The two candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. Senate to represent Arizona campaigned on the eve of Election Day, hoping to churn out those much-needed votes.
Rep. Ruben Gallego was in the Valley on Nov. 4, while GOP candidate Kari Lake made her way up to Prescott.
‘This campaign was always going be close’
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Rep. Ruben Gallego campaigns on Election Day eve
On Monday, on the eve of Election Day, Democratic Rep. Gallego made a few stops around the Valley.
At ASU, he joined Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and his wife, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush.
They drew a crowd promoting the top of the ticket, VP Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, focusing on reproductive rights. Students waited in lines to talk with the speakers.
Then, the congressman headed to Phoenix to speak with electrical workers at an IBEW training location. He shook hands and told workers he grew up in a union family.
With the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 coming under fire from former president Donald Trump in recent days, Rep. Gallego said as a senator, he would push to expand the act, not remove it.
He called it a job creator in Arizona.
The congressman was asked one-on-one if he’s concerned about recent polls showing a tightening race in recent days.
Rep. Gallego responded, saying, "Well, look. This campaign was always going be close, no matter what. There is no way that we were ever going to beat Kari Lake by 10 points in Arizona. So we’ve been operating like this campaign is always going to be a tight race, so that’s why I’ve been going everywhere, talking to everybody. To Democratic areas, to Republican areas. Visiting our 20 tribal nations. Visiting one that's even down the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Talking to independents. Talking to Latinos. We’re doing everything if we know it's a close race, we’re going to fight all the way to the end."
This seat is important statewide and nationally as both parties vie for control of the Senate.
‘You gotta vote for the true conservative'
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Kari Lake rallies for votes on Election Day eve in Prescott
While Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the polls, Lake is lagging behind Trump’s numbers in Arizona. However, new polling shows she has been able to catch up to Rep. Gallego in recent weeks, even taking the lead in some polls.
Lake has said that based on her internal polling, she is doing well against Rep. Gallego.
FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics polls show Rep. Gallego maintains a narrow lead, but a New York Times/Siena College poll on Sunday showed Rep. Gallego is up by five points, leading Lake 50% to 45%. It also found Rep. Gallego is winning 95% of Harris voters and 10% of Trump voters.
He’s been ahead of her since April. That could be in part because McCain voters find her MAGA-style politics divisive, as well as the fact that she still has not conceded the 2022 gubernatorial election, which she lost to Gov. Katie Hobbs by 17,000 votes and claimed election fraud.
Some of the attendees at her Prescott rally were asked why they think she’s been polling behind Gallego for months now.
"I don't understand. I don't think that people are really studying the issues and see what's going on. I think that she cuts through all the baloney, and she tells it like it is," a Lake supporter said.
Another supporter said, "I just think there's a shift. All these polls are pretty close, even for Trump and Harris. I just think that it's going to be a close race."
"I think sometimes people just can't understand that you gotta get over things. OK? Personally, I did not appreciate how she handled the issue with Jeff DeWit. OK? Didn't like that. But, you gotta get over it, and you gotta vote for the true conservative. Gallego is not the answer for Arizona," another Lake supporter said.
In the last week, Lake held rallies in Scottsdale and Tucson.
Lake stood on the steps of the Yavapai County courthouse on Nov. 4 asking the crowd to call their friends, especially those in Maricopa County, to get out and vote on Tuesday.
"We are going to win and make it too big to rig," Lake said.
She made claims, saying, "My opponent – his family are cartel members," "My opponent has allowed our little tiny babies to be brainwashed and physically mutilated," and "My opponent voted to defund the legislation, the George Floyd legislation to defund our police."
However, she did sway some voters to the other side.
"I voted Democratic more of my life, except when Donald Trump started running, and I realized what this other party is all about," a supporter said.