Former Representative Matt Salmon issued a stern warning to potential opponents of Kari Lake, cautioning that challenging her in the upcoming Senate race could be a daunting task.
Lake, a prominent figure closely associated with former President Donald Trump, recently declared her candidacy for the 2024 Arizona Senate race. This race is considered one of the most fiercely contested battles in the nation, with the potential to determine which political party controls the upper chamber of Congress. Lake’s rise to national prominence occurred during her 2022 run for governor when she focused on claims of voter fraud promoted by Trump, although her opponent at the time, Katie Hobbs, emerged victorious. Remarkably, Lake has not yet conceded defeat almost a year after the election.
Salmon, who previously represented Arizona in Congress and ran against Lake in the Republican primary for governor, shared his thoughts on her candidacy in a recent interview with Politico.
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According to Salmon, Lake is a unique kind of candidate who “seeks to disrupt,” not merely to “win.” Salmon recounted an incident where Lake allegedly accused him of supporting harm to children with special needs due to his opposition to placing cameras in public school classrooms. He described the prospect of campaigning against Lake as an arduous and challenging endeavor, akin to a “suicide mission.”
One of the contentious topics that emerged during the campaign was the idea of installing cameras in classrooms to monitor whether Critical Race Theory was being taught. Salmon criticized this proposal as a “knee-jerk reaction” in an interview with The Arizona Republic. He emphasized his opposition to excessive government involvement and surveillance in educational settings, stating, “The last thing I want is for big government and tech to introduce such measures in our classrooms.”
The Arizona Republic also reported that Lake’s campaign account retweeted a post claiming Salmon was “alright with special needs kids being harmed.
Newsweek reached out to Lake for comment via email, but as of now, there has been no response.
Ultimately, Salmon withdrew from the primary race and endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson, a former member of the Arizona Board of Regents, who was perceived as a more traditionally conservative candidate. In his endorsement, Salmon praised Robson for having the necessary temperament and experience to govern Arizona. However, Lake emerged victorious in the GOP primary, defeating Robson by a margin of nearly five percentage points.
In the upcoming GOP primary, Lake will face several contenders, including Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. Early polls indicate Lake as the frontrunner, benefiting from her high name recognition and association with the former president. In an Emerson College poll conducted from August 2 to 4, Lake led Lamb by a substantial margin of nearly 30 percentage points.
Meanwhile, incumbent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who recently left the Democratic Party, has not yet confirmed her intentions regarding reelection. Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego is the leading candidate to secure his party’s nomination, and polls suggest he could have an advantage in a general election contest against both Sinema and Lake.
An October 6 to 7 Public Policy Polling survey found that 41 percent of likely voters planned to support Gallego, with 36 percent for Lake and 15 percent for Sinema if she chooses to run. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. However, the race narrows considerably if Sinema opts not to run, with 48 percent favoring Gallego and 43 percent supporting Lake.
The Arizona Senate race in 2024 promises to be one of the most closely watched and hotly contested political battles, with Lake’s candidacy already stirring significant debate and attention.
