Kari Lake’s latest polls have sent her into a racist tailspin

Kari Lake began her Senate campaign against Ruben Gallego by ambushing him outside an airport bathroom. So it should come as no surprise that she ends her campaign against the Democratic representative by circling the drain.

MAGA’s anti-drag queen is trailing Gallego in every poll, sometimes by double digits. Of 11 polls of likely Arizona voters conducted in September, he was in the lead all 11 with margins ranging from 4 to 14 points. In total, Gallego has led in 45 of the 48 polls taken in the race since Kyrsten Sinema announced she would not run for re-election.

Losing is nothing new for Lake, who lost the 2022 governor’s race to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Unable to accept her defeat, Lake has spent the past two years unsuccessfully challenging her loss in court.

During that time, she also made herself a regular at Mar-a-Lago, much to Trump’s chagrin. Instead of bolstering support in Arizona, the ex-newscaster chose to be an unwanted guest in Palm Beach.

Her approach didn’t work. Most troubling for Lake, 17% of Trump supporters in Arizona say they plan to pull the lever for Gallego. With nothing left, Lake now turns to outright racism.

During a recent interview on Newsmax (always scary words to type), the wannabe senator made up stories about Gallego having ties to Colombian drug cartels.

‘I want to confront the cartels. He was controlled by the cartels. His own father was a Colombian drag merchant. He has ties to the cartel, and that is very concerning,” she lied.

Gallego’s father is Mexican, by the way. The congressman is half Colombian on his mother’s side…

Either way, Lake’s smear is cynical and racist, and the sign of a desperate candidate.

Fact check: This is not true.

To start, @RubenGallegoHis father is not Colombian.

He left the family when Gallego was young, so there is no relationship.

Going on TV to concoct a Narcos plot to say Gallego has “ties to the cartel” smacks of desperation and racism. pic.twitter.com/kiUpK2tm2t

— Adriaan Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) September 30, 2024

Kari Lake is doing her best to prevent Latinos from realigning with the GOP in at least one election https://t.co/xe5vYlanRo

— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) October 1, 2024

WHAT?!?! Did…Kari Lake just accuse Gallego’s father of being a cartel?!?! This caused the shark to jump. https://t.co/UM4Al1LRrS

— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) October 1, 2024

As the polls show, Gallego is attracting a large portion of the Arizona electorate, including the Arizona Police Association. (It’s hard to believe that a police organization would join a Colombian drug cartel, but hey, what do we know?)

Gallego, a five-term congressman, has also won the support of 40 prominent Republicans and Independents in Arizona.

There were always concerns about Lake’s electability given her scorched earth tactics in 2022. In an effort to imitate Trump, she personally attacked her critics and members of the Republican establishment during her governorship. Lake’s vitriol resulted in broader alienation from the party, leading to an ineffective charm offensive.

Yet the National Republican Party chose to support Lake in the primaries and spend millions on her behalf. But their money did not ensure an overwhelming victory. Lake failed to secure a majority of support, with her challenger receiving 35% of the vote.

Lake is one of several MAGA candidates this cycle who has imploded and will likely cost the Republican Party winnable seats. She is aligned with the “black NAZI,” North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson. (At last check, Josh Stein leads Robinson in the purple state by 16 points.)

There are concerns that Robinson could topple Trump in North Carolina, a crucial battleground. There are similar concerns in Arizona.

Although Trump has a narrow lead over Kamala Harris in the Grand Canyon State, Lake’s toxic candidacy is almost certainly not helping.