Republican candidate for governor of Arizona Kari Lake stated that US Rep. Liz Cheney’s campaign against her has further expanded her lead over her Democratic opponent.
Hours after Cheney’s PAC aired an advertisement asking Arizonans to reject Republican candidates, specifically identifying Lake, the candidate sent an open letter criticizing her fellow Republican’s attempt to damage her candidacy.
‘Dear Liz, Lake wrote, “Thank you for your kind in-kind contribution to my campaign.” “Your recent television advertisement asking Arizonans not to vote for me is having the opposite effect.”
In fact, my team informs me that your commercial should increase our lead by ten points! I suppose this is why the Cheney anti-endorsement is referred to as ‘the gift that keeps on giving.’
This comes as this week’s polls indicate that Lake, a Democrat turned MAGA star, is leading Hobbs by three to eleven points.
On Friday, Cheney’s The Great Task PAC aired a 30-minute ad blasting Lake and Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem for echoing former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
The video opens with Cheney, criticized by members of her party as a Republican In Name Only (RINO), telling voters to pick Democrats come November.
‘I don’t know that I have ever voted for a Democrat, but if I lived in Arizona, I absolutely would,’ Cheney said.
‘You have a candidate for governor, Kari Lake, you have a candidate for secretary of state, Mark Finchem, both of whom have said that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it.
‘And if you care about the survival of our republic, we cannot give people power who will not honor elections.’
Lake scoffed at the ad, saying the $500,000 price to air it was basically a direct contribution to her campaign and quipped that it ‘likely exceeds Arizona’s $5,300 individual contribution limit.’
The gubernatorial hopeful also said that donations to her campaign soared following Cheney’s ad.
‘Thank you again for the huge boost to our campaign,’ Lake wrote. ‘Our campaign donations are skyrocketing and our website nearly crashed from traffic as people rushed to learn more about my plan to put Arizona First and join our historic movement.’
The race between Lake and Hobbs is among one of the key races in the country, with a recent poll from RealClearPolitics showing Lake has a 3.2 percent lead while a local Fox 10 Phoenix poll suggests she’s leading by 11 percent.
Hobbs, the state’s current Secretary of State, had been enjoying a 7 point lead two months ago.
The state also has a crucial Senate race as Republican Blake Masters takes on Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly, the result of which could change which party gets control of the Senate.
Like in Arizona, Georgia has its own highly contended governor’s race, with Democrat Stacey Abrams challenging Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Pennsylvania also has important races for its gubernatorial and a senate seat. Democrat John Fetterman, who recently had a poor showing in a debate, is losing his lead against GOP candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Meanwhile the state’s senate race has grown contentious following allegations that GOP candidate Herschel Walker asked mulitple women to get abortions. Walker’s lead has shrunk to below 1 percent against Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock.
Another key election lies in Texas, where gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke faces incumbent Greg Abbott. The Republican continues to enjoy an 8 percent lead on his Democratic opponent.