Lake says Ducey, former viewers helped spur Arizona governor run

PHOENIX — Former local TV anchor Kari Lake said a message from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey following her departure from Fox 10 in March helped spur interest into what has become a run to succeed him.

“He sent me a really nice message and just said, ‘Do I sense Lake 2022 in the future?'” she told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday.

Lake said when she left the station after a 22-year run, she had no intention of entering the world of politics.

The note from Ducey, who can’t run in 2022 because of term limits, and former viewers reaching out to gauge Lake’s interest helped push her in that direction, she said.

Lake, a Republican, said in her resignation video she left the journalism industry because “I don’t like the direction it is going. …I’m sure there are other journalists out there who feel the same way.”

“I was out for a walk with my husband one night and a couple of people stopped their cars to roll down their windows and talk to me and said you really should give politics a try because we need somebody with integrity,” Lake said.

The former anchor admitted she “kind of laughed it off” at first, but that things started to get more serious after she spoke with people in politics.

Lake announced her campaign June 1, joining state Treasurer Kimberly Yee and Karrin Taylor Robson, secretary of the Arizona Board of Regents, on the Republican side of the race.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is the biggest name in the Democratic field.

“I had a few people who were in the world of politics or kind of associated with that who reached out to me and said, ‘I think you really should consider this Kari. I think we need you. You’ve got name recognition,'” Lake said.

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