Kari Lake, the Arizona Senate candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, earned somewhat more than $1 million at a fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Wednesday, according to two campaign officials.
The single-night haul is substantial for Lake and provides a cash boost as she bids to replace outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in November.
Most likely, Republican nominee Lake will compete against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in a closely watched contest that could decide which party controls the Senate’s narrowly divided chamber.
Lake has been a long-time ally and fervent Trump supporter.
Lake, a former local news presenter who has never held public office, has gained notoriety for her ardent endorsement of Trump’s baseless charges of voter fraud. Her Senate campaign comes after she barely lost her run for governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs in 2022, refusing to recognize the results and continuing her failed legal fight to overturn that loss.
As she campaigns for government in 2024, Lake has dramatically changed her stance on mail-in voting, which Trump attacked after losing the 2020 presidential election.
According to sources familiar with Wednesday’s event, it set a new fundraising record at Mar-a-Lago for a non-incumbent Senate candidate. Axios reports that Trump-backed Ohio candidate Bernie Moreno raised $350,000 at a Mar-a-Lago event earlier this year.
The fundraising on Wednesday evening comes after Lake began the year financially behind Gallego, who entered the race about a year earlier.
ABC News got a copy of the invitation, which stated that tickets to the reception cost $1,000 each. According to the invitation, some packages cost up to $100,000 per couple and included a two-night stay at Mar-a-Lago as well as a post-event dinner with Lake.
Adam Kidan, a veteran Republican fundraiser who has contributed to multiple politicians, was among those who attended Wednesday’s luncheon, according to a source. Kidan previously donated somewhat more than $13,000 to Lake’s fundraising committee in November, according to federal election records.
At the end of 2023, Lake had raised $2.1 million in the 12 weeks since announcing her bid in October, trailing Gallego’s $3.3 million for the quarter.
Earlier this week, Gallego’s campaign reported raising $7.5 million in the first quarter of 2024. Lake’s campaign has not yet revealed its first-quarter funding totals.
The Wednesday event followed a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which raised $330,000 for Lake after she received the endorsement from chair Steve Daines in February, reports Politico.
