One of the biggest Senate races of the year is now set: MAGA star Kari Lake will face off against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in Arizona as the GOP tries to claw back power in a state that has become a high-stakes battleground.
Gallego and Lake easily clinched their respective parties’ nominations Tuesday for the Senate seat, which is open after independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema chose not to run for reelection. Gallego was uncontested in his primary, and Lake fended off two candidates, including Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, her closest competition.
Gallego has been working to introduce himself to the statewide electorate after representing the Phoenix area in the House for a decade. Gallego had already dropped more than $15 million on advertisements in the lead-up to the primary, with an additional $18 million booked through November, according to ad tracker AdImpact. Gallego’s ads have primarily been biographical, focusing on his story of growing up in a single-parent immigrant household and becoming a Marine.
Lake benefits from statewide name ID from her unsuccessful run in 2022 for governor. In that race, the former news anchor lost by less than 1 percentage point to Democratic now-Gov. Katie Hobbs, a result that Lake vehemently — and baselessly — denied long after the election.
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