By Alexander Lomax
Photo Credit: India Today
It was only a matter of time, but that time has finally come: the primary fights have finally begun in earnest.
Matt Salmon must have read our previous op-ed about the probable fruitlessness of his campaign and has reacted in-kind. A PAC supporting him recently launched a 6-figure ad buy going after Kari Lake for previous support of President Obama. The questions they raise are valid and based in truth; Lake did donate to Obama’s campaign. How conservative can she really be?
There’s one big problem with that line of thinking: remember candidate Donald Trump? Remember how he used to be a Democrat and used to say very positive things about Democratic politicians before he decided he wanted to run for political office? Republican voters had no problem looking past that, so why should we assume that they won’t in this case? Especially when, much like Trump, Lake is hurling all the red meat she can in a very effective manner.
On the GOP side for Secretary of State, some relatively unsurprising but important news happened recently when former President Trump announced his support for Mark Finchem. While few were shocked, this may have the effect of keeping Kelly Townsend out of the race in what seems to be her unrelenting desire to humiliate Michelle Ugenti-Rita at every possible turn. The bad news continues for Ugenti-Rita, who must be wondering if she has any real future in Republican politics.
The spiciness is not relegated to one side of the aisle however; Adrian Fontes simply won’t be upstaged! When his primary opponent for Secretary of State Reginald Bolding presumptuously tweeted out that Trump endorsed his opponent, Fontes told him to pump the brakes, saying “I’m your opponent, you haven’t won anything”. While that’s a fair statement, albeit a little more agro than is necessary, he also sent out the below fundraising email on the same day:
Stones, meet glass house. Fontes has a reputation of battling in public, and many have grown tired of it, and as a result he has made unnecessary enemies. Chalk this up as an unforced error and unnecessary embarrassment.
I may have to start buying popcorn in bulk to make it through this election season.