Republican Kari Lake is rejecting recent polling that shows her trailing her opponent, Democrat Ruben Gallego, in the upcoming Arizona Senate elections.
Speaking to News Nation, Lake said she is actually ahead in her "internal polling" and that studies showing Gallego on the lead are "absurd" and "partisan."
"There were a couple of really bad outlier polls that were included and were just absolutely absurd, partisan polls. I know what my internal polling looks like," she said during a passage of the interview. "I'm ahead of him, but it is a horse. And I've gotten access to a lot of polls that aren't public."
The latest conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies among 592 likely voters between August 12 and 15, has the Democrat ahead by a 5-point difference, 44% to 39%.
The figure shows a smaller distance compared to two polls also published this month by The New York Times/Sienna College. One conducted among 677 likely voters had the Democrat with a wide, 9-point lead (51% to 42%), while another one among the same amount of registered voters showed a 49%-41% scenario favoring the Democrat.
However, the narrower margin from the most recent study doesn't necessarily mean a change of trend, as a previous batch of polls showed a much closer race. Two studies sponsored by Republican entities in late July and early August had Gallego with a 2-point lead and a 46%-46% parity, respectively.
Moreover, another study by HighGround shows Gallego with a double-digit lead over Lake, getting 49.6% of the support compared to 38.6% for the Republican. Another 9.2% said they didn't know or refused to answer, while the remaining 2.6% said they would vote for another candidate.
Despite these figures, Lake said hers is the "third-best chance for a pickup seat in these closely contested races." "And I feel we're going to win this one."
Lake also described Gallego as an "absolute dud," saying he has "voted in lockstep 100 percent of the time with (President) Joe Biden and (Vice President) Kamala Harris, the two most disastrous things to ever happen to our country."
Gallego, however, recently got a boost from an endorsement by the state's police association. In a letter published on X, the APA, described as the "largest police/public safety association i the state, representing thousands of active law enforcement officers, said Gallego "has continually fought for robust, increased funding for America's Law Enforcement."
"The APA doesn't take our endorsements lightly; we recognize the importance of having a U.S. Senator that can bring people together to improve society for all. We believe Congressman Gallego will be that U.S. Senator," he added.
Lake reacted to the news with a publication on X, saying that Gallego has "spent nearly a decade in DC undermining our law enforcement & making America less safe." "Our campaign has overwhelming support from Arizona Law Enforcement because they know that I want to help them in their mission to make America safe," she added.
The two are set to face each other in a debate on October 9, organized by the Arizona Clean Elections Commission.
