Kari Lake aspires to secure a seat in the Senate. Additionally, she is determined to continue her efforts in challenging the outcome of the election she did not win.

Kari Lake requested that people raise their hands.

Who has faced cancellation? Who has experienced the loss of friendships? Whose relationships with family have become strained? Who has been accused of wrongdoing? Who has been legally pursued for making false statements?

“If you did not raise your hand during any of that, then I believe you should put in more effort. I genuinely do,” Lake addressed a supportive audience of Michigan Republicans who convened last month on Mackinac Island.

Lake plans to officially announce her candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Arizona at a high-profile event in Scottsdale. Despite her previous loss in the race for Arizona governor, she remains determined and is using this campaign as an opportunity to test new strategies and gain the support of national Republicans, even those she has criticized before. However, she remains steadfast in her controversial tactics that have garnered attention from the far right, including her confrontational approach towards perceived adversaries, her loyalty to Donald Trump, and her willingness to defend his claims of election fraud.

Some Republicans are concerned that she may negatively impact their chances of winning a crucial Senate race, which could determine control of the Senate.

Chris Baker, a Republican political consultant from Arizona, believes that Kari Lake has the potential to win, but only if she alters her campaign strategy from two years ago. He suggests that she needs to present herself as a credible candidate who addresses important matters that matter to Republican and independent voters. However, Baker feels that Lake has not focused enough on these crucial issues in the current year.

After once calling Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell an “old bat” and saying he needed to be replaced as Republican leader, Lake now says she would support him if she’s elected. Last year, she called abortion “the ultimate sin” and supported a near-total ban on abortion in Arizona. Now, she says she wouldn’t endorse a federal abortion ban.

Republican leaders at the national level believe that a Republican candidate could benefit from a potential three-way competition if Senator Kyrsten Sinema decides to run for reelection. Sinema, who switched from being a Democrat to an independent last year, is getting ready for a campaign but has not confirmed if she will run for a second term. U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego is expected to secure the Democratic nomination.

Lake met recently with Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, who leads the GOP’s Senate campaign work as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and saw several other GOP senators during a trip to Washington. Daines has publicly urged Lake to focus on the future instead of relitigating past elections.

She continues to maintain that both she and Trump were deprived of their rightful win.

Lake, who attended the recent GOP presidential debate in California, stated to The Associated Press in September that individuals are gradually realizing the accuracy of President Trump’s claims. As this realization spreads throughout America, the nation will unite.

A former television news anchor for nearly three decades in the Phoenix market, Lake was already known locally but had no national profile when she walked away from her career in 2021, declared “journalism is dead,” and took a sledgehammer to televisions showing cable newscasts.

Until the day of the election, she openly supported Trump, made public appearances alongside conservative figures such as Steve Bannon, and strongly criticized established Republicans, including the late Sen. John McCain.

She lost the governor’s race by less than 1 point. About four in 10 Arizona voters in the 2022 election said they were “very concerned” that Lake’s views were too extreme, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of U.S. voters. She lost 11% of Republicans. About 63% of independents and 96% of Democrats backed the winner, Democrat Katie Hobbs.

However, Lake gained prominence within the conservative community through her frequent television appearances and her support of Trump’s false claims about the election.

Since then, Lake has been on numerous trips to address Republican organizations across the nation, primarily discussing her unfounded allegations of election fraud. Her frequent visits to Iowa, her birth state and the location of the influential presidential caucuses, have attracted attention in political circles. Speculation has arisen about her potentially being chosen as Trump’s running mate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as he is currently the leading contender.

She filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County, alleging that election officials intentionally caused printer malfunctions in order to make her lose. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in her legal efforts and her appeals were reviewed by various courts, ultimately reaching the Arizona Supreme Court.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican official, filed a defamation lawsuit against her due to her false statements about his election conduct, which resulted in him receiving death threats.

Last month she was back in court for her third election-related case, where she watched as her lawyer argued that Arizona’s public records law entitles her to see copies of signed vote-by-mail envelopes. She claims reviewing the signatures would allow her to prove that ballots were counted that should not have been, drawing parallels to an unprecedented partisan recount of ballots conducted by Trump supporters on behalf of state Senate Republicans following the 2020 election.

Her fights over the 2020 and 2022 elections have only further endeared her to Arizona Republicans, who nominated a slate of Trump-backed candidates who spread election lies and went on to lose in the midterms. She enters the Senate race as an immediate front-runner in the GOP primary, where she’ll face Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.

During the Republican presidential debate in September, Lake was asked by the AP if she requires additional backing from moderates. In response, Lake declined to answer directly and instead stated that she already enjoys extensive support from Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

Lake stated that she believes their policies are appealing to Democrats.

After experiencing unexpected defeats in the Senate last year, Republicans in Washington have made a commitment to actively participate in primary elections in order to support candidates who have a higher chance of winning the GOP nomination. Lake has received a relatively positive response in the capital city so far, although it is somewhat cautious. Influential officials who have control over the party’s finances and priorities are indicating their willingness to support her if she is willing to expand her support base.

“I have engaged in fruitful discussions with Kari Lake and her team,” stated Daines. “She possesses remarkable campaigning skills and has the capacity to energize the grassroots. We have a definite route to success, especially with two Democrats running for office in Arizona.”

The NRSC has not ruled out endorsing Lake in the primary, according to a person familiar with the organization’s strategy who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Support from the NRSC would potentially open up a lucrative funding stream and signal to donors that Lake has the support of key GOP senators.

Despite previously criticizing McConnell during her run for governor, she now expresses her willingness to back the Republican leader in Congress, citing him as a more favorable choice compared to Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Lake told the AP that if the options are McConnell and Schumer, they would not vote for Schumer.

That’s a change of tone from a year ago, when she called McConnell an “old bat” at a campaign rally and said it was time to replace him as the GOP leader with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Even as recently as August, she appeared to poke fun at McConnell freezing up during a press conference.

“I believe he has lost control over his speech,” Lake commented on Bannon’s podcast. “There seems to be something affecting him at the moment.”

Lake remains steadfast in her speeches, asserting that she is not altering the core aspects of her identity, despite the desires of certain individuals.

“I will persist in my fight, refusing to remain passive or silent, especially when it concerns elections,” Lake declared to the audience in Michigan towards the end of September. Shortly after, she officially announced her intention to run for Senate. “I will not heed the misguided counsel of Republicans who advise against discussing elections,” she added.

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This report was contributed to by Steve Peoples in New York and Linley Sanders in Washington, who are writers for the Associated Press.