Republican Kari Lake has yet to concede her electoral defeat against Democrat Ruben Gallego in the Arizona Senate race more than a day after several outlets called the race for the latter.
Lake has been mostly silent on her communication channels, barely publishing any content, with no references to the electoral process. With 94% of the votes tallied, Gallego has 50% of the support compared to Lake's 47.8%, a margin that represents over 70,000 votes, according to projections by NBC News.
Lake's loss in the state stands in contrast with Donald Trump's comfortable victory over Kamala Harris. The President-elect got 52.3% of the vote compared to Harris' 46.6%, a difference of over 180,000 votes.
One of the three publications from Lake on her X account is a show of support for Wisconsin's Eric Hovde, who is refusing to concede his defeat against Democrat Tammy Baldwin in the state's Senate race.
With 99% of the votes tallied, Baldwin is getting 49.4% of the support, compared to Hovde's 48.5%. The margin represents fewer than 30,000 votes, according to the projection by NBC News.
In a video posted on his X account on Tuesday night, Hovde said he was considering whether to call for a recount even though the difference projected by outlets is larger than the threshold needed to do so without candidates covering the expenses. "Praying for you, Eric Hovde, I've been there," said Lake on X regarding her fellow candidate's complaints, likely referring to her loss in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial elections, which she also never conceded.
Despite Lake's failure to concede, Gallego has already come out to celebrate his victory. The son of immigrants from Mexico and Colombia, he was raised in Chicago by a single mother and eventually accepted to Harvard University. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and fought in Iraq in 2005 in a unit that sustained heavy casualties, including the death of his best friend.
During the campaign, Gallego relentlessly portrayed Lake as a liar who will do and say anything to gain power. The Democrat also attacked his opponent for supporting a state law dating back to the Civil War that outlawed abortions under nearly all circumstances.
Lake became a star on the populist right with her 2022 campaign for governor. even as she never acknowledged losing that race, calling herself the "lawful governor" in her 2023 book. She has also unsuccessfully brought the race to court to try to overturn it even after beginning her Senate campaign, a page taken out of the book of one of her biggest allies— former President Donald Trump.
However, as she embarked on her new race, she struggled to unite the right and moderates in her favor, Politico reports. In fact, the MAGA personality was one of the party's least promising pickup opportunities, becoming a potential cautionary tale for the GOP who consider replicating Trump's ultra-divisive rhetoric and politics.
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