Kari Lake Challenger Sounds the Alarm About His Campaign Funds

Ruben Gallego, the leading Democratic candidate in Arizona's U.S. Senate race, has sounded an alarm about his fundraising in a contest that could pit him against independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Kari Lake in November.

Arizona's election is viewed as among the most competitive Senate races this year and could play a crucial role in determining whether Democrats or Republicans control the chamber. The contest in the battleground state has already garnered significant attention because of its high-profile candidates.

Gallego, who represents a Phoenix-based district in the U.S. House, announced last year he would challenge Sinema, who left the Democratic Party after a series of legislative disagreements. Lake, who narrowly lost Arizona's 2022 gubernatorial race and has gained attention for her staunchly conservative views and embrace of Donald Trump's stolen-election claims, is expected to easily win the GOP nomination.

In a post to X (formerly Twitter), Gallego warned last week that his campaign was lagging behind its fundraising goals.

"Not the news I was hoping to share but polling has us down 6 points to MAGA-extremist Kari Lake," his campaign wrote. "And the truth is, we're pacing behind on our fundraising goals. I can't do it alone but if lots of people like you chip in, we will have a real shot at taking the lead and WINNING."

Still, his fundraising has outpaced Lake's. Sinema, who has not said whether she plans to run for reelection, has raised more money than her challengers. Candidates for office frequently warn they are behind in fundraising as an effort to drum up campaign donations.

In 2023, Gallego raised $13.2 million, and he ended the year with $6.5 million, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. Meanwhile, Lake raised $2.1 million and ended the year with just over $1 million. Sinema raised $16.9 million and ended the year with $6.5 million.

Newsweek reached out to Gallego's campaign for comment via email.

Meanwhile, polls show the race is closely competitive.

The most recent independent polling is a survey conducted by Tulchin Research from November 13 to 20 among 800 likely voters. The poll found that 39 percent of respondents said they would back Gallego, 34 percent would support Lake and 17 percent would vote for Sinema. The poll had a margin of plus or minus 3.47 percentage points.

Partisan polls conducted since then found similarly close results.

A J.L. Partners poll, which was conducted from January 29 to February 1 among 500 registered voters and was sponsored by Lake's campaign, found a narrow Lake lead that grew without Sinema in the race.

The poll found that 40 percent of voters would back Lake, 39 percent would vote for Gallego and Sinema received 13 percent of support.

But in a head-to-head race between Lake and Gallego, Lake received 46 percent support while Gallego received 44 percent, according to the survey.