Fresh off her second electoral defeat in as many years, Arizona Republican Kari Lake issued a statement on any future plans to run for office while speaking at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference earlier this week.
Lake, who was defeated by U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in the race for the seat’s open senate state, had been the subject of rumors surrounding a bid for office in a different state. Some conservatives had floated the idea of Lake, who was born and raised in Iowa, challenging Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) in the Republican primary.
Another bid for governor of Arizona — after Lake was narrowly defeated by current governor Katie Hobbs in a controversial election in 2022 — was also reportedly in the cards. A second gubernatorial bid appeared less likely after Trump appeared to issue an early endorsement of Lake’s former challenger Karrin Taylor Robson in a Truth Social post.
During her speech at AmericaFest, Lake was asked about the rumors and whether she would have any interest in pursuing another campaign for office. “I am gonna go help President Trump in Washington, D.C. That’s what I’m gonna do,” Lake told the conference in downtown Phoenix.
She went on to point to the circumstances of the 2022 election, which was marred by machine errors on Election Day while Hobbs was able to oversee her own election as Arizona secretary of state. Lake has remained adamant that the race was “rigged” against her. “We’re not where we need to be on elections. And that’s one of the reasons I don’t want to run again, to be honest. Why put yourself through that torture again?” she said.
The staunch Trump ally was recently nominated to head up Voice of America, a government-funded international news outlet, in the president-elect’s second administration.
VOA was founded during World War II, and its congressional charter requires it to present independent news and information to international audiences.
The supposedly neutral broadcaster generated controversy in 2020 by publishing numerous stories that painted the Trump Administration in an unfavorable, leading to criticism from Trump, who accused VOA staffers of saying “nasty things about out country.”
“I am honored that President Trump has asked me to lead the Voice of America,” Lake, who worked as a local news anchor for the Phoenix area television station KSAZ-TV for two decades, wrote in an X post after she was nominated. “VOA is a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth,” the post continued, adding that VOA broadcasts in 48 languages.
