Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is projected to beat Republican Kari Lake in a consequential race for Arizona Senate, dealing the previous native information anchor her second straight electoral loss, in line with Resolution Desk HQ.
Gallego, who has served within the Home for almost a decade representing a Phoenix-based Home seat, will succeed outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). Sinema opted towards reelection after altering her political affiliation from Democrat to Impartial final 12 months, as Sinema confronted steep odds in getting reelected.
Gallego introduced his problem to Sinema even earlier than she made clear she wouldn’t be searching for one other time period, placing Senate Democrats in a quickly awkward place of presumably having to decide on which Democrat they might assist.
The Arizona Democrat leaned into his biography because the son of a single mother, with household roots in Mexico and Columbia. He additionally touted his time within the Marines.
His victory comes as a small however important reduction for Democrats, who had a crushingly disappointing election cycle this 12 months. Although they managed to guard their Senate seats within the battleground states of Nevada, Wisconsin and Michigan, along with Arizona, in addition they misplaced seats in Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, and look poised to lose in Pennsylvania as properly. In addition they misplaced management of the White Home, whereas their prospects for protecting the Home look exceedingly dim.
Lake is a former native information anchor who beforehand ran for Arizona governor in 2022, narrowly shedding to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). Lake grew to become well-known throughout her 2022 bid as a distinguished election denier — one thing that got here again to hang-out her once more throughout her Senate bid at the same time as she continued to battle her 2022 loss in courtroom.
Lake additionally attracted controversy over a few of her remarks. She angered some Republicans for making crucial statements invoking the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — statements she argued that had been made in jest.
She’s beforehand referred to as abortion the “ultimate sin” and cheered a now-repealed 1864 regulation that banned almost all abortions within the state. Lake, this cycle, maintained she wouldn’t vote for a federal ban on abortion if elected to the Senate and mentioned abortion restrictions needs to be left as much as the states.
Lake confronted a main challenger in Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, although Lake was broadly seen because the GOP favourite.
On the identical time, Gallego additionally confronted questions throughout his Senate run over his document and whether or not his stance on points like immigration and the border had modified, as some have pointed to prior feedback he made on the difficulty years in the past, together with calling Donald Trump’s border wall “stupid” and “dumb.”
Gallego was additionally a member of the Home Progressive Caucus however later let his membership lapse, citing dues as the explanation. Republicans sought to nationalize the race, searching for to tie Gallego to Democrats like Vice President Harris and Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in adverts.
