Gallego defeats Lake in Arizona Senate race

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is projected to beat Republican Kari Lake in a consequential race for Arizona Senate, dealing the former local news anchor her second straight electoral loss, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Gallego, who has served in the House for nearly a decade representing a Phoenix-based House seat, will succeed outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). Sinema opted against reelection after changing her political affiliation from Democrat to Independent last year, as Sinema faced steep odds in getting reelected.

Gallego announced his challenge to Sinema even before she made clear she would not be seeking another term, putting Senate Democrats in a temporarily awkward position of possibly having to choose which Democrat they would support.

The Arizona Democrat leaned into his biography as the son of a single mom, with family roots in Mexico and Columbia. He also touted his time in the Marines.

His victory comes as a small but significant relief for Democrats, who had a crushingly disappointing election cycle this year. Though they managed to protect their Senate seats in the battleground states of Nevada, Wisconsin and Michigan, in addition to Arizona, they also lost seats in Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, and look poised to lose in Pennsylvania as well. They also lost control of the White House, while their prospects for keeping the House look exceedingly dim.

Lake is a former local news anchor who previously ran for Arizona governor in 2022, narrowly losing to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). Lake became well known during her 2022 bid as a prominent election denier — something that came back to haunt her again during her Senate bid even as she continued to fight her 2022 loss in court.

Lake also attracted controversy over some of her remarks. She angered some Republicans for making critical statements invoking the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — statements she argued that were made in jest.

She’s previously called abortion the “ultimate sin” and cheered a now-repealed 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions in the state. Lake, this cycle, maintained she would not vote for a federal ban on abortion if elected to the Senate and said abortion restrictions should be left up to the states.

Lake faced a primary challenger in Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, though Lake was widely seen as the GOP favorite.

At the same time, Gallego also faced questions during his Senate run over his record and whether his stance on issues like immigration and the border had changed, as some have pointed to prior comments he made on the issue years ago, including calling Donald Trump’s border wall “stupid” and “dumb.”

Gallego was also a member of the House Progressive Caucus but later let his membership lapse, citing dues as the reason. Republicans sought to nationalize the race, seeking to tie Gallego to Democrats like Vice President Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in ads.