Donald Trump thanks Kari Lake after winning Iowa caucuses, predicts future is in Senate

Former President Donald Trump praised Arizona’s Kari Lake after he won the Iowa caucus Monday and predicted she would do well in the U.S. Senate in an assessment that would seemingly rule her out of a role in his administration if he wins another term.

“She’s terrific. She’ll be a senator — a great senator, I predict, right? You’re going to be a great senator,” Trump said during his remarks to supporters.

In a social media post afterward, Lake embraced a future in Congress.

“Thank you for the shout out, President Trump!” she wrote in a social media post. “I can’t wait to help pass your incredible America First agenda in the United States Senate.”

His message, and her response, should end speculation that Lake could join Trump as his vice-presidential nominee or serve in some other capacity. Still, Trump’s mercurial history and Lake’s own ricocheting interests could leave doubt on whether she could walk away from a race where she is the GOP favorite.

Lake is running for the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who has not publicly said whether she will seek a second six-year term. She is widely viewed as the front-runner for the Republican nomination over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, and polling suggests she is in an even race with Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

But Lake’s other interests have left her preferred future unclear.

Lake has sued unsuccessfully to overturn her narrow 2022 gubernatorial loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake has never conceded her loss and her legal position was still that she should be the state’s chief executive.

Lake entered the Senate race in October after months of anticipation that she would do so. In between her loss to Hobbs and her entry to the Senate race, Lake wrote a book and traveled across the country to promote its sales.

Before and after entering the Senate race, Lake traveled to her home state of Iowa as a prominent surrogate for Trump’s third presidential bid, and she has been a frequent guest at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and periodically hosted interviews with conservative figures for the America First News.

Some Arizona Republicans have quietly wondered whether Lake could leave the Senate race for a spot on a Trump ticket, effectively leaving the GOP in a lurch in a race viewed as close but winnable.

Lake still drew chatter in Iowa last week about a potential vice-presidential role, Politico reported.

“It’s very interesting. I don’t think that same question of, you know, who the VP is, is asked of” former Amb. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, she said. “So, I think it’s great because it tells me that even the media understands that DeSantis and Haley don’t have a snowball’s chance in Phoenix of winning this thing.”

“I’m not really worried about who he picks, I’m not focused on that. … He’ll pick a great VP. Whoever he picks, I’m going to show up. I will crawl over broken glass to vote for them. And I want to help him in the Senate, and that’s what I plan to do.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Iowa caucus: Trump predicts Kari Lake is heading for US Senate