Staff Reports
Kari Lake is back in the political saddle after her loss in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race, because when one gets thrown from a horse, the only solution is to hop back on, right? Launching her 2024 Senate campaign, Lake rolled out a video featuring her favorite ally: former President Donald Trump. He lavished praise on Lake, declaring that the Senate needed “strong fighters” like her to push his America First agenda. If raising the electric bill of conservative loyalty had a face, Kari Lake might just be it.
Lake’s previous gubernatorial campaign was essentially a Trump tribute concert, complete with all the fanfare. She was his biggest cheerleader, going as far as belittling his political adversaries and rallying around his theories of election fraud like a dog with a bone. Unfortunately, the voters in Arizona weren’t in the mood for a sequel, and she ended up losing to a Democrat whose biggest strategy was not to be Kari Lake. That’s saying something in a state where the GOP still has a chance to be competitive.
This 2024 election cycle isn’t looking any brighter for Lake. Polls reveal she’s trailing Democratic challenger Ruben Gallego by nearly seven points. During her grand return, the idea that Trump’s endorsement is a boon appears dubious at best. The GOP’s midterm losses across the nation point to a troubling trend: candidates who hitch their wagons to Trump have found themselves stuck in the mud. From Doug Mastriano to Herschel Walker, glory for these nominees turned out to be just a cheerleading show, ending in the sad realization that simply being a Trump fan isn’t a winning formula.
Despite running against a weak Democratic party machine in 2022, the red wave evaporated into a mere ripple. The blame? Many pointed to the glaring fact that Trump seemed to be steering the party right off a cliff. Republican leadership got a taste of what it’s like to build a party around a personality, and their bitter rejection from voters was like a slap in the face. Even those who once stood by Trump, like Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, have started to wake up to the glaring liabilities of partisan loyalty gone wrong.
Adding to the circus, it seems that even if Trump’s brand is dragging some candidates down, he’s not above the fray himself. Polls indicate that his standing has been eroded in key states as his former followers seem torn between loyalty to Trump and their own political survival. While Trump was once the king of the castle, he now finds himself in a precarious position as smart opposition mends the wounds left by his political shenanigans. If doubling down on failed endorsements is the game plan, the future appears more like a fast track to an empty room instead of a crowded rally.
No one is saying it’s over for Trump or Lake just yet, but if their connection to the past is any indicator, they might need more than just a sprinkle of optimism to turn around their fortunes. Voters have short memories when it comes to fumbling political endorsements, and the future could see Lake’s and Trump’s brands at the bottom of another polling pit. The remnants of 2022 continue to haunt those who cling too tightly to the past, reminding everyone that at some point, after the cheers fade, it’s just time to start paying the bill for all those political boondoggles.
