Kari Lake has officially filed the paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate in Arizona.
Lake, Arizona’s 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate, registered her Senate campaign committee with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) on Tuesday.
The move comes ahead of her expected campaign launch.
Lake will likely be the favorite Republican and may challenge former Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (IAZ) for her Senate seat.
However, she could also take on Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
Lake has been giving speeches across the country for other candidates backed by President Donald Trump.
She was also a delegate for Trump at the last GOP debate.
Rumors have been swirling that Lake may be in line for Trump’s vice president pick for 2024.
However, Lake’s Senate campaign now makes this unlikely.
Lake recently told the Wall Street Journal that she plans to announce her Senate campaign during a rally on October 10.
“We need to get a senator in there who is going to fight back and put America first,” Lake told the WSJ.
Arizona is a top battleground in next year’s presidential and Senate elections.
Combined campaign spending in the state will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Voters in the state have narrowly elected Democrats for president, governor, and Senate over the past several cycles.
Lake captured the nation’s attention during her gubernatorial campaign last year.
During her run, Lake aligned herself closely with Trump and relished attacking the media and her critics.
She called out Republicans who clashed with Trump and his brand of politics like the late Sen. John McCain.
Meanwhile, Sinema has not officially announced her re-election campaign.
However, the WSJ notes that her team has been laying the groundwork for a third-party bid.
While Lake has been preparing her campaign, Trump is also reported to have called Blake Masters, who lost a bid for the U.S. Senate in Arizona in 2022.
The 45th POTUS is believed to have asked Masters to sit out in favor of Lake.
Masters is reportedly still mulling the idea for a run but put his plans on hold at Trump’s request.
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