Gallego, Lake Spar Over Border in First Senate Debate

Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) and Journalist Kari Lake (R) met on the debate stage this past week, marking the first time they debated the issues. The debate comes after months of heated exchanges between the two. In the debate, both Rep. Gallego and Lake discussed affordability in Arizona, the border, and everything in between.

From the beginning, both senatorial hopefuls verbally sparred over illegal immigration and the border, discussing the issues that Arizona has dealt with as a result of them such as the flow of fentanyl into the country and the rise of crime.

Rep. Gallego affirmed that he doesn't support open border policies as Lake has suggested, adding that she has "failed the basic test of honesty." To this, Lake countered by saying that Arizonans were seeing "the extreme makeover of Ruben."

Calling him a career politician, Lake detailed that President Donald Trump (R) faced opposition from the likes of Rep. Gallego when he attempted to fix the border concerns, arguing that "Rep. Gallego has empowered the cartels."

Countering the claim, Rep. Gallego accused Lake of using the border as a "talking point," reiterating that he supports a border wall, but he also wants to see the wall enhanced by manpower and technology. Citing the recent Senate border bill as an effective response to border issues, Rep. Gallego questioned why Lake didn't support the bill.

Instead, she campaigned against the bill. In response to the question, Lake, similar to what other Republicans have argued, expressed that the Senate border bill would "codify into law 5,000 people coming in illegally" among other provisions she doesn't agree with.

When asked if she supported increasing manpower and technology at the border, Lake agreed, commenting, "I don't think we can do enough to secure our border." "We have an invasion of people coming in," Lake warned, citing the cartel and the flow of fentanyl as "a war against America."

Regarding Rep. Gallego's time in office, she accused him of failing Arizonans and the country.

"He has sided... against the American people."

In a recent poll conducted by RMG Research for the Napolitan Institute, Rep. Gallego leads Lake with 52%-42% among likely voters. Both Rep. Gallego and Lake are pursuing the Senate seat that Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I) is vacating.