Barrasso, member of Senate GOP leadership team, backs Kari Lake's Arizona Senate bid

Sen. John Barrasso, a member of Senate GOP leadership, endorsed Kari Lake on Monday in her bid for Arizona's U.S. Senate seat.

Lake launched her campaign for the 2024 Senate race on Tuesday after losing her 2022 Arizona gubernatorial bid to Democrat Katie Hobbs

“Kari Lake will shine brightly for Arizona,” Barrasso told Politico.com. "She is a generational communicator who is giving voice to Arizona citizens. Kari Lake is in this race to make Arizona and America stronger.”

Barrasso is the Senate GOP chairman.

Lake responded to Barrasso's endorsement on her X account (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

"I am honored by the friendship and endorsement of ⁦@SenJohnBarrasso⁩. He is a tested and proven conservative leader who I greatly admire. I look forward to working with Senator Barrasso to get America back on track and fire Chuck Schumer," Lake wrote.

The Senate currently has 51 senators caucusing with Democrats and 49 with GOP senators.

Since losing to Hobbs, Lake has 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 Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who declared his bid earlier this year. Sinema has yet to announce her reelection bid.