Kari Lake wins Arizona GOP Senate primary, setting up a key race against Democrat Ruben Gallego

PHOENIX — Kari Lake won the Republican Senate primary in Arizona, NBC News projects, officially setting up a critical matchup against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego. 

Lake, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, was running ahead of Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb 55% to 39% with roughly 95% of the expected vote in. Former news anchor Elizabeth Reye placed a distant third. 

Lake advances to the general election for the seat being vacated by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema against Gallego, a Phoenix-area House member and Marine veteran who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The race in battleground Arizona will be among a handful that determine partisan control of the Senate this fall. 

"This is not a battle between Democrats and Republicans. This is a battle between good and evil," Lake said at her election night event. "This is a battle between the people who want to destroy this country and the people who want to save America."

Lake, 54, a former newscaster, first emerged on the political scene during her unsuccessful run for governor in 2022 as a prominent promoter of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. She later refused to accept her own loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs, who is now Arizona’s governor. 

Lake has heavily touted Trump’s endorsement again during her Senate campaign. She arrived at her polling location in Paradise Valley earlier Tuesday in a new tour bus that featured a giant decal of her with Trump and the words “Endorsed by President Trump.”

“Knowing that I’m Trump-endorsed is important to a lot of people here in Arizona,” Lake said.

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Lake’s challenge will now take her MAGA-themed message to a broader electorate in a critical swing state for both the race for the White House and control of the Senate. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

Gallego, 44, once a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has played up his willingness to work across the aisle as he seeks statewide office.

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“In the 554 days since we launched this campaign, Arizonans in every corner of the state have made clear that they want a U.S. Senator who can bring people together to defend abortion rights, cut costs for families, protect our water future, and take care of our veterans — and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Gallego said in a statement Tuesday night.

Gallego enters the general election stage of the race with a cash advantage: He had $8.2 million in his campaign account compared to $2.1 million for Lake as of July 10. 

Key House primaries hang in the balance

Arizona also hosted notable House primaries, several of which remained uncalled Wednesday morning.

Freshman GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani fended off a primary challenger in the swing 6th District, setting up a rematch with former state Sen. Kirsten Engel, a Democrat.

Engel, who ran uncontested in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, lost to Ciscomani two years ago by less than 2 percentage points. The race for the seat — which covers a large chunk of the southeastern part of the state, including Tucson — is considered a toss-up by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

In another battleground, the 6th District, a crowded field of Democrats were vying to take on GOP Rep. David Schweikert.

In the 8th District, former Maricopa County prosecutor Abe Hamadeh, financier Blake Masters and state House Speaker Ben Toma were locked in a tight race for the Republican primary.

Hamadeh and Masters, 2020 election deniers who both ran unsuccessfully for statewide office two years ago, both had support from Trump. The winner of the primary will be a heavy favorite in the general election to replace retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko.

And in the 3rd District, the seat Gallego is vacating to run for Senate, former Phoenix City Council member Yassamin Ansari and former state Democratic Party chair Raquel Terán were battling in the Democratic primary.