While the left attacks GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake of Arizona as a so-called “extremist,” she appears to be a magnet for potential 2024 hopefuls. Lake has shared the stage with big-name Republicans such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, among others. The big names don’t appear deterred by the erroneous claims of extremism. On the contrary, they are drawn to the populist former television news anchor-turned candidate for Arizona’s chief executive office.
Real Clear Politics reports:
“Why is it a surprise that Republicans are helping Republicans?” a Noem spokesman asked RealClearPolitics before getting a plug in for the candidate: “South Dakota is proving that freedom gets results, and Kari Lake will bring the same principles to Arizona.”
But Lake isn’t a generic Republican candidate. A longtime former Phoenix television anchorwoman who routinely excoriates her former profession, she has called for the 2020 presidential election to be decertified, condemned the vaccine mandates as government overreach, and aggressively mixed it up with regional and national reporters alike. In short, Lake is a Republican after Trump’s heart. Other politicians, despite the criticism, want in.
The race between Lake and Democratic nominee Katie Hobbs remains a tossup. In a state Biden narrowly won, the RealClearPolitics Average has the Republican out front with a slim 2.2-point lead., so it would be on the national radar anyway. But Lake, who brings an undeniable energy to the stump, adds a heightened level of controversy to the mix.
“Kari Lake is as extreme as they come – from touting Arizona’s 1901 abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest to endorsing Donald Trump’s Big Lie that incited an attack on our Capitol,” DNC spokesperson Ammar Moussa told RCP. “It’s no surprise that national Republicans are flocking to Arizona to embrace Lake and echo her ultra-MAGA agenda because this is exactly what the Republican Party stands for today.”
Lake has been known for putting the left-wing media in its place, especially for being soft on her far-left opponent, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who has dodged debates and never been grilled as Lake has.
Regarding a question on abortion, Lake told the media, “What I really want to know, and I’ve been waiting, I tune into you guys all the time, I want to know where Katie Hobbs stands. I never hear you guys ask her that.”
Lake is running a campaign, unlike many others, with public comments bashing the use of DC consultants and focusing more on meet-and-greets rather than flashy television ads. Lake, who is being spent 7-1 on television by her Democrat opponent, is not worried about the format, as she has high name recognition from her years as an anchor. Her former Republican opponent Karrin Taylor Robson outspent Lake 17-1 in the fiery primary.
