During the hour-long debate, Gallego managed to maintain his poise as Lake repeatedly interrupted him, with moderators doing little to curb the former newscaster. The debate didn’t result in any surprises or revelations — these two candidates, and Lake especially, have been covered inside-out — but it did offer its share of strange moments.
Here are six of the most ridiculous things that happened on debate night in Phoenix.
‘UVF’
Highlight from the #AZSen debate tonight: Kari Lake tries to convince viewers she supports IVF while repeatedly saying she supports "UVF."
— Nico Delgado (@_NicoDelgado) October 10, 2024
(she does not support federal protections for IVF)pic.twitter.com/bKCXGukUfl
This is the moment that will get replayed over and over. Lake was trying to convince voters that she is an advocate for women’s reproductive rights — something she’s struggled to do throughout her campaign — when she referred to in vitro fertilization as “UVF.”
Not once. Not twice. Three times.
“I want to make sure that UVF is protected,” she said. “I have many friends who are here, they’re my friends today because of UVF. I have many of my friends who have had children and experienced the joy of motherhood and parenthood because of UVF.”
Unless she meant the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force, Lake clearly intended to say “IVF.” But when access to the procedure is a hot-button issue, that gaffe may not speak to women voters like Lake had hoped.
Gender confusion
Lake: I’m astounded that he knows the difference between a man and a woman.. I do care about women's rights. I come from a family of women, many nieces and nephews pic.twitter.com/wY2qid9nqF
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 10, 2024
At one point, Lake tried to open a front in Republicans’ dumb culture war against transgender and nonbinary people, expressing surprise that Gallego “actually knows the difference between a woman and a man.”
“I thought there were, what, 147 different genders?” Lake asked rhetorically as Gallego shook his head in confusion and disbelief.
Lake says there are only two genders, though she apparently has trouble keeping even those straight.
“I come from a family of women,” she said, “many nieces and nephews.”
Nephews? Maybe Lake is more hip to gender fluidity than we (or she) thought.
Gallego goes into dad mode
"Has said... has said... has said... has said..."#GallegoLakeDebate pic.twitter.com/lWbVGKoCdj
— Phoenix New Times (@phoenixnewtimes) October 10, 2024
Lake’s constant interruptions were a theme of the night, and early on, Gallego became noticeably fed up with them.
Like any dad who has had to repeat himself over and over to a blabbering and unlistening child, Gallego persisted through one of Lake’s attempts to speak over him.
“… has said … has said … has said … has said,” he intoned in the same cadence, waiting for Lake to shut up before finishing his sentence. She, and he, eventually did.
Border hawk fight
The first segment of the debate concerned the border, and Gallego and Lake spent much of it trying to out-tough the other on immigration and border security.Lake argued that all of Gallego’s immigration votes in the U.S. House of Representatives were “for open borders,” even as Gallego pumped his role in providing funding to border communities to deal with the influx of migrants.
Gallego countered by pointing out that Lake publicly opposed the bipartisan immigration bill that would have provided $118 billion in funding for border security. Republicans killed the bill at the behest of former President Donald Trump.
Lake told moderators she did not support a single part of that border bill — even its increased funding for border patrol — saying that “none of the border deal was done properly.”
Oh, right, water …
Ruben Gallego: “Will you finally tell the people of Arizona, did you win or lose that election?”
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 10, 2024
Kari Lake: “Can I talk about water really quickly?” 🤣
Kari Lake is toast. pic.twitter.com/LTiu5giMAL
In the final question of the debate, moderators asked the candidates about dealing with the fallout of climate change. Lake answered first, talking about energy independence and saying she would explore all types of energy to meet Arizona’s needs.
Afterward, Gallego pointed out that Lake missed something important.
“She didn’t bring up water,” Gallego said. “This is Arizona. She should have brought up water.”
Gallego then talked about securing Arizona’s water future before directly confronting Lake on her election denialism and her evidence-free claims that she won the 2022 election for governor.
“Will you finally tell the people of Arizona: Did you win or lose that election?” Gallego asked Lake.
Lake’s response had perfect comic timing.
“Can I talk about water really quickly?”
Lake ducks the press
After the debate, both candidates had the opportunity to speak with the press for 15 minutes. Gallego took three questions from reporters before leaving early — that seems to be a pattern — but Lake didn’t show her face at all.Instead, she sent Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming and surrogates such as Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA to speak in her place. They insisted Lake won the debate, though it doesn’t appear that Lake has the same confidence from the GOP in general.
Recent filings with the Federal Elections Commission show that two major political action committees closely connected with Senate GOP leadership want nothing to do with Lake. While the Senate Leadership Fund and National Republican Senate Committee have made big ad buys for other GOP candidates across the country, they’re spending $0 on Lake.
Phoenix New Times asked Barrasso, the chair of the Republican Senate Conference and the second most powerful Republican in the Senate, why Lake’s campaign is being left to fend for itself. His answer strained credulity.
“They allocate money based on races, polls, and they may think she’s doing so well that … I don’t know,” Barrasso said.
Most polls show Lake trailing Gallego by wide margins.
