Kari Lake’s Path to Victory Narrows in the Arizona Governor’s Race
Kari Lake is trying for the U.S. Senate, and she’s looking ahead. The Democrat wants to become the first woman in the upper chamber.
Kari Lake, Arizona’s next U.S. representative, ran for governor last year but is no longer in the race. She announced on Facebook that she is running for U.S. Senate. Lake is a rising star who is trying to make history as a political newcomer from a blue state, while also competing for the seat in 2018 that will belong to Republican Jeff Flake. Lake is seeking a third term in office. If she wins, she will become the first person of color to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate. She told us that she is “hopeful and ready” to face Flake and that she is “excited” to take on the Republican incumbent in what is shaping up to be one of the most interesting races of the year.
Lake is no stranger to Arizona politics. She was a top aide to Sen. John McCain in the U.S. Senate from 2008 to 2009 and served as press secretary and campaign spokesman to Rep. Tom McClintock in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009. She is also a former congressional staffer to Sen. Jeff Flake. Lake served two terms in the Arizona House of Representatives (2003-2007), first as minority Caucus chair and then as majority leader.
Lake is the daughter of an immigrant and the granddaughter of a Vietnamese immigrant who found housing in a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program that enabled her to return to the United States and find work. Lake’s father was fired from his job as a plumber in San Bernardino, California. After being laid off, he came to Arizona to go to work at a hotel in Phoenix. The hotel fired him because he had a criminal conviction, and he started driving a delivery truck to make ends meet. Before he could land another job, his daughter needed a job that paid a living wage and did not require a college degree. She started delivering food door to door in Phoenix. She became a community organizer and in 2000 won election as one of the first two Vietnamese elected to the Phoenix City Council.
Lake served as the city’s mayor from