As the GOP gubernatorial primary race in Arizona tightened on Wednesday, Kari Lake gave an uplifting message at a Phoenix news conference.
Going against the establishment media’s narrative of her being a conservative extremist, Lake delivered remarks about unifying the Republican Party at a time she said the party needs to come together.
The gubernatorial candidate revealed she would be willing to work with her rival, Karrin Taylor Robson, who was trailing Lake in votes. Lake was declared the winner of the Republican primary on Thursday.
When asked on Wednesday if she would reach out to Robson for support, Lake described the Republican Party as a family.
“In a big family you have good times, you have bad times, you have fights and you have some dysfunction, but at the end of the day you’re still brothers and sisters and you’re still family.
“We are family in this Republican Party. We don’t maybe agree on every single thing, but I think we agree on the most important issues of the day,” Lake said.
At a news conference this afternoon, Kari Lake anticipated support from Doug Ducey, Mike Pence & other Republicans she has excoriated for supporting her opponent. “We’re one big happy-sometimes, sometimes dysfunctional family,” she said. “I want to bring folks together.” pic.twitter.com/7JyMKiWkgS
— Michael C. Bender (@MichaelCBender) August 3, 2022
“I believe that Karrin will come in because I know for a fact that Karrin loves this state. She was born here, she cares deeply about Arizona and, frankly, this party needs her to come together,” Lake said. “I welcome her, and I hope that she will come and work with us.”
The Associated Press called the race for Lake on Thursday night. She was winning by nearly 3 percentage points with 89 percent of votes reported, according to The New York Times.
“This is a movement, and we want all Republicans in this movement,” Lake said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Democratic primary ended in a landslide victory for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. She beat Marco Lopez by 50 points.
Robson was endorsed last month by former Vice President Mike Pence, while former President Donald Trump supported Lake.
Despite Lake’s wish to unite with Robson, the Pence-endorsed candidate disagreed with Lake’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which remains a hotly contested debate among conservatives and Republicans.