All eyes are on Trump and Harris. But there’s more going on behind the scenes.
As this U.S. Senate report has huge consequences for the upcoming election.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris get all the attention by mainstream media outlets, and to some extent that’s understandable. There’s never been a presidential election quite like this one in American history, as Kamala Harris has been undemocratically installed as a nominee and Donald Trump has literally survived two assassination attempts.
There’s still a lot more at stake in the upcoming election. The U.S. House is truly up for grabs, with many betting markets indicating it’s basically a 50-50 chance either major political party ends up with control of the lower Congressional chamber. The U.S. Senate is looking like it will lean in the GOP’s favor, but anything can happen.
A new report about a key U.S. Senate race has dropped that is only adding fuel to the fire of the Democrats’ panic right now. The bad news for the Democrats just keeps coming in, this time it comes out of the Arizona U.S. Senate race between Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego.
Kari Lake Takes Lead in Arizona Senate Race, Poll Shows Shift
A recent poll indicates a significant shift in the Arizona Senate race, with Republican candidate Kari Lake pulling ahead of Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego. The Tuesday Data Orbital survey, which included responses from 550 likely voters and has a margin of error of 4.26%, showed Lake garnering 45.2% support, while Gallego received 44.5%. This marks a notable change in a contest where Gallego had maintained a steady lead.
BREAKING: New #AZSen Poll Shows Kari Lake Leading Ruben Gallego
🔴- Kari Lake – 45.2%
🔵- Ruben Gallego – 44.5%
🟢- Eduardo Quintana – 1.6% pic.twitter.com/XGltxvkqD3— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 29, 2024
However, the poll results may not be entirely indicative of the race’s trajectory. A separate CNN survey, involving 781 likely voters, found Lake trailing by approximately 8%. Additionally, RealClearPolitics (RCP) reports an average lead for Gallego of 4%.
What’s noteworthy is that Kari Lake’s internal polling numbers did not show her beating Gallego for many months. Only in the past few weeks has that started to change, according to the Kari Lake campaign. This does harmonize with the fact that a couple of new independent polls have shown Kari Lake tying up this race late. This new poll is adding to that conversation, meaning it’s possible Gallego is facing an upset loss that would really hurt the Democrats this November.
Historically, Lake has struggled to match the performance of former President Donald Trump, who leads Vice President Kamala Harris by an average of 2.5% in Arizona, according to RCP. The disparity in campaign financing is striking, with Democrats reportedly spending $88.2 million on advertising for the Senate race since Labor Day, compared to just $29.7 million by Republicans, as noted by Politico on October 18.
Lake’s campaign focuses on key issues such as border security, access to fresh water, energy independence, and inflation reduction. Immigration remains a contentious topic in the race, with Gallego taking a more centrist approach. In August 2023, he expressed support for Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that facilitated the expulsion of certain migrants. This marks a departure from his earlier stance in 2015, when he introduced legislation aimed at removing the term “illegal alien” from federal law.
Gallego has also sought to distance himself from the Biden-Harris administration regarding immigration, stating that the White House has not done enough to support border security. “I think there’s a lot of Democrats that don’t understand you can be for border security and for immigration reform,” he told Axios.
Abortion has emerged as another pivotal issue in the race, especially following an April 9 decision by the Arizona Supreme Court allowing an 1864 law to be enforced, which bans abortion except in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. When Gallego accused Lake of being “incredibly thrilled” about the abortion ban, Lake countered by highlighting that Gallego had left his wife when she was nine months pregnant.
A report by the Washington Free Beacon on October 17 further complicates Gallego’s narrative, revealing that he filed for divorce from his wife when she was “likely to give birth any day” and sought for her to cover his attorney’s fees.
In early October, a video circulated and went viral showing Kari Lake confronting Ruben Gallego at an airport, telling him to his face that he doesn’t care about the virtually open border of the Biden-Harris administration.
.@KariLake confronts Democrat opponent on the border
LAKE: “ I’m not working together with you, I’m going to beat you.” pic.twitter.com/wMbC7iGF4O
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 6, 2023
It’s entirely possible that this video making the rounds and the terrible impact Kamala Harris is having on Democrats with her appearing at the top of the ballot is giving Kari Lake a chance to pull off a last minute upset.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
