These numbers are low for a frontrunner in a serious Senate race. They usually imply Lake entered the 2024 election 12 months far behind her main opponents: Impartial Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who hasn’t but selected a reelection bid, began the 12 months with near $11 million in her coffers, and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who launched in January 2023, had nearly $7 million within the financial institution.
A Lake marketing campaign official mentioned the debt stems from invoices that got here towards the top of the quarter and shall be repaid shortly.
“Kari Lake had one of many strongest fundraising quarters of any GOP challenger. She is consolidating help with Arizonans and has cleared the sector within the main,” mentioned Garrett Ventry, senior Lake adviser. “Kari is effectively positioned to win in November, as she is thrashing her Democrat opponents within the final three polls.”
The fourth quarter of 2023 was Lake’s first as a federal candidate. However she is a identified entity in Arizona and past. She has excessive identify identification each from her profession as an area TV anchor and from a earlier statewide run. She additionally has a powerful standing with a small-dollar MAGA donor base that beforehand helped her amass a big conflict chest.
Lake misplaced her bid for Arizona governor in 2022 by lower than one level to Democrat Katie Hobbs and vehemently denied the outcomes. As Lake dragged out unsuccessful litigation for months after the election — claiming that the race was rigged towards her — she raised
more than $2.5 million to help that effort.
She cultivated shut ties to Trump and his allies in that failed bid and maintained prominence among the many far-right wing of the Republican Get together. Lake acted as a surrogate for Trump’s presidential bid and sparked hypothesis that she may very well be on the
shortlist for his vice chairman decide.
That MAGA-favorite standing didn’t translate to fundraising. Lake might want to increase much more within the months forward to be aggressive in what is bound to be an especially costly race.
Arizona is a important battleground in 2024 for races up and down the poll. Thousands and thousands of {dollars} from exterior teams are anticipated to pour in, and a marketing campaign’s monetary standing at this juncture lays the groundwork for the pricey election later this 12 months.
Gallego has six occasions extra cash-on-hand than Lake, and outraised her by greater than $1 million. He introduced in $3.3 million in This fall, his second-highest quarter behind his opening quarter. Sinema has an enormous conflict chest to work with if she decides to get in — almost 10 occasions as giant as Lake’s. However Sinema’s fundraising quarter
was additionally weak; she raised slightly below $600,000 on the finish of 2023.
Lake’s Senate marketing campaign spent greater than $400,000 on a variety of funds associated to unsolicited mail, together with $285,000 on postage. Her marketing campaign additionally spent $93,000 on fundraising consulting.
