Kari Lake Expected To Announce Senate Bid in Arizona as Early as Next Month

Kari Lake, the conservative Republican who lost her bid to be Arizona governor in 2022, is expected to announce a Senate bid in Arizona as early as next month, according to two sources familiar with her plans.

Lake, a diehard supporter of former President Donald Trump, is a favorite of the Republican base in Arizona, primarily for her conservative politics and combative style. Lake is expected to enter the primary as the heavy favorite. She has traveled around the country speaking at GOP events and campaigning on behalf of MAGA-aligned candidates.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is the only major Republican candidate who has currently filed for a Senate run. Blake Masters, who ran in 2022 and lost to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, was previously planning on entering the race again but has since cooled on his plans. Politico was the first to report Lake’s plans. The Daily Beast reported that Lake and Masters had a contentious phone call after Masters’s plans leaked to reporters. The New York Times also reported that Trump had a phone call with Masters, telling him that he was unlikely to win a primary against Lake. 

The Arizona Senate race could be one of the most combative and complicated of any in the nation. If both Lake and Masters run, the Republican primary between the duo and Lamb would certainly become one of the most contentious primaries in the nation. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the incumbent who has yet to announce whether she will run for reelection, announced last year that she was leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent, opening a lane for Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego to announce he would seek his party’s Senate nomination.

One source familiar with Lake’s plans said there was no date set for the announcement but it is expected to happen in October. The source added that Lake has met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republican’s campaign arm, about her possible bid.

Arizona has become a key battleground in both statewide and presidential elections. In 2020, President Joe Biden became just the second Democrat in seven decades to win the state, at the same time that Democrats won both the governorship and a key Senate election in the state.

Some Republicans worry that a Trump renomination in 2024 could further hasten Arizona’s shift to the left, from a Republican stronghold to a top-tier battleground.