According to a new poll, Kari Lake, who barely lost in her GOP campaign for governor of Arizona last year, has a big lead over other possible Republican competitors in the 2024 race for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected in 2018 as a Democrat but now is an independent, will be seeking a second term next year.
A survey of 550 likely Arizona GOP primary participants by J.L. Partners found Lake out front with 38 percent support among Republicans.
It is a reflection of the state of voters’ focus that “Undecided” came in second at 29 percent.
Among other candidates, Karrin Taylor Robson had 10 percent support; Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb was at 8 percent; 2022 Senate candidate Blake Masters was at 7 percent; Abe Hamadeh, who ran for attorney general in 2022, was at 4 percent; and Jim Lamon was at 3 percent.
The poll, conducted April 10-12, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Lamb, who announced his campaign Tuesday, is the only declared GOP candidate so far. U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego is the only announced Democratic candidate.
According to the GOP survey, if the primary were between Lamb and Lake, she would win 54 percent to 24 percent, with 24 percent undecided.
Lake also came out on top in a question about Arizona Republicans’ preference for the vice presidential nominee in 2024.
Poll respondents picked Lake as their top choice at 22 percent support. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, along with “Undecided,” came in next at 15 percent, with multiple other candidates trailing.
Seventy percent of survey respondents had a very favorable or favorable rating of Lake.
Lake narrowly lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs in the race for governor and has waged a months-long court battle arguing the outcome was impacted by election irregularities in Maricopa County. Although Lake has lost most rounds in court, one of her claims remains under review by a county court.
She has said she remains focused on winning her legal fight.
“We are living in a banana republic called Arizona right now with people who have taken control of our government that were not elected to take those roles,” she said last week on Steven Bannon’s podcast.
“They can feel the drum beat,” She said. “We are coming at them. They can hear it, and they know we are not going to stop.
“I’m like a dog on a bone, and I will not stop until we get justice in Arizona.”
However, Alex McNicoll of Lake’s campaign said she is hardly done with politics.
“Kari Lake is committed to fighting for the people of Arizona, championing America First policies, & doing everything in her power to ensure that President Trump is elected in 2024,” McNicoll was quoted as saying in a tweet from the Lake campaign Monday. “One thing is for sure, you haven’t seen the last of Kari Lake.”
.@realalexnicoll: "@KariLake is committed to fighting for the people of Arizona, championing America First policies, & doing everything in her power to ensure that President Trump is elected in 2024. One thing is for sure, you haven’t seen the last of Kari Lake.” pic.twitter.com/5xKy4adJzE
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) April 17, 2023
The sampling of Arizona Republican sentiment found that when it comes to a choice for the GOP nomination for president, former President Donald Trump led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 47 percent support to 24 percent. Other candidates were in the single digits.
via westernjournal