PRESCOTT, Arizona — On a chilly Election Eve, Kari Lake, Arizona's Republican candidate vying for a U.S. Senate seat, rallied her supporters for the final time of her campaign.
"I don't know what temperature it is tonight. I think it's either 45 or 47. What do you think?" Lake said. "I think it's 47 degrees right now and I want Donald J Trump to be the 47th president of the United States."
Lake held her last pitch to voters on the steps of the Yavapai County Courthouse, a historic building that's become the backdrop for many Republican candidates for decades.
On November 4, 2008, John McCain spent the night before the election there when he was running for president.
In 1964, it's where Barry Goldwater announced his presidential candidacy.
"Do you know that the America First movement was started right here, right then this spot, by Barry Goldwater? Barry Goldwater said we got to make America great again. Ronald Reagan reiterated that, and Donald J. Trump made it come true," Lake said.
Lake, the former TV news anchor, launched her campaign for U.S. Senate in October of 2023, nearly two years after losing her gubernatorial bid.
She lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes. However, she won 64 percent of the vote in Yavapai County. It's the red county's voters she chose to spend the final night of her campaign with.
Other speakers before Lake included CD8 Republican candidate Abe Hamadeh, State Senator Wendy Rogers, Congressman Andy Biggs and Congressman Eli Crane.
"I believe in fair and honest elections that way we can vote the losers out and keep the winners. How's that? I really believe that our founding fathers never envisioned we'd have elections that are run so horribly," Lake said.
Lake reminded her supporters about her position on key issues like the border while criticizing her opponent.
"I want to go to Washington, D.C. and I want to help President Trump secure our border. I'm so tired of what's happening. We've been invaded for the past four years and it didn't have to happen, but Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and my opponent, Ruben Gallego, who is in love with the cartels. He's got ties to the cartels, and he's in love with them, and he has empowered them, and they've rubber stamped this invasion on our border and we're tired of it," Lake said.
Most attendees cheered when asked if they voted early. As for the rest, Lake urged them to vote on Election Day and to reach out to friends and family to ensure they do the same.
Lake, who has been critical of polling during her campaign, said she's left it all out on the trail.
"I know that the polls have tightened. I know my internal polls show us up, but that's only if you turn out to vote tomorrow," Lake said.
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