Kari Lake 'Surprised' by Blistering Attack From Original Wonder Woman

Kari Lake, the Republican candidate who lost Arizona's 2022 gubernatorial election to Democrat Katie Hobbs, has expressed her "incredible surprise" at a scathing post about her shared by original Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter.

Lake, a former television anchor turned Republican who won the backing of former President Donald Trump for her gubernatorial bid, is reportedly set to launch her campaign for Arizona's U.S. Senate seat next month. She is currently involved in a legal battle to overturn her loss in the November 2022 election.

Despite her loss, Lake has continued to be an outspoken voice on social media, drawing engagement from her 1.5 million followers on X, formerly Twitter. As one of Trump's unwavering supporters, Lake is often identified with MAGA, the acronym for his 2016 presidential campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."

With Lake's anticipated run, a meme recently started circulating on X that showed her face superimposed over that of Carter's in her hit 1970s TV series Wonder Woman. The show, which was based on the DC superhero character of the same name, aired on ABC and later CBS from 1975 until 1979.

However, Carter, who has often criticized Trump on social media, took umbrage to the image, which sees Lake rebranded as "MAGA Woman"—and she made her feelings known in a blistering statement posted on X on Thursday.

Posting the "MAGA Woman" meme, Carter wrote: "Wonder Woman represents kindness, empathy, and pursuit of truth and justice. It is a delusion to believe Kari Lake could fill those boots, unless she's just dropping by a Spirit Halloween store."

The post, which has been viewed more than 600,000 times, caught the attention of Lake, who opted to respond by telling Carter how much of a Wonder Woman fan she is.

"Hello @RealLyndaCarter, What an incredible surprise to see that you responded to this light-hearted Meme that somebody made today," Lake began her message. "I have nothing but the utmost gratitude for you. I loved the role you played as Wonder Woman.

"As a child in the 70s, I enjoyed EVERY single episode I had a chance to watch. And when I went to deliver my beautiful babies nearly 2 decades ago, I wore a Wonder Woman T-shirt (Becoming a mother makes you feel like a Super Hero!)"

"I wish you nothing but love and I believe that we both [love] America and hope to bring our country together under the U.S. Constitution and the freedoms and liberties our Founding Fathers worked into that amazing document," Lake concluded. "May God Bless You and I pray that one day I get to meet you."

As of press time, Carter is yet to respond to Lake's post. Newsweek has contacted a representative of Carter via email for comment.

Meanwhile, Lake's reported bid for Arizona's U.S. Senate seat would see her potentially challenge incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat who has since left the party and become an Independent.

While a Democratic challenger to Sinema has already emerged in Ruben Gallego, the Republican field has appeared hesitant to put forth a candidate as Lake's bid remained a possibility.

Sinema has not declared whether she will run for re-election, though polls often consider her as running. Gallego officially launched his Senate campaign in January.

Next year, Arizona's Senate race is likely to be a three-way election with Sinema as an Independent, Gallego for the Democrats, and possibly Lake for the GOP.

Lake's bid for the Senate race would officially put an end to her claims that Arizona's latest gubernatorial election was stolen from her. After losing to Hobbs by a margin of 17,000 votes, Lake refused to concede, and legally challenged the election results, asking for the race to be re-run or for her to be declared winner.

Lake alleged irregularities in Maricopa County—home to 60 percent of voters—prevented Republican voters from casting their ballot in support of her. Her claims were eventually thrown out of court.

To run for a new position in Arizona, Lake would have to finally drop her challenge to the November race.