Kari Lake picks up support from a Senate GOP leader as Democrats get behind Ruben Gallego
U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake has picked up the endorsement of Senate Minority Whip John Thune, giving her campaign a sweep of the leading contenders for taking over Republican leadership after the elections.
Lake’s campaign is scheduled Wednesday to hold a reception in Washington featuring 17 sitting Republican senators who could boost her middling fundraising and makes plain she has consolidated the support of most of official Washington behind her.
In a written statement, Thune, R-S.D., said Lake will help enact the GOP’s priorities.
“The Senate race in Arizona is critical for securing a Republican majority in the Senate. Kari Lake is the candidate in Arizona who will work to get the economy back on track and lower the cost of living for families, secure the border and enforce the law and bring safety to our streets,” he said. “A vote for her opponent is a vote for (President) Joe Biden's dangerous agenda. I am excited to endorse Kari Lake for Senate in Arizona.”
Lake thanked Thune for the endorsement and for his help in pushing former President Donald Trump’s agenda and nominees.
“I am looking forward to doing that when we win Arizona and secure the Senate majority,” she said in a statement.
Lake began her campaign for the seat held by the retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., in October with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. In January Lake toppled the then-chair of the Arizona Republican Party by releasing a secretly recorded conversation from a year ago.
The party’s notably early support for Lake would seem to further marginalize the campaign of Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who began his Senate campaign six months before hers, but has struggled to draw attention and money. He hasn’t secured the endorsement of any sitting senator.
Lamb reacted to Sinema's retirement announcement with a statement Tuesday that would apply to Lake's continued endorsements.
Competition for the Republican Primary
“In spite of media reports to the contrary, the contest for the Republican nomination is wide open and remains extremely competitive. Simply put, the Republican Primary isn’t over by a long shot,” he said.
By contrast, Lake now has the endorsement of four of the six members of the Senate Republican leadership team.
That includes the backing of the “two Johns” expected to vie for the party’s leadership. They are Thune, R-S.D., and John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Lake has the backing of John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who is the conference chair for the GOP and has announced his bid for party whip after the elections. Barrasso appeared in Phoenix with Lake last week.
She also has the backing of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which officially backed her candidacy as well.
The GOP leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not backed Lake’s campaign, but his influence may be waning after announcing last week he will step down from leadership after the elections.
Steven Law, the CEO of the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, said Sinema's exit from the race helps Lake in her likely general-election race against Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., the only prominent Democrat running for Sinema’s seat from his party.
"Kyrsten Sinema does appeal to that middle wedge of the electorate that sometimes voted for (the late former Sen.) John McCain, voted for (Sen.) Mark Kelly, voted for Kyrsten Sinema," Law said Tuesday on Fox News. "The thing that is helpful here is that Ruben Gallego is nothing like Kelly or Sinema. He's a hard-left Democrat and this gives Lake the opportunity to unite the Republican Party. I think Gallego can't reach that middle wedge that people like Sinema got and I think that makes it a more competitive race."
Democrats endorsing Gallego
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who is vice chair of the conference, also has not endorsed Lake, at least not yet.
Until Sinema’s retirement announcement Tuesday, Gallego had not pulled in any endorsements from Senate Democrats in a reflection of her ongoing importance in a closely divided chamber.
That is quickly changing.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday he is “fully behind” Gallego’s candidacy.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued a statement Tuesday saying it is “working tirelessly to defeat Kari Lake and ensure Democrats win Arizona’s Senate seat in 2024 by electing Ruben Gallego.”
If Lake has nearly cornered the market on Washington’s biggest endorsements, she has yet to formally win over some notable Arizona Republicans.
Lake has had frosty relations with former Gov. Doug Ducey; the family of McCain, R-Ariz.; and her former gubernatorial rival Karrin Taylor Robson. Lake also hasn’t won the formal backing of former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
Cindy McCain endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 and her daughter Meghan McCain had a recent, public spat with Lake, who had tried to suggest her insults hurled at John McCain were jokes.
"I think John McCain was an incredible veteran, but I think there’s no politician on Capitol Hill, past, present, or future, that should be free from scrutiny," Lake told a CNN correspondent Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake picks up support from Sen. John Thune and other GOP senators