Kari Lake says she’s considering a Senate run: Lake still doesn’t acknowledge that she lost the election for governor of Arizona in 2022, but is already eying another race in 2024
Kari Lake: A Senator?
Kari Lake was the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona in 2022, and while she lost the race, she has continued to insist that she won, filing a series of legal cases, all of which have failed.
Lake has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate to Donald Trump in 2024, should he win the Republican nomination again. But in the meantime, she’s eying a possible other office.
“I may run for Senate, I’m considering that,” Lake said in a Breitbart interview this week.
“It’s something I may have to do because we can’t have people who don’t care about Arizonans representing us in Washington, D.C. Got a lot of options on the table. I’m taking a look at all of them, and I’ll be making some decisions here in the coming months.”
The interview was part of the Breitbart News Fourth of July Special. In the interview, she was promoting her book “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.”
“Politics is gross. It’s a slimy business, but I think we need real people to be in it. And so I am contemplating running for office again,” Lake added in the interview. “I want everyone out there to know we have filed a notice of appeal on our case. We’re not giving up on securing our elections and reforming our elections, and we’re going to work through the court system.”
That has a chance to be one of the most fascinating Senate races in the country in 2023. The incumbent is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who became independent earlier this year but continues to caucus with the Democrats. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is running as a Democrat, while Lake would join a Republican race that will likely be contested.
Sinema has not announced her re-election plans, but if she does run it would constitute a three-way race, with a possibility that Sinema and Gallego could split the Democratic vote, helping the Republican.
Earlier this week, The Guardian reported that in her new book, “Unafraid,” Lake stated that “one Barack Hussein Obama, a man with a mysterious past and virtually no accomplishments on his résumé, ascended to the presidency.”
The Guardian positioned this as Lake embracing the “birtherism” conspiracy theory, which is a bit of a stretch, although it also points out that Lake donated to and campaigned for Obama in the 2008 election year.
Separately, the newspaper also reviewed Lake’s book.
“Unafraid is a grievance-packed audition in Lake’s tireless quest to be named Trump’s running mate in 2024. He wrote the book’s foreword. Donald Jr is her publisher,” the newspaper said, although a Senate one would presumably preclude Lake from contention for the vice presidency.
“Like her idol, Lake is simultaneously embittered and energized by the electorate’s rejection. The pair occupy the same wavelength. Reality is an inconvenience,” the review continued. “Lake does nothing to mask her antipathy toward Biden and gay, lesbian, and transgender members of his administration. She singles out Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s transportation secretary, and Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, for particular opprobrium.”
The review also rips Lake, who once “ hosted a drag show in her own house,” for expressing ridicule towards anti-LGBTQ people.
The Arizona Republic, in Lake’s home state, also weighed in on the book.
“If you are Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer’s lawyers, you probably already have it — annotated and ready for use in your lawsuit against the nation’s second sorest loser. (Surely, you can figure out who takes top honors in that category,”) the newspaper said.
“Richer sued Lake last week for defamation, apparently deciding it was about time that someone stood up to Lake, who has built a national following based in large part of her accusations that Richer is a criminal.”
Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
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