There’s a lot at stake in the 2024 election and I’m not just talking about the presidency. In order for Trump to be effective if he wins and to prevent Vice President Kamala Harris from totally wrecking our republic if she ends up in the Oval Office, Republicans need to take control of both chambers of Congress. For those who failed civics class, that would be the Senate and the House of Representatives. Republicans have the House and will probably retain control and add more seats to strengthen their hold, but the Democrats have a narrow margin in the Senate, which means every potential race for a Senate seat is critical.
None more so than the one in Arizona between former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego. For most of the race Gallego has been ahead of Lake by miles, but that is all changing as we speak. The closer Election Day looms, the more of a lead Lake takes in the polls. For example, new data has Lake in the lead over Gallego 48.6 percent to his 47.9 percent.
📊 AZ SENATE POLL: @atlas_intel
🟥 Lake: 48.6% (+0.7)
🟦 Gallego: 47.9%
🟪 Other: 1.4%
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Last 3 polls
9/27 – 🔵 Gallego +4.1
10/17 – 🔵 Gallego +3.5
10/25 – 🔵 Gallego +0.5
10/30 – 🔴 Lake +0.7
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#22 (2.7/3.0) | 10/30-31 | 1,005 LVhttps://t.co/tCayUocDZl. https://t.co/gK3YwPzv7P pic.twitter.com/VfvxwxcjBX— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) October 31, 2024
A report from The Telegraph goes into more detail about how things are turning around for Lake:
The Republican has moved ahead of her Democratic challenger Ruben Gallego for the first time in months, potentially paving the way for the GOP to take control of the Senate. The polling, published by Data Orbital, shows the controversial Republican candidate on 45.2 per cent of the vote, narrowly ahead of her opponent on 44.5 per cent. Although the gap remains comfortably within the margin of error, it is the first time since July that a head-to-head poll has put the Republican candidate in the lead.
With the Senate currently tilted 51-49 in favour of the Democrats, the emergence of Ms Lake, an ardent Donald Trump ally, at this late stage could prove to be decisive in determining who controls the Senate under the next administration. It comes after the Republican candidate was involved in a heated exchange with CNN on Monday in which she refused to concede that she lost the 2022 governor’s race, despite being defeated by more than 17,000 votes.
Lake was asked during the interview if she felt she lost the election back in 2022, to which she responded, “Why are we looking backward? I’m looking forward.” When the network pressed her harder on the topic she fired back at the media for stating that she “can’t get over it. You say I can’t get over it, and it looks like you can’t.”
“I’m actually thinking you meant to ask me about the issues people cared about,” she told CNN before trying to switch up the topic of discussion to the issue of immigration and the crisis along the southern border.