MAGA Republican Kari Lake falls short in Arizona senate race against Ruben Gallego

Phoenix, Arizona - MAGA Republican Kari Lake has suffered her second political defeat after Democrat Ruben Gallego beat her in Arizona's senate race.

Republican Kari Lake (r.) has lost her race for senate in Arizona to Democrat Ruben Gallego, who will fill the seat left vacant by Kyrsten Sinema.
Republican Kari Lake (r.) has lost her race for senate in Arizona to Democrat Ruben Gallego, who will fill the seat left vacant by Kyrsten Sinema.  © Collage: Rebecca NOBLE / AFP

As of Sunday, with 89% of the votes reported by DDHQ, Gallego held the lead at 49.7% with 1,471,361 votes, as Lake followed at 48.2% with 1,426,479 votes.

Gallego – a former marine who has represented Arizona's 3rd Congressional District since 2015 – will now go on to fill the senate seat left vacant by Independent Kyrsten Sinema.

Lake's defeat comes as Donald Trump managed to win Arizona, and flip several other states in his race for president on election night.

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Back in 2022, Lake – who had made a name for herself as a local news anchor – ran a failed bid for governor, losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs by over 17,000 votes.

As Trump has done with his 2020 presidential election loss, Lake, who has modeled her political style after the president-elect's, has since denied the results.

She has attempted to argue her claims in court to no avail. On Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear her latest appeal against the defeat.

While Lake has not denied the results of this election, she has yet to concede and has been urging her supporters to cure their ballots and wait until everyone is counted.

Cover photo: Collage: Rebecca NOBLE / AFP

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