Kari Lake launches bid for U.S. Senate: 'I am not going to retreat'

Former GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake announced her bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

"The world is on fire and it seems like every day Joe Biden wakes up and pours a little more gasoline on it," she said at a campaign event in Scottsdale. 

"Our border is wide open in Arizona... there is an absolute invasion in our country," she lamented, before discussing the recent Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, for which she blamed the Biden administration's policies.

"I'm really, really worried about the same thing happening here," Lake added. "The cartels own Arizona and until we kick Joe Biden to the curb, Ruben Gallego, and Krysten Sinema, we're not gonna have a state."

"I am not going to retreat. I'm gonna stand on top of this hill with every single one of you. And I know you're by my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate," she declared.

Despite losing the 2022 governor's race, Lake has emerged as a prominent Republican on the national stage, largely due to campaigns for election integrity. She had hinted at a possible Senate run in recent months. 

Lake has, since losing to Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, contested the results of the 2022 election in court, arguing that thousands of Republican voters were disenfranchised on Election Day when voting machine errors occurred in at least 60% of the voting centers in Maricopa County.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb announced his bid for the Republican nomination in April.

The Arizona Senate race is expected to be a three way race with Democrat-turned-Independent Kyrsten Sinema, the GOP nominee, and current Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who declared his bid earlier this year.