Will MAGA Candidates Get A Bump After the High Court’s Rulings?

One State to watch for is Arizona where the retirement of Senator Kyrsten Sinema has set up a contentious race between leftist Representative Ruben Gallego and MAGA candidate Kari Lake. Lake, who lost her race for governor in 2022, was endorsed by former President Trump back in October. In a video posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated, 

“I will need a majority in the House and in the Senate. We have to have a big strong majority to help me push our America-first agenda through and to push it through really fast. That starts right here tonight by helping Kari Lake win in Arizona, and she will win too,” 

Biden, who narrowly won Arizona in 2020 now finds himself trailing Trump in most polls. 

Paradoxically, according to AZ Central, 

“A new poll puts Donald Trump up by five points in Arizona, showing his command to Republicans in Congress to kill Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s border fix was smart politics. But that same poll puts Kari Lake in a fairly deep hole. Just 36% of voters polled this month by CBS News/YouGov would vote for Lake if the election were held today, compared with 49% for Democrat Ruben Gallego.”

The former television news anchor and Trump-favorite can’t seem to overcome the strong background of combat veteran and Harvard educated Gallego who has established himself as an up-and-comer in the Democratic Party. 

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2015, Gallego previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives. His stances on various issues including healthcare, immigration, and economic inequality made him a favorite among progressive voters.

Following the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, Lake told her nearly 2 million followers on X, 

“All of this lawfare is being thrown at President Trump because he dared to come in as an outsider, tip over the corrupt apple cart, & try to give the government back to We The People. The radical left is scared to death of Trump returning to the White House & will break every norm to try to prevent that from happening. Today's Supreme Court ruling on Presidential immunity was a common-sense interpretation of the Constitution. Hopefully, it will restore some sanity to D.C”

Whether Lake’s MAGA rhetoric can help her secure her seat in the Senate remains unclear. 

One thing is certain, the Arizona primary is July 30 but Gallego and Lake are already their party’s favorites in the 2024 Senate election.