After spending most of the year disparaging each other from afar during the Arizona Senate campaign, Republican Trump ally Kali Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego decided to spend some time together. Without wasting any time, he did it again on Wednesday’s debate stage. night.
Lake and Gallego, who are vying for retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat, focused on policy but also took every opportunity to attack each other, reminding viewers of past comments and positions.
Lake repeatedly accused Gallego of undergoing an “extreme transformation” from a progressive House member to a more moderate lawmaker whose views are more favorable to the majority of Arizonans, including Republican voters. I’m wooing you. And she tries to skewer him at immigration, accusing him of being lax at the border.
“Ruben Gallego has supported Border Czar Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s open borders in every way,” Lake said.
Mr. Gallego, who has stepped up his centrist efforts over the past year, particularly on immigration issues, also said harshly that he was proud of his vote to send more Border Patrol agents to Arizona. He also fired back, accusing Lake of opposing the bipartisan border security bill for political expediency.
“I’ve been to Mar-a-Lago more than I’ve been to the border,” Gallego said at one point, referring to former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida resort.
Lake, who divided the party during his failed gubernatorial bid two years ago by vocally endorsing Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and his hostility to the state’s Republican establishment, is trailing in most polls. He entered the debate much later than Mr. Gallego. When it comes to campaigning and fundraising, both sides believe the race will be a little tougher. Importantly, Mr. Gallego also has the support of Republicans, who have also indicated they intend to vote for Mr. Trump.
Despite Lake’s personal attacks on Gallego, he never appeared to hit the decisive blow needed to change the direction of the race.
She cited his father, a convicted drug dealer, and accused Mr. Gallego of using Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients as “political pawns.”
“I think that’s disgusting, Ruben,” she said.
Mr. Gallego chose not to directly respond to Ms. Lake’s comments about her father, but he egged her on by suggesting that Mr. Trump might not want to date her because he is trailing in the polls.
When discussing abortion, Gallego pointed out that Lake was the one who changed her stance from being a vocal opponent of the procedure to opposing federal bans. Mr. Lake also focused on women, suggesting Mr. Gallego’s personal history with women was disqualifying, and brought up two decade-old harassment accusations against him for which no action was taken.
“Whenever she doesn’t have an answer, she just launches into a personal attack,” Gallego complained, noting that one of the women who made the accusations is now supporting his campaign. (Ms. Lake also made gaffes when discussing reproductive rights, repeatedly referring to in vitro fertilization as “UVF” instead of “IVF.”)
Ms. Lake showed some of the aggressiveness endearing to Mr. Trump’s MAGA base, often interrupting Mr. Gallego’s attacks, but Mr. Trump quickly fact-checked and skillfully fended her off. Both sought to make the most of favorable issues: immigration for Mr. Lake and abortion for Mr. Gallego.
She only briefly made what was perhaps her most powerful argument, one that mirrors the attacks Trump has made against Vice President Kamala Harris. “If Mr. Gallego is so focused on Arizona’s problems, why didn’t he address it already?”
“I don’t have a vote on this. You’ve had a vote for 10 years,” she said.
Mr. Gallego’s most powerful message was one he repeated repeatedly, even though the host did not ask her directly about it. It was her refusal to accept that she had lost the 2022 gubernatorial election. Mr. Lake has falsely claimed he won and has filed a series of futile lawsuits to overturn the election.
“She failed the basic test of honesty,” he said at one point, linking the issue to abortion. “Why would we trust her with our daughters?”
Mr. Gallego brought up the issue again during a discussion on climate and water policy.
“Can we finally tell the people of Arizona whether we won or lost that election?” he said.
Mr. Lake expressed disapproval.
“Can we talk about water right now?” she answered.
