Kari Lake thanks supporters, touts Trump’s win but doesn’t concede Senate race in new video

PHOENIX – Kari Lake thanked her supporters in Arizona and touted Donald Trump’s return to the White House in a new video, but it wasn’t a conventional concession speech.

The Republican posted the message to social media on Wednesday evening, two days after The Associated Press called the 2024 Senate race in Democrat Ruben Gallego’s favor.

Lake rose to political prominence on the wave of Trump’s MAGA movement, but all she has to show for it electorally is two statewide losses.

She famously refused to concede after her 2022 loss to Katie Hobbs in the gubernatorial race. Instead, she claimed election fraud and waged an unsuccessful legal battle to overturn the results. That effort finally died last week, two days after Election Day, when the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear her latest appeal.

Here's my message to Arizona: ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/0RB3Ha17Ct

— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 14, 2024

During her new 2½- minute video, Lake discussed her entry into politics after a career as local TV news anchor and cited a Bible verse. She also applauded her party’s successes in the 2024 election without mentioning her own contest.

“Arizona is a special place and I’m thankful that President Trump and a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress will be in office to help protect us,” she said. “As I watch his cabinet forming, I take great comfort in knowing that America will be made great again.”

Political expert weighs in on Kari Lake video, her future prospects

Valley political expert Stan Barnes of Copper State Consulting said viewers’ response to the video will depend on how they already feel about Lake.

“If you’re a Kari Lake supporter, I think you believe that video was perfectly timed and gracious and well done. If you are a Kari Lake critic, you were looking for her to congratulate Ruben Gallego and to concede the race, which she did not do,” Barnes told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday.

While Lake didn’t mention future plans in the video, Barnes doesn’t think political observers have seen the last of her.

“I think she’s got a lot of options,” he said.

Barnes speculated that Lake could end up with a role on the White House communications team or perhaps return to the broadcasting world as a political commentator.

He also isn’t ready to rule out the possibility of another run for office.

“She seems to be full of ambition and seems to be unbowed about two very high-profile losses at a statewide level. Maybe she’ll retrench and do something less than statewide,” Barnes said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Heidi Hommel contributed to this report.

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