Kari Lake has taken the lead in the Arizona Senate race with days to go before the election, new polling suggests.
The Republican has moved ahead of her Democratic challenger Ruben Gallego for the first time in months, potentially paving the way for the GOP to take control of the Senate.
The polling, published by Data Orbital, shows the controversial Republican candidate on 45.2 per cent of the vote, narrowly ahead of her opponent on 44.5 per cent.
Although the gap remains comfortably within the margin of error, it is the first time since July that a head-to-head poll has put the Republican candidate in the lead.
With the Senate currently tilted 51-49 in favour of the Democrats, the emergence of Ms Lake, an ardent Donald Trump ally, at this late stage could prove to be decisive in determining who controls the Senate under the next administration.
It comes after the Republican candidate was involved in a heated exchange with CNN on Monday in which she refused to concede that she lost the 2022 governor’s race, despite being defeated by more than 17,000 votes.
Asked whether she lost in 2022, Ms Lake said: “Why are we looking backward? I’m looking forward.”
Pressed on the matter, she hit out at the media who she said “can’t get over it. You say I can’t get over it, and it looks like you can’t”.
“I’m actually thinking you meant to ask me about the issues people cared about,” she added, before attempting to switch track to focus on immigration – a key Republican issue in the border state.
Many senior GOP donors have expressed doubts over Ms Lake’s chances on November 5, citing her feuds with fellow Republicans, including the family of the late Arizona Senator John McCain, and her refusal to accept past election results.
Ms Lake, a former local news anchor, is widely known for pushing unfounded claims about election fraud, having previously backed an audit of the 2020 presidential race and later filed a lawsuit over the outcome of the 2022 governor’s race.
She and Phoenix congressman Mr Gallego, a retired Marine, are contesting the seat of Crysten Sinema, a former Democrat turned independent who announced her departure in July.
Arizona has long been a Republican stronghold, turning partly blue for the first time in decades when Ms Sinema was elected in 2018.
The Data Orbital poll, conducted from October 26-28, quizzed 550 likely voters and was conducted through a combination of phone and online surveys.
