EXCLUSIVE — Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is backing Kari Lake for her competitive Senate bid in Arizona, offering her one of the most high-profile endorsements yet from the upper chamber.
Cornyn lauded Lake’s campaign stances on the economy and border, praising the Republican candidate as Republicans’ best choice to cut down on illegal immigration in the border state. Cornyn’s endorsement comes as the Texas Republican eyes a bid to become the party’s Senate leader next year and flip the upper chamber into GOP control.
“Joe Biden and Ruben Gallego have destroyed our economy, made our streets less safe, and failed to secure the border,” Cornyn said in a statement. “Kari Lake will get our economy back on track and finish the border wall. I am proud to endorse her for Senate in Arizona.”
The Senate race in Arizona could be one of Republicans’ best opportunities to seize control of the upper chamber next year. The race is deemed to be a toss-up, with Lake and candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) virtually tied in recent polls.
Cornyn’s endorsement makes him the latest GOP senator to back her campaign following Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Rand Paul (R-KY).
“I am thrilled to have the support and endorsement of Senator John Cornyn,” Lake said in a statement. “He helped President Trump confirm conservative judges and cut taxes. I look forward to joining him in the Senate to fix our country.”
Recent polling shows Lake leading Gallego by 1 point in a head-to-head race, 46% to 45%, according to a survey conducted by Public Policy.
The race shifts slightly if incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) enters the fray. The RealClearPolitics average of public polling shows Gallego ahead by 4.5 points in a three-way matchup with Lake and Sinema. Sinema has not yet announced whether she plans to run for reelection.
Lake’s allies have also pointed to former President Donald Trump’s polling in Arizona against President Joe Biden as a good sign for her campaign. Lake has closely aligned herself with the former president, and Trump has endorsed her candidacy.
Lake also benefits from the support of the main Senate GOP campaign arm, which endorsed her campaign earlier this month. That could give her a major boost in fundraising in the case of a head-to-head matchup with Gallego, who has not garnered an endorsement from any sitting Democratic senator so far in the cycle as they await Sinema’s decision.
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There are 34 Senate seats up for grabs in the 2024 election cycle. Of these, Democrats must defend 23, compared to just 11 for Republicans, and nearly all competitive seats are held by Democrats, putting them on the defensive as they try to maintain their slim majority.
Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, with the advantage of having Vice President Kamala Harris as a tiebreaker vote if needed. As a result, Republicans only need to flip one Senate seat to win the majority should they win back the White House in 2024. If they don’t regain the Oval Office, the party must secure two extra Senate seats.
