Exclusive: The top Senate Republican is scheduled to travel across the country this weekend to campaign with conservative Kali Lake in Arizona. The state is seen by many Republicans as critical to their party’s bid to win a majority in the Senate. White House in November.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, joined Lake in Phoenix on Saturday to focus on the border crisis and the economic problems it says are plaguing Americans. He plans to participate in numerous election campaigns. Biden administration.
“Kari Lake has put Arizona on the map for a Republican takeover in November. Kali Lake will bring Arizona’s hard work and no-nonsense attitude to the U.S. Senate. With her in Arizona. I’m excited to be campaigning,” Barrasso told Fox News Digital. Wednesday.
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Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake (not pictured) speaks during a television interview with former President Donald Trump at the New Hampshire Primary Night Watch Party on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 in Nashua, New Hampshire. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Barrasso became the first major legislative leader to endorse Lake, who unsuccessfully ran for Arizona governor in 2022, in the first few days of campaigning last October.
The move was followed by a number of other big names, with the former news anchor seeing it as Republicans’ best chance to flip the seat currently held by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Those names include former President Donald Trump, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana; They include Republican Rep. Burgess Owens. -Utah.
“We are very grateful for Sen. Barrasso’s support, advice, and support. He is a warrior for conservatives in the Senate. ‘s participation shows how important this race is to America’s “future of our country,” Lake told FOX News Digital.
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Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) holds up the front page of the New York Post and speaks during a press conference after the Senate Republicans’ weekly policy luncheon on January 9, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. state). (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Arizona is expected to be one of the most closely watched races in 2024 and is widely seen as one of the best flip chances for Republicans, along with West Virginia, Ohio, Montana and Nevada. There is. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority, backed by Sinema and fellow independents Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.
In recent cycles, races in the state have been decided by close margins, including in 2022, when incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly defeated Republican businessman Blake Masters by less than 5 percentage points. and the 2020 special election in which Kelly defeated Republican nominee Martha McSally. In 2018, Sinema beat McSally by just over 2%.
But this time, Republicans say Lake is a stronger candidate than her predecessor, and her campaign prospects are already better than in some other states with elections this year.
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Kari Lake arrives at a caucus night party hosted by Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at the Iowa Event Center on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Kari Lake is the presumptive Republican candidate and is running a very strong race in Arizona. Her fundraising numbers are very competitive, with races in Montana, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. “She’s polling better than any other Republican challenger in the state, Wisconsin. She’s in a strong position to flip this seat red,” one Republican strategist told Fox News Digital. .
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Lake’s only major opponent in the Republican primary is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamband if she becomes a candidate, she would likely face Phoenix-area Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in the general election.
Early polls on a hypothetical showdown between Lake and Gallego suggest a close race, even with Sinema, who has not yet announced whether she will run for re-election after announcing her departure from the Democratic Party in December 2022. It has been suggested that.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
