TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In the race to fill Kyrsten Sinema's Senate seat, Republican candidate Kari Lake and Democratic candidate Ruben Gallego have clashed over a recent court ruling on abortion.
Lake expressed her disagreement with the ruling, despite previously supporting a law from the 1860s in 2022.
She accused Gallego and the left of advocating for abortion up to full term, labeling it as "very cruel" and out of touch with the views of Tucson residents.
"They want some reasonable exceptions but they don’t want to have abortion until the baby is full term," Lake said of Arizonans.
In response, Gallego labeled Lake as the extremist, arguing that her stance jeopardizes women's health in Arizona.
He emphasized his alignment with what he called the majority of Arizonans and voiced his support for codifying Roe v. Wade.
Additionally, Gallego endorsed a potential ballot initiative aimed at enshrining abortion rights in Arizona's constitution.
"Our state now has the strictest abortion ban in the country," Gallego said. "That's not what our state is."
Lake, however, criticized the proposed initiative as "extreme." The candidates' contrasting positions on abortion underscore the divisive nature of the issue in Arizona's Senate race.
The battle for Sinema's seat promises to be intense, with both candidates attempting to frame the other as out of step with the electorate on abortion.
For further updates on this closely watched race, stay tuned to KGUN 9.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
