Kari Lake says Ruben Gallego will use campaign funds to 'try to trick' Arizonans

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake castigated her Democratic challenger, Ruben Gallego, at a campaign event on Tuesday, predicting he is likely to have significant financial resources while sounding a sour note about his presence on screens.

On a day when Gallego’s campaign announced it had raised an eye-opening $7.5 million in the past three months, Lake predicted Democrats would “take in a ton of money from God knows where and God knows who, and he’s going to run ads making himself look like he’s just a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. And it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“He’s going to stay out of any types of debates or anything like that. He’s not going to come out and talk. He’s just going to do these commercials and try to trick the people of Arizona.”

That line of attack came as Lake has not responded to an invitation to debate Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is also running for the GOP nomination, and after she taunted Gov. Katie Hobbs for refusing to debate her during their gubernatorial clash in 2022.

Lake shared her assessment of Gallego with a crowd of about 100 in Sun City West. She did so with U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which could provide heavy financial support in the race itself.

Daines and the Republican Senatorial Committee have already endorsed Lake over Lamb. Along with Gallego, they are all vying for the seat held by the retiring U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

With Republicans likely to win a race in West Virginia, Daines predicted Arizona’s Senate contest could be decisive for the GOP’s bid to retake the narrowly divided chamber. He did so by casting Gallego as an extremist compared to Sinema and her seatmate, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.

“Let me be clear: We win Arizona, we win the United States Senate,” Daines said to applause. “We’re counting on you, Arizona. … Let me tell you something, she’s not running against an astronaut. She’s not running against Kyrsten Sinema. She’s running against a true radical, far-left activist. He really is. He believes in open borders. He doesn’t believe in the wall. He is absolutely one of the furthest left candidates across the entire nation on U.S. Senate races.”

The event served the dual purpose of showing Daines the kind of support Lake has in Arizona, and to show Arizona voters that national Republicans are fully backing her candidacy. She already has the endorsement of about half the GOP senators in Washington, as well as former President Donald Trump.

The event put Lake on friendly, if sparsely, occupied turf.

Lake received nearly 60% of the votes in the precincts encompassing Sun City West in her otherwise narrow loss to Gov. Katie Hobbs. What is less clear is how Lake stands with less die-hard Republican voters.

Lamb’s campaign, for one, welcomed the idea of debates in the Senate race.

“Kari Lake’s interest in a debate is admirable. We agree with her that voters deserve to see and hear directly from candidates in a public forum debating the issues,” the campaign said in a statement. “Candidates can’t choose their opponents or the race they are in. … If Kari Lake is looking for someone to debate, Sheriff Mark Lamb has made it clear he’s ready to debate anytime, anywhere.”

Gallego’s campaign said its support reflects its efforts.

“Our campaign is funded by hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors who are chipping in what they can to elect Ruben Gallego and defeat anti-abortion, election denier Kari Lake,” said Hannah Goss, a campaign spokesperson. “Today, while Kari Lake flies to Mar-a-Lago, Ruben is crossing northern Arizona, meeting tribal and rural voters to discuss the issues that matter most to them. That contrast is exactly why Ruben will win in November.”

During a session when they answered questions written on cards, Daines and Lake focused on international matters, the border with Mexico and economic issues. Each traded bleak forecasts for America if President Joe Biden is given another four years in office.

Lake said Trump handled international affairs, including matters of war, far better than Biden.

“I support the way that President Trump handled things on the world stage because we actually had peace under President Trump and now under Joe Biden we’re on the verge of World War III, if we’re not already in it,” she said.

“The reason the world right now is more dangerous is because we have a weak commander in chief in Joe Biden,” Daines said. He then noted the Chinese balloon that drifted over his home state of Montana and China's stock of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“The Chinese looked at that. What did Biden do? Nothing. That wasn’t a trial balloon. The Chinese sent over a test of Joe Biden’s resolve and he failed.”

Both Lake and Daines called for more fossil fuel energy usage to counter the effects of inflation. Lake also added her support for nuclear energy.

Lake emphasized her support of a zero-tolerance approach to those who entered America during what she derisively calls the “Bidenvasion,” saying, “Send them back home.”

Lake and Daines each linked immigration to crime, citing different examples.

Daines cited the March 22 terrorist attack by the Islamic State allegedly committed by four Tajik nationals as an example of the terror threat the U.S. now faces.

“This is something that, God forbid, could happen on our soil,” he said. “This is why we’ve got to have a president who understands this nation will not be safe and secure without first securing its southern border.”

Lake turned again to the February death of a Georgia woman, reportedly at the hands of a Venezuelan illegal immigrant.

Lake is scheduled to hold a fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Wednesday with the support of conservative figures like Roger Stone, a Trump political adviser, and comedian Roseanne Barr.

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Republic reporter Caitlin McGlade contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake: Ruben Gallego will use campaign funds to 'trick' Arizonans