody comes in and throws $15 [million], $20 million of their own money, I think it’s very difficult, and that person’s not popping up,” Warren added.
Whoever the Republican challenger is will have to face Gallego and Sinema, the latter of whom has not announced her reelection campaign. Without her official entry, however, strategists are still preparing for a three-ticket race. If the three-way election consists of a Democrat and an independent with a Democratic background, strategists say it normally leans in favor of the GOP candidate, according to ABC News.