In Arizona, Kari Lake defeats Mark Lamb for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination • Source New Mexico

Kari Lake has defeated Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, according to the Associated Press, which called the race for Lake shortly after initial vote totals were released by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on election night.

With more than 958,000 ballots tallied statewide, Lake led Lamb by nearly 14 percentage points as of late on election night. She will move on to face Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who was running unopposed, in the general election on Nov. 5.

Lake is a former longtime Phoenix news anchor who got involved in politics in 2021, when she ran for Arizona governor, garnering the support of former President Donald Trump.

At her election watch party on election night, Lake thanked Trump for his endorsement, advice and friendship.

“That guy is literally bulletproof,” Lake said, referencing the attempted assassination of the former president on July 13.

She went on to say that she believes God saved the country when he saved Trump’s life that day.

“He can’t do this alone, he needs backup in Washington, D.C., and I’m gonna be his backup,” Lake said.

Lake lost the race for governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs in 2022, but has refused to accept the results of the election. She followed in Trump’s footsteps, claiming that the election was rigged and unsuccessfully challenging the results of the election in court.

Lake announced her bid for U.S. Senate in October 2023, as she continued to appeal her losses in the election challenge case. Lake filed her most recent appeal in the case just weeks ago.

Her lawyers in that case have been sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court for lying in legal filings about illegal ballots being counted in Maricopa County in 2022. One of her attorneys was recently suspended from practicing law for 60 days for that transgression.

She’s also in the midst of a defamation suit, filed in June 2023 by Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, for falsely accusing him of intentionally sabotaging the 2022 election.

Lake has already legally conceded that the statements she made about Richer were false, and the case is now in process to determine how much in damages Richer is owed.

Lamb, who made a promise to secure the border a central part of his Senate campaign, was elected Pinal County Sheriff in 2017 and claimed he has been on the “front lines” fighting criminal cartels. Pinal County does not share a border with Mexico. Lamb ran his own pest control business until pursuing a career in law enforcement.

Lamb ran on a platform of God, family and freedom and promised to stand up to the “woke left,” if elected.

Lake, who has enjoyed a substantial lead over him in polls, declined to debate Lamb last month, but she previously debated him in May. In the runup to the 2022 election, Lake lambasted Hobbs and called her a “chicken” for refusing to debate Lake.

On election night, Lake described Lamb and his wife as her friends who she views as family.

Lake used her election night speech to continue to attempt to entice traditional Republicans and Democrats to vote for her, after telling McCain Republicans during her 2022 gubernatorial campaign to “get the hell out.”

“This is not a battle between Democrats and Republicans, this is a battle between good and evil,” Lake said. “This is a battle between the people who want to destroy this country and the people who want to save America.”

As she has done in the past, Lake continued to describe Gallego as the favorite congressman of President Joe Biden, this time adding in that he’s also the favorite of Vice President and presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris.

Lake called Gallego an “extreme liberal Democrat from Chicago” who was handpicked to move to Arizona and try to make it socialist. She also accused him of voting for legislation that “brought the highest inflation we’ve seen in 20 years” but did not describe which legislation she was referring to.

Gallego is a Harvard graduate and decorated former Marine who was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and served several tours of duty.

Lake went on to call Gallego an “open border zealot” who wants to grant asylum to undocumented immigrants and inaccurately claimed that he also wants to allow them to vote in the November election.

Lake also spoke to Arizona’s Latino community, saying that 75% of her family (her husband and two children) are Latino.

“They work hard, they care about their family, they care about their faith,” she said.

Lake’s campaign released a memo Tuesday night calling Gallego a “weak candidate,” and promising to defeat him in November.

“This pivotal win positions Arizona as one of the top pickup targets for the Senate GOP in the upcoming November election,” the campaign said.

On election night, Gallego released a statement, also welcoming Republicans, Democrats and independent voters to help him defeat Lake in November.

“In the 554 days since we launched this campaign, Arizonans in every corner of the state have made clear that they want a U.S. Senator who can bring people together to defend abortion rights, cut costs for families, protect our water future, and take care of our veterans — and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Gallego said.

Lake has changed her stance on abortion, saying during the 2022 race for governor that she supported abortion bans, but then this spring speaking out against Arizona’s total abortion ban that originated in 1864 after the state Supreme Court ruled that it was enforceable.

Also in an election night statement, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, called Gallego a “proven fighter” for the priorities of Arizonans and their families.

“While Ruben has always fought for Arizona, Kari Lake is a power hungry liar who is only ever fighting to advance herself,” Peters said in the statement. “Lake’s record opposing reproductive freedom and supporting an 1864 abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest is just one of the many ways she is out of line with Arizona voters. This November, Arizonans will reject Lake again and elect Gallego to the Senate.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee released its own statement on Tuesday night, congratulating Lake on her “commanding victory.”

“Arizonans must unite to defeat Ruben Gallego, one of the most radical Democrats in the country,” NRSC Chairman Steve Daines said in the statement. “Ruben Gallego will work with Kamala Harris to abolish ICE, defund the police, and pass more reckless spending that will drive prices up. Kari Lake will work with President Trump to secure the border, get crime under control, and bring down prices.”

Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: [email protected]. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and X.