Kari Lake calls for Biden's removal, says Ruben Gallego is unqualified, too

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called for the removal of President Joe Biden from office after his poor debate performance, and Lake argued it should disqualify Democratic rival Ruben Gallego, too.

For his part, Gallego, a five-term member of Congress, maintained a silence about Biden. In a statement to The Arizona Republic, he focused solely on Lake and her conservative agenda.

In some ways, their responses to a debate that could reshape the presidential race reflect the differing approaches to winning Arizona’s Senate race.

Lake, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has long sought to nationalize the contest, turning it into a choice between a loyalist to former President Donald Trump and a loyalist to Biden.

Gallego, however, has maintained a measure of distance from Biden. He’s criticized the president on rare occasions and urged policies not always backed by Biden.

After the presidential debate, both candidates doubled down on their preferred strategies.

“Considering Joe Biden is obviously not fit for office and considering that Ruben Gallego is a Joe Biden ‘Mini-Me,’ I think it’s easy to say that Ruben Gallego is not fit for office,” Lake said at a news conference at a grocery store in Phoenix's Laveen Village.

Lake groused about his campaign ads, which she said present him as a “cross between Mr. Rogers and G.I. Joe.”

“He’s really much more of a Nancy Pelosi — with a beard,” Lake said.

Asked to comment about the debate, Gallego instead shot back at Lake.

“This race is about which candidate will stand up for Arizona’s priorities and values — and that's not a power-hungry extremist like Kari Lake,” said Gallego, who was in Washington for votes in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I am running to tackle the challenges that matter most to our state’s working families, like lowering costs, taking care of our veterans, and protecting Arizona women from politicians like Kari Lake who want to ban abortion and take away their right to make medical decisions for themselves.”

Lake and Gallego, along with Republican Mark Lamb, are running for the seat currently held by the retiring U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

Polling in the race since Sinema dropped out has generally shown Gallego leading Lake, and few have ever polled whether Lamb can do much better. By contrast, Biden is consistently trailing Trump in Arizona polls.

Democrat bucks Biden on border, drugs, gas prices

Gallego has tried to create some policy space from Biden.

In an August 2022 social media post after the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Gallego responded to someone else and wrote, “On Biden I think he is doing a good job. Especially recently. I think Afghanistan could have been handled better but think his Ukraine policy has been great wish there was more urgency early on though.”

In December, he urged more help managing the border in a letter to the House speaker that acknowledged a significant drug problem involving Arizona.

Federal “data has shown that drugs are overwhelmingly being smuggled through U.S. ports of entry — particularly in Arizona and California. Our frontline personnel at the border need more resources to adequately respond to a challenge of this scale.”

Earlier this month, Gallego wrote to Biden requesting “immediate action” to lower gas prices in Western states comparable to the steps his administration has taken to reduce them in the East.

“As Arizona and the West continue to see some of the highest gas prices in the country, administrative action is needed,” Gallego wrote.

Lake remains steadfast Trump supporter

By contrast, Lake has remained publicly steadfast in her support for Trump, prominently as a surrogate for him in her home state of Iowa during that state’s caucuses, and at key moments, such as after his conviction on felony charges in New York stemming from hush-money payments to a porn star.

“We just witnessed the most egregious example of election interference and an outright mockery of the rule of law in the 246-year history of our Republic,” she said in a statement after the verdict in Trump’s trial. “This entire process right down to the verdict itself has been nothing but a shameful political stunt.”

If Democrats had hoped Trump’s convictions would help Biden close ground, Thursday’s painful performance could push the race further away.

Kelly disparages Trump, says, 'People, we do not want to go backwards'

For his part, Biden acknowledged a bad showing during a campaign appearance Friday in Raleigh, N.C., and seemed far more energetic in front of supporters.

But it’s unclear whether that can override a nationally watched debate.

There were fitful signs that Democrats were trying to turn the page on Friday.

During a campaign rally in Las Vegas with Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., framed the presidential contest as bigger than the candidates.

“Nevada, Arizona, and our country face a choice — a choice between continuing the progress we are making or going backwards. People, we do not want to go backwards. I like to go forward at, like, 17,500 mph,” he said, alluding to his background as an astronaut.

Kelly cast Trump as a “convicted criminal who’s only looking out for himself,” while the combined efforts of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris seek to “fix our broken immigration system and keep families together.”

During his remarks, Kelly didn’t address the debate.

According to pooled media reports, a Biden-Harris campaign official ended questioning at the event when one attendee called the debate “terrible” and said, “You can’t tell me that there’s not anyone better.”

Another man asked, “Who’s running the country?”

Utah senator urges Biden's removal from office

Lee, R-Utah, appeared at Lake’s side in Gallego’s congressional district to complain about inflation under Biden. But he began by urging consideration of the 25th Amendment, which provides for the removal of presidents who are incapacitated.

“Last night the American people saw in living color … the meltdown of a president who’s not fit to hold the office that he occupies,” Lee said. “This was a wake-up call to many of us, a wake-up call among other things, to the fact that it’s well past time to invoke the 25th Amendment.”

“If you want somebody who wants more of the same, for more federal regulation and more federal spending,” Lee continued, “Ruben Gallego is your guy.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake calls for Biden's removal, says Gallego is unqualified, too