'Sabotage': Insiders say GOP is backing off support for 'MAGA lightning rod' Kari Lake
Republicans aren't sure how far they're willing to go in support of Kari Lake's campaign for U.S. Senate, according to a new political analysis.
Lake, dubbed a "MAGA lightning rod," is running for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat, but after watching the former TV news anchor publicly waffle on Arizona's stringent abortion ban and urge supporters to "strap on a Glock" ahead of this year's election, many Republicans are worried that Lake might drown their chances, reported Politico Friday.
“When you don’t really have a core belief in anything, and you’re willing to take whatever position you think is politically expedient at the moment, you end up getting caught between a rock and a hard place before too long,” former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), who ran against Lake in 2022, told Politico.
Democrats have already poured tens of millions of dollars to reserve TV ad time this fall in Arizona, but Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) left the state off his list of in-play races and the top GOP Senate super PAC has so far ignored ad buys for Lake's race.
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“Ultimately, the Republican Senate committee is probably going to realize before too long that there’s far better opportunities for victories in other parts of the country,” Salmon said.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has already reserved $7.9 million for the fall ad campaign and has $9.6 million cash on hand, while the Senate Majority PAC aligned with majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has set aside $23 million for TV ads, compared to just $170,000 spent by Lake, who has $2.5 million on hand.
“They’re going to spend all the money replaying words that Ms. Lake may have regretted saying,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). “When you’ve got tens of millions of dollars being spent against you, you don’t get the opportunity to redefine yourself. You’ve just got to plow through and define your opponent.”
Tillis agreed Lake needed help from the national GOP, but he and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), the former head of the National Republican Senate Committee, agreed Arizona was not a top priority.
“I don’t know that I’m participating in that one," Young said. "It’s possible."