Gallego leads Lake in AZ U.S. Senate race

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(The Center Square) – Arizona’s U.S. Senate race has not been called as of early Wednesday morning.

At 81% of precincts reporting, Democratic candidate Ruben Gallego is leading by 88,686 votes over his Republican opponent Kari Lake.

Whoever pulls through will be joining Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in the Upper Chamber. If Lake wins, it mark another U.S. Senate seat that has shifted from blue to red.

Lake who is running on a Trump-aligned campaign and who has been endorsed by Trump, supported those calling the race in the former president’s favor Tuesday night. She stated on X that Trump has won his third election, insinuating that Trump won the 2020 election against President Joe Biden.

If elected, Lake’s priorities are to secure the Southern border, create affordable housing and provide alternative resources for women who are seeking an abortion. She has spoken out in support of Trump’s border security plans including a mass deportation.

Lake is a former TV personality and ran for Arizona governor in 2022, losing to Gov. Katie Hobbs. Lake has denied her election loss, resulting in numerous lawsuits.

Gallego’s priorities reflect those that he has worked on during his time in the U.S. House of Representatives. These are abortion access, immigration, economy and inflation, water protections and tribal communities.

Gallego voted for legislation to guarantee the right to travel across state lines to get an abortion and co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act and the My Body, My Data Act. These protect women’s healthcare providers and medical data.

He said that he would waive the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade.

Other actions Gallego has promised to make is to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, vote for the CHIPS and Science Act, ensure every Arizonan has access to high quality healthcare, expand broadband on tribal lands through his Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act and codifying acts that would protect the right to vote such as the Jon R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

The results of this race may not be seen until later this week as election officials have predicted delays due to new election integrity laws.