10 Nov 21st-Nov 27th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | from the drama ended up costing Lake Republican votes. “The damage that she took for the recording of that audio tape was far worse than people initially gave it credit for,” Dell’Artino said. “There was a sizable amount of Republicans that never came back from that. I think from their perspec- tive, she broke their trust.” But even if Lake has cemented her stature as a loser in Arizona, don’t count her out of the national political scene. It seems she’s been hedging her bets on it for the whole cycle. Within the first month of launching her Senate bid, Lake was spotted campaigning everywhere but Arizona, spending much of her time haunting the halls of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Why Lake was stumping so much outside of Arizona, among extreme right-wing confreres instead of average Arizonans, became a common and defining question of her campaign. “Kari was no longer campaigning like she did in 2022,” Willems said. “In 2022, she had a grassroots focus. She was showing up at district meetings and clubs, shaking hands and kissing babies and taking pictures.” This cycle, Lake wasn’t around. She even canceled appearances with some grassroots organizations at the last minute, according to Willems, which he said “rubbed them the wrong way.” Swamp creature? On Election Day, Lake tweeted, “They hate me in DC because I can’t be bought, I can’t be blackmailed, and I can’t be bribed.” That’s fairly misleading — Lake was endorsed by 25 GOP U.S. senators — but it’s true in one sense. There were plenty in the GOP who indeed weren’t digging her campaign. In the month before the election, powerful, high-rolling committees run by associates of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans stopped spending money on Lake’s race, effectively leaving her for dead. In the days since the election, the Kari Lake War Room account has tweeted and retweeted multiple bitter messages about her lack of support from party leadership. “Whoever the next Senate Majority Leader is, we hope he actually gives a damn about Arizona,” the account posted on Nov. 11. As he returns to the White House, Trump may not be a very big fan, either. While Lake may seem like a natural for a combative role such as White House press secretary, neither Dell’Artino nor Marson find that likely. “I just don’t think she’s going to be on the list at the end of the day,” Dell’Artino said. “He likes her until she loses, and then it doesn’t go so well.” Added Marson, “You can be a lot of things in Trumpworld, but you can’t be a loser.” New Times asked the Trump transition team whether it was considering Kari Lake for a position in the administration. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt replied that “those decisions will be announced when they are made.” Dell’Artino and Marson both mentioned that Lake’s speaking skills might be a good fit for a media organization or in PAC-land. Turning Point USA, founded in Arizona by Charlie Kirk, seems as likely a home as any. It has a national audience, which Lake craves, and is comfortable addressing, Dell- Artino noted. “Charlie Kirk sure likes to use her services,” he said, “so the most likely scenario in my mind is she ends up going on that payroll.” Marson had a similar outlook. “There are a ton of PACs out there that are controlled by the MAGA movement people,” he said. “But she could work at Turning Point. There are many places to fit her in.” Lake may not stand for elected office again, but she’s about as likely to go away as be declared governor. The MAGA-sphere is just too accommodating to people so certain that they belong in the spotlight. In the end, what’s left for a grifter might just be the grift. Hitching herself to the Donald Trump bandwagon didn’t pay off for Kari Lake, who drastically underperformed the former president on the ballot in 2024. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Is This Goodbye? from p 8
