Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake stated Sunday that she believes her state party wanted to keep her out of the race due to her being an “America First” candidate rather than a candidate who would be under “control” of the party.
Lake’s comment comes after audio released on Tuesday indicated that then-Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit had attempted to bribe Lake in March 2023 to stay out of the race, asking her what her price was. Lake, a major supporter of former President Donald Trump and his 2024 run for the White House, said she is not sorry for supporting him.
“He gave us a secure, safe, prosperous America,” Lake said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “And I think they want to get people back in the U.S. Senate who they can control, who might be more of the neo-con type Republican who are going to continue to push for endless wars, who are going to continue to push for an open border policy like the ones we currently have representing us, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly.”
DeWit resigned from his position on Wednesday and was replaced on Saturday by Gina Swoboda. In a statement posted to social media, the new Arizona GOP leader described Arizona as “the key to the presidency” and called for citizens to vote for Trump come November.
Arizona is the key to the presidency
I was proud to have the support of President Trump in this victory to lead the AZGOP into the most important election of our lifetime
Now it’s time to turn out every last vote for the 47th President, DONALD J TRUMP!https://t.co/ihDMpdMGQj
— Gina Swoboda (@GinaSwoboda) January 28, 2024
The Arizona Senate race is expected to be a close one, with a poll released earlier this month showing Lake just ahead of Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), with Lake at 46% and Gallego at 45%. The poll’s margin of error was 4%.
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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who swapped her party affiliation from Democrat to independent in late 2022, has yet to announce if she will seek reelection. Should she choose to run, Gallego would take a 1% lead over Lake, according to the poll, with Gallego getting 36%, Lake getting 35%, and Sinema securing 17%.
Lake was also asked about the possibility of serving as Trump’s vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election, though she opted not to comment on the discussions she has had with the former president. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson are also rumored to be potential vice presidential nominees, though like Lake, they both declined to comment on conversations they have had with Trump.