Kari Lake to Announce Senate Run

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Facts

• On Tuesday night, Republican Kari Lake, a former TV news anchor who lost the race for governor of Arizona last year, is expected to announce her run for US Senate in that state.¹
• Lake, a staunch ally of former Pres. Donald Trump, has frequently repeated his highly controversial claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and declined to concede her defeat to Gov. Katie Hobbs on similar claims.²
• Lake last week filed paperwork to run for the seat currently held by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat. The GOP primary field currently also includes Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.³
• Sinema hasn't said if she will seek re-election, but Rep. Ruben Gallego has announced his run for the Democratic nomination in a race that could shift the balance of the Senate majority that’s currently 51-49 for the Democrats.⁴
• Lake’s expected announcement comes after she and Gallego last week were on the same plane and briefly sparred over the wall on the southern border, which will likely be a hot topic during the campaign.⁵

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Abc news, ³The arizona republic, ⁴Reuters and ⁵New York Times.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Townhall. Lake is a candidate who could win this election based on name recognition alone after her storied career as a newscaster in Arizona. But she’s more than just a popular figure; she stands up for what she believes – as she showed during her interaction with Gallego – and has the type of energy and presence that woos the public and racks up votes.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Newsweek. Lake has already lost one statewide election, and voters are tired of her continuing to look back at the past rather than informing them on what she can do for them moving forward. She’s a one-note candidate whose one-note – election integrity – has been thoroughly disproven. Republicans have no shot to win if they pick Lake as their nominee.