Kari Lake, Republican gubernatorial nominee in the Arizona midterm elections and an ally of former President Donald Trump, could well be Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential elections, political observers say.
Speculation around Trump’s running mate grew rife after the former president announced that he will be running in the 2024 presidential polls.
Who is Kari Lake?
Kari Lake was the Republican candidate in the 2022 Gubernatorial election in Arizona. She is an American politician and a former journalist who worked in Phoenix Television station for nearly 22 years.
Kari Lake was born in Rock Island, Illinois USA. Kari spent her childhood in Iowa and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from the University of Iowa in 1991.
Also Read| US primaries: What’s on the ballot in Arizona elections
Her career started as an intern at KWQC-TV and later she became a production assistant. She joined WHBF-TV as a daily reporter and weekend weathercaster in 1992. Later she joined KSAZ-TV and also interviewed Barack Obama during the elections in 2016. Lake has been married to Jeff Halperin since August 1998.
Until 2006, Lake was a member of the Republican party. She registered herself as a Democrat in 2008 soon after the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses were won by Obama. She joined the Republican party again in 2012 and cited her reasons for leaving the party in 2006.
Also Read| US primaries: Chris Van Hollen wins Democratic ticket for US Senate
In June 2021, she filed her nominations for the governor of Arizona for the 2022 election. Karrin Taylor Robson, Paola Tulliani Zen, and Scott Neel were among the four other candidates who had filled their nominations. Lake and Robson were leading in polling and fundraising and by the end of the year Lake had raised $1.4 million from 12,000 sources.
Kari Lake is identified as a Conservative Republican and she described herself as a “Trump Candidate”. She has also attracted many right-wing extremist supporters during her 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Lake has accused President Joe Biden and Democrats for harboring a “demonic agenda”.
