GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake, a former Phoenix-area broadcaster who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Arizona in 2022, is narrowly projected to lose her race against Democratic Rep. Reuben Gallego.
Gallego, who has represented a Phoenix-based House seat for nearly a decade, will succeed outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). Sinema decided not to seek reelection after switching her political affiliation from Democrat to Independent last year, as she faced significant challenges securing another term, The Hill reported.
Gallego announced his challenge to Sinema before she made it clear that she would not seek another term, putting Senate Democrats in a temporarily awkward position of potentially having to choose which Democrat to support.
The Arizona Democrat emphasized his background as the son of a single mother with family roots in Mexico and Colombia, along with his service in the Marines, The Hill reported.
His victory provides a small but significant boost for Democrats, who had a largely disappointing election cycle this year. While they successfully defended their Senate seats in battleground states like Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona, they also lost seats in Ohio, Montana, and West Virginia, and appear poised to lose in Pennsylvania as well. Additionally, they lost control of the White House, and their chances of maintaining control of the House are looking increasingly bleak.
Lake, a former local news anchor, previously ran for Arizona governor in 2022, narrowly losing to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). She gained national attention during her gubernatorial campaign as a prominent election denier—a stance that haunted her once again during her Senate run, even as she continued to contest her 2022 loss in court.
“Lake, this cycle, maintained she would not vote for a federal ban on abortion if elected to the Senate and said abortion restrictions should be left up to the states,” the outlet noted, adding that previously, she supported a now-repealed 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions in Arizona.
