Kari Lake speaks at an Oct. 10, 2023, event launching her 2024 campaign for the U.S. Senate. Photo by Caitlin Sievers | Arizona Mirror
Kari Lake has defeated Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, according to the Associated Press, which called the race for Lake shortly after initial vote totals were released by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on election night.
With more than 930,000 ballots tallied statewide, Lake led Lamb by nearly 13 percentage points. She will move on to face Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who was running unopposed, in the general election on Nov. 5.
Lake is a former longtime Phoenix news anchor who got involved in politics in 2021, when she ran for Arizona governor, garnering the support of former President Donald Trump.
At her election watch party on election night, Lake thanked Trump for his endorsement, advice and friendship.
Lake lost the race for governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs, but has refused to accept the results of the election. She followed in Trump’s footsteps, claiming that the election was rigged and unsuccessfully challenging the results of the election in court.
Lake announced her bid for U.S. Senate in October 2023, as she continued to appeal her losses in the election challenge case. Lake filed her most recent appeal in the case just weeks ago.
Her lawyers in that case have been sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court for lying in legal filings about illegal ballots being counted in Maricopa County in 2022. One of her attorneys was recently suspended from practicing law for 60 days for that transgression.
She’s also in the midst of a defamation suit, filed in June 2023 by Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, for falsely accusing him of intentionally sabotaging the 2022 election.
Lake has already legally conceded that the statements she made about Richer were false, and the case is now in process to determine how much in damages Richer is owed.
Lamb, who made a promise to secure the border a central part of his Senate campaign, was elected Pinal County Sheriff in 2017 and claimed he has been on the “front lines” fighting criminal cartels. Pinal County does not share a border with Mexico. Lamb ran his own pest control business until pursuing a career in law enforcement.
Lamb ran on a platform of God, family and freedom and promised to stand up to the “woke left,” if elected.
Lake, who has enjoyed a substantial lead over him in polls, declined to debate Lamb last month. In the runup to the 2022 election, Lake lambasted Hobbs and called her a “chicken” for refusing to debate Lake.
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