PHOENIX (AP) — Brett Foto and his fiancee had been vacationing in Phoenix final fall once they heard a couple of rally close by for Kari Lake, then operating for governor of Arizona.

Irrespective of that they don’t dwell or vote in Arizona. Lake was going locations, an rising star on the populist proper, they usually needed to see her.

“We’re seeing one thing very attention-grabbing tonight,” stated Foto, a 52-year-old gross sales consultant who lives exterior Denver. “We’re going to look again and say, ‘We noticed her once we went to this little hangar in Phoenix.’”

Lake went on to lose that race to Democrat Katie Hobbs, a setback that may usually thwart political ambitions. However amongst conservatives, defeat has executed little to erode Lake’s standing. If something, her refusal to acknowledge her loss solely enhances her stature nicely past Arizona.

Within the months for the reason that election, Lake has popped up at former President Donald Trump’s Florida property and a palatial California resort, the place she unsuccessfully lobbied members of the Republican Nationwide Committee to defeat Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. A newer swing via Iowa sparked hypothesis about whether or not she could run for president or angle for a job as Trump’s operating mate if he clinches the GOP nomination once more.

Wherever she is, she’s doubling down on the components that enthralled the Republican base however was rejected by a broader voters: unflinching fealty to Trump, a relentless give attention to unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, and hard speak about securing the U.S.-Mexico border with power.

Lake may have one other likelihood to showcase her bond with the GOP base subsequent month with a outstanding talking position on the Conservative Political Motion Convention, or CPAC, in Washington.

“She speaks MAGA,” Chuck Coughlin, a longtime political marketing consultant in Arizona who was one in every of former Gov. Jan Brewer’s high advisers, stated, referring to Trump’s “Make America Nice Once more” slogan. “She’s higher than Trump in lots of respects. She’s a cultural warrior. She expresses their angst and nervousness over the way in which the nation’s going.”

In the meantime, Lake is continuous to struggle her loss within the Arizona appellate courts, which rejected her election problem Thursday. She vowed to take her lawsuit to the state Supreme Court docket. She held a campaign-style rally this month to attract consideration to her case.

“Kari Lake is the entire bundle. She’s articulate. She’s assured. She’s lovely, however not in a threatening approach,” stated Linda Greulich, a 70-year-old retiree in Phoenix. “And I believe if she desires to remain in politics, I see her going all the way in which to the highest.”

The flurry of exercise comes as Lake considers operating for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Kyrsten Sinema, an unbiased and former Democrat. She met just lately with Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee officers in Washington.

Republicans outnumber Democrats in Arizona, but they’ve struggled to win through the Trump period. The GOP misplaced three straight Senate races in Arizona as ticket-splitting voters who principally help Republicans refused to vote for candidates intently aligned with Trump.

Eleven % of voters figuring out as Republicans voted for Hobbs final yr, in contrast with simply 4% of Democrats who voted for Lake, in line with AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of greater than 3,200 voters in Arizona.

Sinema has not stated whether or not she’ll run for a second time period, a call that might have a monumental affect on the battle for management of the Senate. Democrats fear a three-way race between Sinema, a Democrat and a Republican will scramble the components that’s labored so nicely for them, creating a gap for a candidate like Lake.

Different Republicans operating embrace Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. Additionally contemplating a bid are Jim Lamon, Blake Masters and Karrin Taylor Robson, candidates in 2022 for both the Senate or governor.

Lake is pushing again in opposition to these within the GOP attempting to maneuver previous claims of election fraud which have proved poisonous in swing states, together with Arizona, the place Lake and three different Trump-backed Republicans misplaced their races. She advised Iowans, who’re pleased with their position in vetting presidential hopefuls, to press candidates about “the place they stand on stolen elections.”

“We’d like to ensure all of those candidates suppose that election integrity is a No. 1 problem,” she stated.

Lake was a information anchor for practically 30 years within the Phoenix market. She left the Fox affiliate in 2021, saying journalism had strayed into advocacy. She started her marketing campaign for governor a short while later, channeling Trump with frequent assaults on the information media she left behind.

She information each interplay with reporters, typically posting contentious exchanges on social media and incomes plaudits from her followers, and he or she nonetheless attracted unprecedented consideration from world media.

Cash has continued to pour in for Lake since her loss. Her marketing campaign raised $2.6 million from Election Day via the top of the yr, with the most important haul approaching the day the race was referred to as for Hobbs.

She’s raised more cash via a nonprofit group her advisers created in December, which doesn’t need to disclose particulars about its donations and has change into her principal fundraising automobile.

Foto, who noticed Lake on his Arizona trip, was not deterred by her loss to Hobbs and hopes she’ll take one other stab at operating for workplace.

“I pray for that to occur and I pray for that for this nation,” Foto stated by telephone. “I believe we want folks like her to ensure of a powerful future for all of us.”