Trump loyalist and former television anchor Kari Lake has lost her battle in the U.S. Senate race in Arizona to Democrat Ruben Gallego, according to projections from multiple outlets including the Associated Press and The Washington Post.
The Post said Gallego was leading Lake with more than 94 percent of the vote counted by Monday night.
The announcement is the last to be called in the Senate race of the 2024 election and represents a small victory for Democrats, who were hoping to clinch the seat after it was vacated by Kyrsten Sinema, who initially ran as a Democrat but switched to an independent in 2022.
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Despite Gallego’s win, however, Republicans will still gain control of the Senate with 53 seats to Democrats’ 47.
“Gracias, Arizona!” Gallego posted to X on Monday night. According to The New York Times, Gallego, with tears in his eyes, said at a press conference in Phoenix, “For the kids sleeping on the floor, dreaming about a better, better America and a better, better future, this victory is for you.”
Gallego, a Marine veteran who has served in the House since 2015, will become the first Latino senator to represent Arizona.
The loss marks back-to-back election defeats for Lake, who had not publicly conceded the race Monday night, though she did say she would accept the results while talking to reporters on Election Day.
“I have had a few concerns but we’ve done a lot of legwork to prevent any problems,” Lake said.
Despite losing her gubernatorial race in 2022, Lake never conceded and multiple attempts to overturn the results failed in court.
