Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake got Donald Trump’s endorsement. Screenshot via Youtube
By Josh Kelety | Phoenix New Times
Kari Lake, the former longtime Fox 10 news anchor and current gubernatorial candidate, was endorsed by Donald Trump last week. And for the other Republican candidates who are jockeying to become Arizona’s next governor, that’s a problem.
On September 28, Trump issued his formal statement giving Lake his “Complete and Total endorsement” in the race. He said that she is “strong on Crime … Second Amendment, Military, Vets” and that she opposes “Covid lockdowns” and Cancel Culture.” The former president also worked in a dig at sitting Governor Doug Ducey; he claimed that Lake will do a “far better job” than Ducey and called him a “RINO” (meaning “Republican in Name Only”).
The endorsement didn’t come as a total surprise. Aside from aggressively courting local Republican voters for months by unabashedly promoting the so-called Arizona “election audit” and opposing vaccine mandates, Lake got a warm reception at Trump’s recent rally in Phoenix back in June, and he seemed to take notice. The former news anchor is also the frontrunner in the GOP primary, according to recent polling.
With the base of the Republican party still fiercely loyal to Trump, his endorsement of Lake creates a sticky situation for her Republican opponents in the 2022 primary.
