Mayor of AZ border town who shared stage with Kari Lake now endorsing Democrat Ruben Gallego

03 July 2024

Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake appears to have lost a major supporter in her effort to flip Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat this November.

The Arizona Republic recently reported that Mayor Jorge Maldonado, of the city of Nogales near the Southern border, has now officially thrown his endorsement to Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), who is Lake's lone Democratic opponent. This endorsement came despite Maldonado appearing alongside Lake in November of 2023 as part of her "Mama Bear Border Tour."

"Ruben Gallego has a deep understanding of our community here in Nogales and a genuine commitment to making Arizona a better place for all of us," Maldonado said in a public statement. "His passion for public service and his willingness to fight for Arizona’s border communities are qualities we desperately need in the U.S. Senate. I know Ruben will never use our city as a political talking point. Instead, he will be a tireless advocate for Nogales and our entire state."

The Republic reported that Maldonado's endorsement makes him the third mayor of a border-adjacent city to endorse Gallego after Mayors Nieves Riedel of San Luis and Gerardo Anaya of Somerton both also officially aligned themselves behind the Democratic congressman. This suggests that Lake's attempts to cast herself as the best candidate for border and immigration issues is falling flat with key constituencies in the Grand Canyon State. She has attempted to connect inflation — another major concern for voters heading into November — with illegal immigration in her campaign speeches.

"The two are linked. They truly are. When we have 12 million people pouring in, that means Americans have to compete for housing and compete for all of the products and services that are out there," Lake said during an appearance last week with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Maldonado's endorsement may also give an opening to Lake's chief Republican primary opponent. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is the top law enforcement officer in a jurisdiction that straddles the Southern border, has made border security a key plank of his campaign for the GOP nomination. He's been reminded voters that his office recently prevented 80 pounds of fentanyl from making its way into the United States.

"What have we done in Pinal County? We work with Border Patrol every day, we take our helicopter out," he said during an online chat session in June. "I have an anti-smuggling unit and my canines are completely dedicated to trafficking, whether it’s humans, drugs."

Lake, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is coming off of a narrow loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in Arizona's 2022 gubernatorial election. She has still not acknowledged that Hobbs won the election fairly despite her attorneys losing multiple challenges in court. And earlier this month, she gave a speech at a pro-Trump merchandise store once again denying the result of the 2022 election, which happened to be in front of a Confederate flag.

A former TV news anchor, Lake has never held elected office. She has pledged to be an ardent devotee of the MAGA agenda if elected to the U.S. Senate. And with hotly contested U.S. House seats and its status as a swing state, Arizona may end up deciding not only control of the Senate this fall, but the House and the presidency as well.

Click here to read the Arizona Republic's report in its entirety (subscription required).

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