Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake received a key endorsement on Monday from Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), the chair of the Senate Republican Conference, after officially announcing her candidacy for the U.S. Senate last week. In a statement to The Arizona Sun Times, Lake said she looks forward to working with Barrasso and other Senate Republicans with whom she shares priorities.
Barrasso said “Kari Lake will shine brightly for Arizona,” according to a statement obtained by German-owned Politico. Barrasso called lake “a generational communicator who is giving voice to Arizona citizens,” and said she “is in this race to make Arizona and America stronger.”
The Wyoming Republican is considered to be an establishment-aligned member of the Republican Party, explained the outlet. He recently voted in favor of additional funding for Ukraine, though his condemnation of the Biden administration’s border crisis drew approval from conservatives on social media. Politico suggested Barrasso’s endorsement likely signals the greater Republican Party is warming to Lake’s candidacy, and Lake seemed to acknowledge this in a statement to The Sun Times.
“I look forward to going to Washington, D.C. with an America First agenda that strengthens our borders, our families, and our communities,” Lake told The Sun Times, adding that she is “fully committed to working with any lawmaker who has those same priorities.”
Lake wrote in a post on X that she was “honored by the friendship and endorsement” from Barrasso, and described him as 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,” wrote Lake.
I am honored by the friendship and endorsement of @SenJohnBarrasso. He 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. https://t.co/joKqMppYNQ
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 16, 2023
When Lake officially launched her campaign last week, The Messenger reported that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which raises and distributes funds to Republican Senate candidates, “has not ruled out” supporting her Senate effort.
The website reported an operative close to the NRSC described “productive conversations” with “Lake and her team,” and called the popular Arizona Republican “a talented campaigner with an impressive ability to fire up the grassroots.” NRSC’s operative also told the website Lake has “a clear path to victory” due to the likely presence of both Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) on the ballot in November 2024.
Lake is poised to sweep the Republican primary, according to polling from August, which showed her with a 31-point lead over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who remains the only other active Republican candidate in the race.
Polling that coincided with her campaign announcement showed Lake beating both Sinema and Gallego in a three-way contest, receiving 37 percent of support compared to Gallego’s 33 percent and Sinema’s 19 percent.
Sinema left the Democratic Party last year, but continues to caucus with the Democrats and accept Democratic committee assignments. She previously indicated she will seek reelection as an independent candidate, and a strategy document obtained by the media suggested she will court Republican and independent voters while surrendering the votes of most Arizona Democrats to Gallego.
This is not the first high profile endorsement Lake has received, as former Arizona Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh endorsed her Senate bid shortly before Lake’s announcement, and former President Donald Trump endorsed Lake in a video message posted the same day she announced.
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Tom Pappert is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sen. John Barrasso” by Sen. John Barrasso and “Kari Lake” is by Kari Lake.
