Kari Lake is warning that Arizona could be on the brink of an anti-democratic power play if radical Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego abandons his seat amid the widening scandal surrounding his best friend and longtime ally, disgraced former Rep.
Eric Swalwell.
According to the Gateway Pundit, Lake used her X account to sound the alarm about what she calls a nightmare scenario for Arizona voters and for the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Lake wrote, IMPORTANT if Ruben Gallego resigns, the voters of Arizona will NOT choose who replaces him. The fraud sitting in the AZ Governors office named Katie Hobbs will pick the replacement who will then hold that Senate seat until 2028. Scary. She followed that warning with a blunt spiritual appeal: She already knows who it is. God, Save Arizona.
Under Arizona Revised Statutes 16-222, a vacancy in the office of U.S. Senator does not trigger an immediate special election but instead empowers the Governor to appoint a replacement. The statute further requires that the appointee be of the SAME POLITICAL PARTY as the departing Senator, effectively locking in partisan control of the seat until the next qualifying election.
Because Gallego is a Democrat, Hobbswho has consistently opposed President Trumps border security agenda and has presided over what many conservatives view as a disastrous tenure for Arizonawould be required to select another Democrat. That means the same left-wing establishment that has undermined election integrity and border enforcement would get to handpick its preferred ideologue to represent Arizona in Washington.
The calendar only deepens conservative concerns about a potential backroom deal. With the next primary election just 98 days away on July 21, Arizonas vacancy laws dictate that any Hobbs-appointed replacement would serve until the second regular general election after the vacancy occurs, effectively locking in the seat through 2028.
Lakes warning comes as Gallego faces mounting scrutiny from conservative media over his reported ties to controversial figures, most notably Swalwell, whose own scandals have already rocked public trust. The relationship between the two men, long described as close, is now under a microscope as new allegations and leaked footage circulate online.
On Tuesday, Gallego held an emotional press conference in an apparent attempt at damage control. He admitted he heard rumors of Swalwells flirty behavior for years but chose to look the other way because of their friendship.
Gallego went further, saying Swalwell lied to all of us, conceding that their close personal ties clouded his judgment, and insisting that he now deeply regrets the relationship. His remarks did little to quiet questions about his own proximity to the scandal, especially as new video evidence emerged.
A reporter pressed Gallego directly on whether he was physically present in the hotel room where Swalwell was filmed. Martin Shkreli and Jack Posobiec had released videos showing Swalwell sitting on a bed with a sex worker, and a man resembling Gallego is briefly seen sitting on the bed.
Was that you sitting next to him? a reporter asked Gallego. The Senator flatly denied it, insisting the man in the footage was not him.
Gallego responded, No, I was not sitting next to him, I was not in the room, attempting to distance himself from the explosive video. He added, I didnt know where it happened. Right-wing political operatives are pushing this narrative that somehow I was in that room with uh Eric Swalwell and that is an absolute lie, casting himself as the target of a partisan smear even as the legal and political stakes in Arizona grow higher by the day.
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