Former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has snagged another big endorsement in her race for a U.S. Senate seat that is currently held by Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
On Monday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is seen as a supporter of former President Donald Trump’s America-centric policy agenda, announced he would support Lake ahead of what is expected to be a very closely watched race in a new swing state.
“Kari Lake is the fighter Arizona needs to secure the border, unleash American Energy Independence, and lower the cost of living. Joe Biden’s policies have been a disaster for Arizona and Kari Lake will stand up to the Biden agenda and put Arizonans first. Let’s send Kari to the Senate and take back the majority,” Cotton told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“I am grateful for the endorsement of Sen. Cotton, someone who served our country honorably in the military and has been a conservative warrior in the Senate. I look forward to working with Sen. Cotton to secure our border and get America back on track from Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s far-left agenda,” Lake told the outlet.
Sinema has yet to announce she is running for reelection. Rep. Reuben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has also launched a bid for her seat.
Fox added: The race is expected to be one of the most closely watched of the 2024 election cycle as Republicans aim for a majority in Congress’ upper chamber, which Democrats currently control by a slim 51-49 margin with the support of Sinema and her fellow independents, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.
All three Senate independents caucus with Democrats and largely vote with them. Sinema won her seat in 2018, defeating Martha McSally, and last year, incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly handily fended off Trump-backed Blake Masters 51.4 percent to 46.5 percent.
House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has also voiced her support for Lake, along with Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Lake’s only major challenger for the GOP senatorial nomination is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. Trump has also come out in support of Lake.
“Joe Biden’s policies have crushed Arizona. Arizonans are dealing with record inflation – up 20 percent under the Biden administration. Arizona is also on the front lines of the worst illegal immigration crisis in American history. Nearly 8 million illegal immigrants under Biden, equal to the population of Arizona,” Barrasso said in a statement, per Fox News in an October report. “The U.S. Senate needs a Senator from Arizona that understands these issues, and will fight hard to solve them.”
In a statement to the outlet, Lake said she was “honored by the friendship and endorsement.”
“[Barrasso] is a tested and proven conservative leader who I greatly admire. I look forward to working with Senator Barrasso to get America back on track and fire Chuck Schumer,” she noted further.
Fox News added in its October report: Ahead of her endorsement, Lake spent time meeting with various senators on Capitol Hill, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and hardly mentioned election fraud in her announcement speech despite it being central to her political persona following her loss in the Arizona gubernatorial election last year.
Next year’s Senate race for one of Arizona’s two Senate seats presents a unique situation in a new battleground state that has been red for years but is trending blue.
“Some Arizona Democrats expect Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will support Gallego, even if behind the scenes, noting the animosity many in the party feel toward Sinema, especially after she switched to an independent last year, and her electoral prospects,” The Hill reported.
“But other members of the party believe that calculus is not as simple and say Senate Democrats will need to proceed cautiously, given she still caucuses with the party in the upper chamber, where Democrats have a narrow majority,” the outlet said.
