Senate hopeful Kari Lake courts Nikki Haley supporters while calling failed presidential bid a ‘vanity project’

Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake says she will court voters who backed GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley – and those who would have voted for independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema – even as she criticized Haley’s campaign as a “vanity project” in an interview with CNN Wednesday.

Posted 5:48 p.m. Mar 6 — Updated 6:01 p.m. Mar 6

Melanie Zanona, Kristin Wilson

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Jeremy Herb, CNN

CNN — Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake says she will court voters who backed GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley – and those who would have voted for independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema – even as she criticized Haley’s campaign as a “vanity project” in an interview with CNN Wednesday.

Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial nominee, told CNN she will seek the support of “all Republicans” in the state – and independents, too – making a pitch that they should get behind her expected Senate campaign against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in what is now a two-way race after Sinema announced she will not run for reelection.

“I am actively trying to court all Republicans, whether they are, you know, MAGA Republicans, somewhere in the middle, or traditional Republicans,” Lake said. “I want everybody’s vote.”

Lake is seeking to moderate her positions in some areas, such as abortion, where she said Wednesday she did not support a federal abortion ban or a century-old Arizona statute that is a near total ban on abortion, despite previously expressing support for the law.

But Lake – a staunch supporter of Donald Trump who has backed his lies about the 2020 election and baselessly claimed her own 2022 loss was rigged as well – is not about to stop going after the former president’s perceived enemies. Following reports that Haley would drop out of the presidential race Tuesday, Lake tweeted: “Nimrata Haley will suspend her campaign today after more humiliating, landslide loses on Super Tuesday.”

In the interview with CNN, the GOP candidate criticized Haley for continuing her campaign against Trump through Super Tuesday and for not endorsing the former president.

“She’s stayed in all this time and hundreds of millions of dollars has been spent on really what has been a vanity project, and hearing today that she was going to suspend her campaign – and still not endorse President Trump – that’s not unifying,” Lake said. “And I think it’s time that she does unify, get behind President Trump.”

Lake says there’s room in the party for those who don’t support Trump – but said that anyone supported Biden isn’t a Republican.

“President Trump’s coming. He’s going to be back in the White House,” she said. “If you didn’t support him, and you’re still Republican, that’s fine. But if you’re supporting Joe Biden, if that’s the alternative, then I think you’re probably not a Republican.”

Lake is in Washington on Wednesday where she’s holding fundraisers and meeting with Senate Republican leaders. On Wednesday, Senate GOP Whip John Thune, a candidate for GOP leader, announced his support for Lake in the Arizona Senate race, the latest sign of the party establishment closing ranks behind the MAGA-aligned candidate.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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