Lake brushes off polls showing her trailing Gallego

Republican Kari Lake said voters shouldn’t trust polling showing her trailing Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in the Arizona Senate race, calling internal polling “the good stuff.”

“No, I don’t think they should at all,” Lake told NBC News congressional correspondent Julie Tsirkin in an interview aired Wednesday, when asked if voters should trust the polling. Tsirkin noted polling showed a tight presidential race in Arizona, while Senate polls show Lake trailing.

“The polling is much like what we saw in 2016 — polling that’s meant to move the voter into doing something. I know what our internal polling looks like. It’s great,” Lake said. “I talked to door knockers who are knocking for independent groups, who are knocking for Republican groups. The response people are getting at the door is overwhelming.”

Lake also disputed the idea that there were crossover voters who might consider casting ballots for former President Trump and her Democratic opponent.

The former local news anchor went on to say that “internal polling is actually the good stuff.”

“It’s the stuff where you don’t want any bias at all,” she said. “You want the real scoop, and that’s what I trust. But I trust more the people that I’m talking to. I talk to more Arizonans than anybody in the whole country. I know the people of the state.”

Lake is running against Gallego to replace retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I). Lake narrowly lost her bid for Arizona governor in 2022 and has continued to dispute her loss. The courts have tossed out her challenges and officials have found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Public polling has shown Lake trailing Gallego. An aggregate of Arizona surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill showed Gallego leading Lake with 50 percent support to 42 percent. Meanwhile an aggregate of Arizona presidential polling compiled by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill showed a much tighter race; Trump leads Vice President Harris with 48.6 percent support to her 48 percent.

Lake was pressed at one point on how people could trust her statements if it looked like she was selectively choosing the institutions and polls showing her in the lead.

“I am working with the people of Arizona. The people of Arizona are concerned about the policy that Ruben Gallego has voted for, that Kamala Harris has put in, that is destroying their lives, their livelihood,” Lake said. “They cannot afford to feed their families. People have lost jobs here.”

“I know the people of Arizona, and I know what they’re thinking, because I’m out there talking to them, asking them how they’re getting by, and what we can do to make life better,” she added.