Kari Lake

Kari Lake has been trying to soften her image in the lead-up to November’s election… only to produce more courtroom embarrassments and an off-the-rails Mar-a-Lago fundraiser with Roseanne Barr. Now, the drag-hating MAGA queen is losing the support of the people she needs most: Arizona Republicans.

Following Lake’s underwhelming primary win (more on that later), Democratic nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego rolled out endorsements from, checks notes, 40 prominent Republicans and Independents. “The Republicans and Independents for Ruben” coalition includes Mesa mayor John Giles and multiple former aides to Sen. John McCain.

Lake, the 2022 gubernatorial loser who’s spent the last two years fruitlessly contesting the results in court, is a top-tier Trump sycophant. She spent the bulk of her spring at Mar-a-Lago, signaling disinterest in her home state, which she’s running to represent in the U.S. Senate.

Back in April, it was reported that Trump was grumbling about her omnipresence.

In an effort to imitate Trump, Lake personally attacked her critics and members of the GOP establishment throughout her gubernatorial run. Her vitriol resulted in her broader alienation from the party, spurring an ineffective charm offensive.

She then tried to repair relations with figures such as former rep. Matt Salmon, whom she claimed was “OK with special needs kids being raped.” (Unsurprisingly, Salmon said he ignored her overtures.)

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Despite Lake’s status as the presumptive nominee, she failed to secure a convincing majority of the vote in the GOP primary. Her opponent, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, was running with little name recognition and money. Yet, he attracted 35% of the vote.

Lake, who won 55% of the vote, needed 60% to show she’s a strong candidate in the general, according to experts.

“Lake’s underwhelming numbers are a bad sign for her general election,” Republican consultant Tyler Montague told AZ Central.

A historically conservative state, Joe Biden defeated Trump in Arizona by less than 11,000 votes in 2020. He was the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry The Grand Canyon State since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Now leaning more blue with two Democratic senators and a Democratic governor, Arizona has emerged as a vital battleground. While Biden was trailing Trump there, Kamala Harris is putting the state back in play for Dems.

A new poll shows that 14% of Hispanics, who now account for roughly 25% of Arizona voters, favor Harris over Trump.

Just like Biden in 2020, Harris is also earning support from disaffected Republicans. Giles, the Mesa mayor, is working on outreach towards anti-Trump Republicans in the state.

“I think the time has come for us as Arizona Republicans to admit the obvious, and to start saying the quiet part out loud, which is that our party’s nominee is not qualified for office,” he said Monday.

With such tight margins, every scorned Republican matters in Arizona. Gallego, who served as a marine in Iraq, is leaning into his status as a veteran and bipartisan credentials.

According to the AP, about 6 in 10 AZ Independents and 1 in 10 AZ Republicans supported Biden in 2020, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly in 2022. If Gallego runs up similar margins, he will probably win.

After challenging Gallego to debate for months, Lake is now backing down. Trump canceled his own scheduled ABC debate with Kamala as well. Once again, the toxic pair appears to be in lockstep. For Lake, that doesn’t appear to be a winning message.

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