Kari Lake, Arizona’s never-ending nightmare, jumps into Senate race

The grande dame of dumpster fire politics, Trump ally and sore loser of Arizona’s last election for governor filed to run in the 2024 race.

By TJ L'Heureux

October 3, 2023

Image: Kari Lake filed paperwork on Tuesday to enter the 2024 race for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona.

Kari Lake filed paperwork on Tuesday to enter the 2024 race for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona. Elias Weiss

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Kari Lake, Trump ally and sore loser of Arizona’s last election for governor, has filed paperwork to run in the state’s 2024 U.S. Senate race.

Lake’s campaign is expected to formally launch during an Oct. 10 event in Scottsdale.

The former local TV anchor is the likely favorite for the Republican nomination as she joins Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the race. U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego is running for the Democratic nod. U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who currently holds the seat but recently left the Democratic Party to become an Independent, has not yet announced if she will run. If she does, it could create a three-way race.

Lake has gained notoriety for molding her political brand to be nearly identical to former President Donald Trump. She’s never held political office. She’s relentlessly spouted unfounded claims of election fraud and frequently launched verbal attacks on members of the press, and her speeches have insinuated a desire for her followers to commit violent acts against Trump’s prosecutors and political opponents.

On a podcast, she had difficulty answering what kind of firearms she owned, raising more suspicion that Lake was a political charlatan after she supported former President Barack Obama.

Arizona voters didn’t buy the show last year. Lake lost the governor’s race to then-Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes.

Lake has continued to insist she won the gubernatorial election despite Arizona courts ruling that she did not, while an Arizona election official has sued her for defamation.

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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