Kari Lake Ran Into Ruben Gallego in Phoenix. It Didn't Go Well.

Arizona will be a crucial Senate race for Republicans in 2024 and could become one of the nastiest. It’s a three-way race, with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who broke away from Democrats, running for re-election against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and whoever the eventual Republican nominee is, which could be Kari Lake, the former 2022 gubernatorial candidate who has officially declared or Blake Masters, who is mulling another run for the US Senate. There are other candidates, but Lake, for now, is way ahead in the polls.

Lake is a firebrand with wide name recognition, being one of the state’s most visible broadcast journalists for years. It’s why the Democratic attacks on her personality never resonated. People have seen her in their living rooms for a decade-plus; you won’t succeed in casting her as crazy.

Hey @KariLake we're on the same plane! Just come back from first class to coach and we can chat. ⁰⁰Happy to walk you through all my legislative work to deliver key resources to AZ's border communities. https://t.co/4MiJHjFxoB
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) October 5, 2023

The former journalist ran into Gallego at an airport in Phoenix and had a heated exchange in which Lake pretty much said she wouldn't work with him because she intended to beat the brakes off of him. Though a heated conversation, both public figures spoke about immigration, the fentanyl crisis, the rising homeless population, and other critical issues, even if they were talking past each other (via Daily Caller):

.@KariLake confronts Democrat opponent on the border

LAKE: “ I’m not working together with you, I’m going to beat you.” pic.twitter.com/wMbC7iGF4O
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 6, 2023

In the video, Lake and Gallego can be seen at the airport, near the baggage claim area, having a conversation about the border crisis, which has greatly affected Arizona and the rest of the U.S. Lake, who officially filed to run for U.S. Senate in Arizona on Tuesday, slammed Gallego over Democrats’ support of massive influxes of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border daily.
[…]
“It’s going to be a knockdown drag out, and unfortunately our border is wide open … and even the Democrats are upset about it,” Lake said.
“I think there’s a lot we can still do and we’ve been doing some good work. I think there’s some common ground I could find out. Look, we need to figure out how to get people here legally, so they don’t go through the illegal manner,” Gallego said.
“We have plenty of people here right now. We have millions of people here. Fentanyl has killed more young people … this is Ruben Gallego — our border is wide open — he’s trying to run for Senate, our borders are wide open, fentanyl is killing our young people,” Lake responded.
[…]
“This guy wants to destroy our country,” Lake said.
“I appreciate your service to our country. But I sure wish that you care more about our border. We’re a border state,” Lake continued.
“I do care about the border, as a matter of fact, I would go down to the border with you,” Gallego responded. “Let’s talk to the mayors. Let’s get it together,” he responded.

I’ve always loved Lake’s energy. She has a great presence; she commands the room. But this isn’t going to be an easy race, which she should know from her failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign. First, she needs to win the GOP primary. Second, general elections of this nature are always funky. Gallego is also raking in the cash. This contest isn’t a pushover, but Lake probably knows that. Still, this airport throwdown was something.