Newsmax and Decision Desk HQ called the race for Lake, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, about an hour after the polls closed. With 62% of the votes totaled, Lake had a 53.3% to 40.7% lead over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. A third candidate, Elizabeth Reye, had 6.1%. Gallego ran unopposed in the Democrat primary.
The winner will replace Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected as a Democrat in 2018 but left the party to become an independent after her standing among the Democrat base cratered. Sinema considered running as an independent but opted against it.
"Go vote," Trump urged supporters in a telephone rally with Lake on Monday night. "She's fantastic. She will not let us down. Kari Lake, I just think she's going to be as good as you can get. There's nobody going to be better."
The once-crowded field of Republicans looking at the Senate race thinned out when Lake, who built a national profile in Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement in an unsuccessful 2022 bid for Arizona governor, made clear she planned to run for the seat.
Lamb said he was more electable and the best candidate to secure the border. But he struggled to raise the money needed to make his case to voters. Through the end of June, Lake had raised $10.3 million compared with Lamb's $2 million.
Lake entered politics after leaving the news anchor desk at the Phoenix Fox affiliate and quickly became a rising star in the GOP. Grassroots Republicans were drawn to her biting critiques of her former colleagues in the news media, her tough talk on border security and her unwavering support for Trump, who for a time considered her for his running mate.
"We're looking forward to getting you back in Washington, D.C.," Lake said to Trump during Monday's telephone rally. "And I'm looking forward to helping back you up and make sure that we get this country gets turned back around."
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