Lake also declined to defend herself in a defamation complaint filed by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer last week, possibly to avoid turning over evidence Richer needed to prove she had made false accusations about him. Lake repeatedly accused Richer of “sabotaging” Election Day voting and costing her the 2022 governorship.
GOP colleague Richer said on X: “You will now have a court judgment against you, for lying about our elections and me. It was BS. Damages next.” According to Federal Election Commission statistics, Lake raised almost $2 million for her Senate campaign at the start of the year, while Gallego raised over $13 million after eight months.
Republican Senatorial Committee backs her. In February, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the group's chair and her Arizona campaign partner next week, said Kairi Lake is one of the nation's most talented candidates. Kari is creating a November Senate flip campaign for Arizona.
To help Montana and Ohio Republicans, SLF and its affiliates have spent nearly $135 million in advertising. Trump backs Lake, Montana Republican Tim Sheehy, and Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno, who won his primary this month.
While considering other Senate battlegrounds, no GOP groups have booked Arizona ads. However, a major Democratic super PAC has reserved $23 million in Arizona advertising for Gallego this year. Lake has also not stated how much she has raised through the Save Arizona Fund, a 501(c)4 she created with her main political advisers after her gubernatorial loss, or how she will use the funds.
Lake's petition claims Maricopa County's EVMs are “susceptible to hacking.” This same argument failed in various courts and led to a $787.5 million Fox News-Dominion Voting Systems settlement last spring.
Lake may offend some Arizona voters, but Gallego, her general election opponent, has only run in a Democrat-dominated Phoenix congressional district. Lake senior adviser Garrett Ventry said, “Kari Lake is going to win the Republican primary in a landslide, which every poll shows, and she is best positioned to defeat Ruben Gallego in every single private and public poll that we have President Trump, NRSC, and Arizona grassroots voters support her.”
Former McCain staffer and Arizona GOP strategist Jon Seaton dubbed the race “toss-up.” Seaton emphasized Gallego's money and fairly cohesive Democratic Party. His vote record gives us a lot to work with. Most Arizonans will view him as weak and left-wing on the border.
The longtime donor Verdone thought Lake's chance to change the race was diminishing. "She needs to reach out and show that she's willing to normalize," she said. Maybe it's too late. Kari would need a major event to unite people.
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