Gallego and Lake go on the offensive on immigration, abortion during only Arizona Senate debate

In the first and only face-to-face debate for the Arizona Senate race that could decide control of Congress come November, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake traded jabs on immigration policy, abortion rights and the economy.

Lake — a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump — tried to cast Gallego as a progressive who has moved toward the center, particularly on policies along the border like building a wall. Gallego went after Lake for her most conservative stances, saying she was softening her previous support for a near-total abortion ban in the state because it was politically convenient.

National polling shows Gallego with an edge over Lake and currently leads Lake in race 51%-44%, per a recent poll from AARP published Tuesday of likely voters in Arizona, Gallego is also edging out Lake by nearly 8 points according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average,

On immigration, which consumed the first 30 minutes of the one-hour debate, Lake painted Gallego as ill-equipped, blaming him for the surge of migrants over the Southern border.

“Every state is a border state right now because of this man’s policies, this man’s votes, which have been 100% open border, he sided with the cartels every step of the way, and against the American people. And you and I are suffering because of it,” said Lake.

Gallego, for his part, defended his support for heightened security at the U.S.-Mexico border and referenced recent bipartisan legislation that lost momentum after Trump denounced it.

“[If] a country doesn’t have a border [it] controls, it’s not a country,” said Gallego.

Gallego has distanced himself from the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of migration — once calling the White House “unequipped” to deal with the migrant influx in a letter addressed to Biden and senior administration officials.

“We’re here to bring the resources to actually control the border and not just use as a talking point, which is what Kari Lake does,” Gallego said.

On abortion, the candidates’ roles were switched as it was Gallego who accused Lake of changing her posture.

“Someone that was willing to look at a mother and say, ‘I know your daughter was raped, but she does not have a right to an abortion.’ She was willing to say that just two years ago, and now we’re going to trust her?” Gallego said.

“I mean, this is the same person that’s still lying about winning the 2022 election. And yet we’re going to trust her? She’s failed the basic test of honesty. Why would we trust her with our daughters?”

Lake has changed her stance on abortion over the last two years, in 2022 issuing her support for a near-total ban and saying that she doesn’t believe in abortion, while now saying she wouldn’t support a federal ban if elected to the U.S. Senate.

Her shift follows a wave of support for abortion access in Arizona brought about by backlash to a Civil-War-era ban on nearly all abortions that was reinstated this past spring, before being replaced by a 15-week ban.

The issue carries even more weight this November because Arizonans will vote directly on it through a ballot measure that would protect abortion rights permanently in the state’s constitution.

Lake attempted to shift the conversation to other “women’s rights” on Wednesday night,

“I’m astounded that he actually knows the difference between a woman and a man because I thought there were, what, 147 different genders,” Lake said.

“But his votes have caused it to where people are pouring across our border. Dangerous people taking away the lives of women. I care about the ability for our daughters to be able to participate in athletics,” Lake said. “So, let’s talk about women’s rights. Women care about a lot of different issues.”

Lake also repeatedly said she supported “UVF,” seeming to refer to IVF, or in-vitro fertilization, which has come under attack in states like Alabama as a result of Roe v. Wade being overturned.

“I want to make sure that UVF is protected. I have many friends who are here, they’re my friends today because of UVF, and I have many of my friends who have had children and experience the joy of motherhood and parenthood because of UVF,” she said.

Gallego also accused Lake of softening her rhetoric surrounding the 2020 election. Lake has backed away from her full-throated “rigged” accusations around her gubernatorial and Trump’s presidential bids.

When Gallego asked her directly on Wednesday night if she can admit she lost her race, she didn’t answer, instead pivoting to clarify her stance on climate.

“We should not be surprised that she’s still in denial about the 2022 election. And now I give you one minute. You have one minute. Will you finally tell the people of Arizona? Did you win or lose that election?,” Gallego asked.

A few minutes later, Lake said she “never lied to the people of Arizona.”

In his closing statement, Gallego said Lake’s refusal to be direct on the election demonstrated a clear danger.

“She is trying to take away your vote and disrespecting you by saying that she still won the 2022 election. How could you trust someone like that who’s willing to lie to you all the way to the end?” he asked.

Their attempts to paint each other as extreme — either too progressive or too far right — reflected each candidates’ attempt to drive independent voters away from their opponent.

Independent voters make up roughly a third of registered voters in Arizona, which has been reliably Republican for decades, the home of famous GOP leaders like late Sen. John McCain, but has recently seen a shift toward Democrats — electing President Joe Biden in 2020 and a Democratic governor in 2022.

Wednesday’s debate took place on a significant campaign maker within the state — the first day of early, in-person voting.

And because the majority of Arizonans vote early — nearly 89% in 2020 — campaigns consider the next three weeks to be one long Election Day for the key battleground state. Most residents voted by mail in the last presidential election, with the 2024 ballots being mailed out earlier this week, but early, in-person voting is also available in every precinct.

Both parties have encouraged voters to cast their votes over the next few weeks so they can be counted immediately, which could mean speedier results in November, and candidates from the top of the ticket are expected to barnstorm the state in the coming days.