Kari Lake says ‘disaffected’ Democrats and independents are key to her Arizona Senate bid

EXCLUSIVE — Republican candidate Kari Lake is facing one of the most competitive Senate races in the country as she prepares for a possible three-way contest in Arizona against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). But the staunch conservative isn’t backing down, saying many on the other side of the aisle may end up backing her bid instead.

“I think we’re having a lot of independents, and even some Democrats, who are disaffected and looking at their party recognizing that it doesn’t work,” Lake told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “I think a lot of Democrats are starting to look at the Republican platform and recognizing that maybe they’ve been Republican the whole time — or at least maybe they’re leaning toward becoming Republican now.”

JOHNSON SPEAKERSHIP SPELLS TROUBLE FOR DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON SPENDING FIGHT

Lake has become a household name in the Grand Canyon State, especially after her high-profile run for governor in 2022 against then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs when she positioned herself as a Donald Trump-aligned candidate running on a platform that emphasized the former president’s policies. At the time, Lake had centered much of her campaign on Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen, something she has now seemingly backed away from to instead focus on issues such as immigration and crime.

Now, Lake is using her Arizona campaign experience to catapult herself to Washington, D.C., as part of Republicans’ efforts to seize control of the upper chamber, which is narrowly held by Democrats.

“The Senate is so critical right now. I mean, we don’t know what’s going to happen in this next election,” Lake said. “There’s a chance maybe we won’t hold Congress. Now, I believe we’re gonna get President Trump in the White House. But God forbid that doesn’t happen, the Senate is what is going to be holding our country together by a thread. So we have to make sure that the Senate is firmly in the hands of Republicans.”

The Senate election in Arizona is expected to be one of the most competitive races of the 2024 cycle. The election took on new significance late last year after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) announced she would be leaving the Democratic Party to instead identify as an independent, opening the door for a three-way race in a vital swing state.

Gallego has already announced his bid to challenge Sinema, which could threaten to split the Democratic and independent votes should the incumbent choose to run for reelection.

That, Lake says, could be her opening.

“I think we have a really great opportunity,” Lake said. “And most of the independents in our state lean conservative, they’ve just … kind of had it with the Democrat-versus-Republican, typical politics as usual — and maybe they’re just sick of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party and they’ve decided to become independent but they lean conservative.”

Independent voters make up the largest voting demographic in Arizona, making up nearly 35% of the state’s electorate, according to the secretary of state’s office. Republicans come in a close second at 34.4%, meaning if the GOP can wrangle enough independent voters in 2024, it could set them up for big wins in the swing state.

The numbers make the independent bloc the largest voting demographic in the state for the first time since 2016, making the group among the most important for candidates to court.

Among independent voters, a majority (50%) self-identify as being politically “moderate,” according to a recent joint polling project among researchers at Arizona State University, Stanford University, and the University of Houston. Almost a quarter of independent voters in Arizona said they would describe themselves as conservative compared to less than 10% who said they were more liberal.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

That’s why Lake says her “America First” campaign, which aligns itself heavily with Trump, may resonate with several independents and Democrats who are looking to venture away from their respective candidates.

“We’ll admit we’ve got a mess on our hands thanks to the absolute destructive policies of Joe Biden. We can turn this around,” Lake said. “We the people can get our government back and restore prosperity for Americans.”