Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake won her primary election Tuesday and will square off against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in the November general election.
Lake, 54, defeated her top opponent, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, by a 53.3%-40.7% margin. The Associated Press called the race in Lakeâs favor just 46 minutes after polls closed.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Lake, a former Phoenix TV news anchor, last October.
In 2022, Lake lost her race for the Arizona governorship to Democrat Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes.
Lake refused to concede the election to Hobbs and filed multiple lawsuits challenging the results that failed in court.
Earlier this year, Lake pleaded no contest in a defamation lawsuit brought against her by a state election worker whom she accused of rigging the 2022 gubernatorial election.
On the Democratic slate, Gallego, 44, cruised to victory after running unopposed.
The four-term congressman has been endorsed by Hobbs, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gallego and Lake will be competing for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who announced in March that she would not seek re-election.
Gallego announced his bid for Sinemaâs Senate seat in early 2023. He had been eyeing a primary challenge against her before she swapped her party affiliation in late 2022.
Entering July, Gallego held a substantial financial advantage over Lake, reporting having $9.2 million in cash on hand compared to Lakeâs $2.8 million.
The Democratic congressman also leads his GOP opponent in the polls, with a RealClearPolitics average of surveys showing Gallego with a 3.4 percentage point edge over Lake.
Along with closely watched GOP challenges to Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), the Arizona election will determine whether Republicans retake control of the Senate in 2025.
Democrats currently hold a slim 1-vote majority in the upper chamber.
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