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Meghan McCain: Arizona has gone ‘full blown MAGA’

by Zach Schonfeld - 08/03/22 11:12 AM ET

Meghan McCain criticized Trump-endorsed candidate Kari Lake’s lead in the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary on Wednesday, saying the state has gone “full blown MAGA.”

As of Wednesday morning, Lake leads Karrin Taylor Robson, who was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and current Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), by about 1.7 percentage points, or about 11,300 raw votes, according to The Associated Press. The AP has not called the race and estimates about 20 percent of the votes have yet to be counted.

“I see my initial predictions were right despite the initial excitement of Robson pulling ahead,” McCain wrote on Twitter.

“Congratulations to my home state for full making the transition to full blown MAGA/conspiracy theory/fraudster,” she added. “The voters have spoken – be careful what you wish for.”

The primary has marked the latest proxy battle between former President Trump and establishment Republican figures, with Trump zeroing in on his unfounded claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election while the party’s establishment wing has focused on contrasting with the Democratic Party on issues like inflation.

McCain, the daughter of former Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is a longtime critic of Trump, who repeatedly disparaged the late senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee.

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Lake, a former television news anchor, has repeatedly pushed Trump’s false election fraud claims. Trump visited Arizona late last month to stump in support of Lake and his endorsed candidate for Senate, Blake Masters.

The AP called the GOP Senate primary race for Masters early on Wednesday morning.

“Congratulations to Blake Masters on a great Arizona win!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.