Kari Lake kicked off her Senate campaign against Ruben Gallego by ambushing him outside of an airport bathroom. So, it should come as little surprise she’s finishing her campaign against the Democratic rep by circling the drain.
The MAGA anti-drag queen is trailing Gallego in every poll, sometimes by double digits. Among 11 polls of likely Arizona voters taken in September, he led all 11 by margins ranging from 4 to 14 points. Overall, Gallego has led in 45 of the 48 polls taken in the race since Kyrsten Sinema announced she wouldn’t run for reelection.
Losing is nothing new to Lake, who lost the 2022 gubernatorial race to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Unable to accept defeat, Lake has unsuccessfully challenged her loss in court over the last two years.
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During that time, she also made herself a regular at Mar-a-Lago, much to Trump’s reported annoyance. Instead of shoring up support in Arizona, the ex-newscaster chose to be an unwelcome house guest in Palm Beach.
Her approach hasn’t worked. Most troublingly for Lake, 17% of Trump supporters in Arizona say they intend to pull the lever for Gallego. With nothing left, Lake is now turning to full-blown racism.
During a recent interview on Newsmax (always scary words to type), the wannabe senator made up fabrications about Gallego being tied to Colombian drug cartels.
“I want to confront the cartels. He was controlled by the cartels. His own father was a Colombian drag trafficker. He’s got links to the cartel, and that is very concerning,” she lied.
Gallego’s father, by the way, is Mexican. The congressman is half Colombian on his mother’s side…
Either way, Lake’s smear is cynical and racist, and the sign of a desperate candidate.
Related
Kari Lake’s political career has become a slow motion car wreck on a crash course to defeat
The MAGA anti-drag queen is losing her Senate race by (checks notes)… 15 points!
Fact check: This is not true.
For starters, @RubenGallego’s father isn’t Colombian.
He left the family when Gallego was young so there is no relationship there.
Going on TV to make up some Narcos plot to say Gallego has “links to the cartel” reeks of desperation and racism. pic.twitter.com/kiUpK2tm2t
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) September 30, 2024
kari lake doing her best to keep latinos from realigning towards the gop in at least one election https://t.co/xe5vYlanRo
— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) October 1, 2024
WHAT?!?! Did… Kari Lake just accuse Gallego’s dad of being a cartel?!?! This jumped the shark. https://t.co/UM4Al1LRrS
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) October 1, 2024
As the polls show, Gallego is attracting a wide swath of the Arizona electorate, including the Arizona Police Association. (It’s hard to believe a police association would align with a Colombian drug cartel kingpin; but hey, what do we know?)
Gallego, a five-term congressman, has also raked up the endorsements of 40 prominent Arizona Republicans and Independents.
There were always concerns about Lake’s electability, given her scorched earth tactics in 2022. In an effort to imitate Trump, she personally attacked her critics and members of the GOP establishment throughout her gubernatorial run. Lake’s vitriol resulted in her broader alienation from the party, spurring an ineffective charm offensive.
Yet, the National GOP chose to back Lake in the primary, spending millions on her behalf. But their money didn’t generate a sweeping victory. Lake failed to secure a majority of support, with her challenger garnering 35% of the vote.
Lake is one of multiple MAGA candidates this cycle who’s imploded and will likely cost the GOP winnable seats. She’s right up there with the “black NAZI,” North Carolina gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson. (At last check, Josh Stein is leading Robinson by 16 points in the purple state.)
There are concerns that Robinson could bring down Trump in North Carolina, a crucial battleground. There are similar concerns in Arizona.
Though Trump maintains a small lead over Kamala Harris in the Grand Canyon State, Lake’s toxic candidacy almost certainly isn’t helping matters.
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And Robinson persuades his wife to shoot a campaign video praising him.
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