Ahead in the polls, Kari Lake tests new theme: Don't let America become California

Ahead in the polls and garnering national attention, Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake is teasing a new message that could catch on for conservatives in 2024: California is the evil empire for freedom-loving Americans.

"We're not interested in those liberal, leftist California-style policies in Arizona," Lake said on Friday during an interview on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show.

According to Lake, her Democrat opponent, current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, wants to transform Arizona into California by adopting the failing policies of the Golden State.

"This is why Katie Hobbs is losing," Lake said. "It's one of the reasons. We also know that she looks to California in those dead-end policies where they're actually raising taxes on people at the worst time, when they're already suffering under Joe Biden's inflation. They're actually forcing businesses to remain shut down due to COVID restrictions.

"Katie Hobbs has the Secretary of State's office still shut down because of COVID. These are the kinds of policies she'll bring to Arizona."

A big issue that seems to be driving voters to the polls in Arizona in a few days is the border crisis. Current GOP Gov. Doug Ducey stacked containers to fill gaps in the border wall that had started to be built under former President Donald Trump. Hobbs referred to these stacked containers as a "publicity stunt" by the current governor. 

"We knew that she wants open borders because we saw her voting record," Lake said in response to Hobbs' remarks about the containers. "She just verified it to the millions of Americans who are concerned about this wide open border, and and worse is the fentanyl that's killing our young generation. I've talked to so many moms and dads on the campaign trail, who told me they lost a 17-year-old daughter or a 19-year-old son, and they are horrified that our border is wide open. I want to finish President Trump's wall." 

Something that gives her hope, Lake said, is that the younger generation seems to be moving in the direction of conservatism and the Republican Party. According to a recent Trafalgar poll, the demographic of 18-24 year-olds are dissatisfied with the Democrat Party and the current leadership. 

"That is the biggest thing I'm most excited about," Lake said. "The new Republican Party is a young Republican Party."

According to Lake, the younger generation had school, social events with friends, and  coming-of-age milestones like prom stolen from them by elected officials and bureaucrats during COVID. 

"What the elected officials and some non-elected officials in this country did to our children is unforgivable, and we will not forget what they did," she said. "And these children are now growing up. They are of voting age, and they remember who did what, and they know who's going to be there and stand for them and stand up for them."

Arizona GOP Chairwoman Dr. Kelli Ward says that it is important that Republican candidates have a "soul and a spine" in order to stand up for the American people. 

"I think Arizona is the tip of the spear to be a model for the rest of the nation," Ward said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "Here we have people who have a spine and a soul. Believe me, as the chairman of this party it has been one of my major goals is to make sure that our candidates have a spine and a soul and a brain and a heart and that they have the skills, talents and abilities that are needed to do the jobs."

Ward said seeing the state's GOP ticket of Kari Lake, Blake Masters, Mark Finchem, and Abe Hamadeh doing so well on messaging is satisfying. 

"To see them working together already is simply amazing," Ward said. "They are a group of people that has solutions, that stays on messaging, and understands each one's role in putting our state and our nation back on track. It is unheard of. It's unseen before, and I think that it will be the model in states going forward."