By Kaia Hubbard | CBS News
Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake are facing off in battleground Arizona in a high-profile Senate race.
Gallego and Lake have been duking it out for the open seat after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat turned independent, opted not to seek reelection. The seat is among a number that Democrats have been fighting to hang onto in 2024. Republicans gained ground in several other states to win a majority in the chamber on Election Night.
Gallego, 44, is a Marine combat veteran who was first elected to the House in 2014 and represents a district that includes parts of Phoenix and Glendale. In his campaign for Senate, the progressive lawmaker has worked to court voters in the middle, while painting his opponent as extreme. Gallego would be the first Latino senator to represent Arizona.
Lake, who narrowly lost a hard-right campaign for governor in 2022, is a former TV news anchor and close ally of former President Donald Trump. The 55-year-old, who has widespread name recognition in the state, has been a vocal election denier regarding the outcome of both her own gubernatorial race and Trump’s 2020 matchup against President Biden. But she often reeled in that message during the Senate campaign. In the lead-up to Election Day, Lake launched personal attacks at Gallego, including about the circumstances of his divorce.
