Trump-backed Kari Lake wins Arizona GOP primary
Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for Arizona governor, reacts to the crowd as she walks onto the stage to speak at a Save America Rally Friday, July 22, 2022, in Prescott, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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(NewsNation) — Kari Lake will win the Republican nomination for governor in Arizona, Decision Desk HQ projects.
She held off Karrin Robson in a tough campaign. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Lake.
“The MAGA movement rose up like their lives depended on it,” Lake said as she declared victory on Wednesday afternoon, a day before the race was called, using an acronym for Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. “And it proved that you can’t buy an election, at least not in Arizona. We the people rose up and spoke.”
Robson’s defeat is seen as a loss for moderate Republicans. She has called the 2020 election “unfair,” but stopped short of calling it illegitimate. Former Vice President Mike Pence and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey campaigned for Robson.
Lake will now face Democrat Katie Hobbs, who has been the secretary of state since 2019.
“Quite simply, Kari Lake is dangerous,” Hobbs told supporters Tuesday night after she won the Democratic primary by a wide margin.