Arizona GOP nominee for governor Kari Lake says it’s time for party to unite

PHOENIX – With her party’s nomination for Arizona governor securely in hand, Republican Kari Lake said it’s time to put aside differences and work toward the general election.

“We’re all big boys and big girls and we need to step forward and say that was a … grueling fight and now we come together,” Lake told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Friday.

The first-time political candidate and former TV anchor was declared primary winner Thursday night by the Associated Press in a bitterly contested race against businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson.

She will face Democrat Katie Hobbs, who easily won her primary, in the Nov. 8 election.

Lake was endorsed by former President Donald Trump while Taylor Robson was backed by Gov. Doug Ducey, former Vice President Mike Pence and gubernatorial dropout candidate Matt Salmon, formerly of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Now, Lake thinks it’s time for the party to unite.

“I come from a big family, I’m the youngest of nine. We had fights, we had dysfunction a little bit … but at the end of the day, as a family, we came together as brothers and sisters,” she said.

“And I see the Republican Party that way – a little bit of dysfunction sometimes, some in-fighting occasionally, but we agree, I would say, on 85%-90% of all issues. And I’m talking about the establishment crowd and the hardcore Trumpers. We agree on about 90% of everything, maybe even more.”

A week ago, Taylor Robson said in an interview on Gaydos and Chad that she would support Lake in the general election because she always supported Republican nominees.

In her concession tweet, Taylor Robson congratulated Lake and reiterated her support for all the state’s Republican nominees in the November election.

“I’m hoping that the governor will come in and get behind us and we’re going to do great things,” Lake said.

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