MAGA Republican and Trump loyalist Kari Lake wins Arizona senate primary

MAGA Republican and Donald Trump loyalist Kari Lake has won Arizona’s GOP Senate primary, paving the way for a face-off against Democratic Rep Ruben Gallego in November in a race that could play a crucial role in deciding the make-up of the upper chamber of Congress.

The Associated Press called the race just before 8.45pm on Tuesday night, with the renowned conspiracy theorist and election denier beating Mark Lamb, the sheriff of Pinal County.

Lake took to the stage at a watch party in Phoenix to celebrate her victory and warn supporters that they need to help “hero” Trump save the country.

“He can’t do this alone. He needs backup in Washington DC,” she said. “He needs backup in Washington DC and I’m gonna be his backup!”

“Let’s take our Senate Majority back!!!” she wrote in a post on X.

Trump, who also hailed her win on Truth Social on Tuesday night, had endorsed Lake and joined her for a campaign call one day before the polls opened.

“Go vote,” Trump urged voters in the phone rally. “She’s fantastic. She will not let us down. Kari Lake, I just think she’s going to be as good as you can get. There’s nobody going to be better.”

While Lake had long been the favorite, Lamb still managed to pull in around 40 per cent of the vote – a sign that Lake’s far-right stance could be alienating more moderate conservatives in the state.

She will now take on Gallego, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, to take control of the seat left by Democrat–turned–Independent Kyrsten Sinema after she decided not to seek reelection.

Arizona will now be a critical swing state for determining both control of the White House and Congress in November.

Lake is a staunch Trump ally who has long pushed conspiracy theories – including his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

In 2022, she made an unsuccessful bid for Arizona governor, losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Rather than accept her loss, however, Lake echoed Trump’s rhetoric and falsely claimed – despite being repeatedly disproven in multiple courts – that she had been cheated.

Her latest effort to push the baseless election denialism came earlier this month when she asked the Arizona Supreme Court to take up the issue. The justices, who were all elected by Republican governors, have already dismissed her efforts.