Kari Lake is an American politician and former television news anchor who is running for the Arizona gubernatorial election against Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. For over two decades, Lake worked at KSAV-TV, a local Phoenix television station, before stepping down in March 2021 to launch her political career. She officially announced her intention to run for governor of Arizona in June 2021. The gubernatorial spot is an open election because incumbent Republican Governor Doug Ducey will be termed out of office.
The race is highly contentious between Democrats and Republicans as the Grand Canyon state continues to switch from a reliable red state to blue. Originally, Lake was a Democrat for multiple years after switching from the GOP in 2006 amid the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She voted for John Kerry for president in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. However, she returned back to the Republican Party a decade in January 2012.
During the Arizona Republican Senate primary Ducey did not support Lake along with Mike Pence and, instead, endorsed her main opponent, Karrin Robson. Regardless, following former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Lake, she defeated a field of four other candidates with over 48% of the vote. Lake is viewed as less moderate than other Republicans in Arizona. She has campaigned on banning critical race theory, banning late-term abortion, restricting illegal and legal immigration, and has endorsed Trump's claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
If elected, Lake would be one of the most pro-Trump governors in charge of signing voting laws in a key swing state. Throughout the general election and during the finals of the campaign, polling has shown Lakes maintaining a consistent lead over Hobbs. Lake is currently married to Jeff Halperin and converted to Christianity in 2019 after years of being a practicing Buddhist.
