GOP leadership spending $0 on Kari Lake’s campaign — Zip, zilch, nada

Sen. Mitch McConnell and his allies are shelling out big money on Senate races. But Kari Lake looks like a lost cause.

October 9, 2024

If Kari Lake is going to win a U.S. Senate seat, she'll have to do so without the backing of the GOP's powerful Senate Leadership Fund. Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

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With less than a month to go before Election Day, things are looking so brutal for the Kari Lake campaign that powerful national Republicans are leaving it for dead.

The Republican former newscaster is vying to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate, but she’s doing so largely without support from the GOP. A Federal Elections Commission filing from Oct. 8 showed that Lake’s campaign received $0 from the Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which are run by allies of powerful Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

At the same time, the Senate Leadership Fund has spent more than $24 million on Senate races in other states, including nearly $8.7 million in Ohio. FEC numbers show that Lake’s opponent, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, has a more than $20 million advantage over her in spending from outside groups, the largest edge of any Democratic candidate.

Lake’s campaign has not responded to a request for comment.

It’s no wonder why McConnell and other top election poker players in Washington, D.C., are folding Lake. A Fox News poll released on Sept. 27 put Lake behind Gallego by 14 points. Since then, Lake was losing in at least 11 more polls and winning in none.

Just before the Republican primary in July, GOP megadonor Randy Kendrick told her circle that Lake “cannot win” in November and urged them to back Lake’s primary opponent, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. Lake won the primary comfortably.

If Lake is going to turn things around, Wednesday night might be her best opportunity. At 6 p.m., she and Gallego will participate in their only debate before Election Day.

TJ L'Heureux is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he’s primarily focused on news since September 2023. Before joining the New Times staff, TJ worked at Arizona State University's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. He was also recognized for best community service project/reporting in the 2023 EPPY Awards. TJ holds a master's degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in public policy and Latin American studies from the University of Chicago.

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