FIRST ON FOX: Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the southern border crisis is expected to affect down-ballot Democrats in the upcoming November elections, with Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake hinting at the GOP’s strategy in key battleground states following changes in the Democratic lineup.
“Ruben Gallego and Kamala Harris: Detrimental to the border. Detrimental to Arizona. Detrimental to America,” a narrator states in Lake’s inaugural ad for the general election campaign, overlaying images of Rep. Ruben Gallego, the Democratic Senate nominee from Arizona, embracing Harris.
The ad criticizes Gallego for aligning with President Biden and Harris 100% of the time in the 117th Congress during the years 2021 and 2022, according to FiveThirtyEight.
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This advertisement is part of a previously announced $10 million ad buy by Lake disclosed in May.
Ruben Gallego is linked to Kamala Harris regarding border issues. (Getty Images)
The video features Harris stating that she does not believe the U.S. should regard individuals who “cross the border as criminals.” This footage is from her 2019 appearance on “The View” during her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
“We will not support a border wall that is unnecessary,” Gallego is heard saying in later footage. This comment from the Arizona Democrat was made on CNN in 2018.
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In another clip, a CNN anchor asks Harris if she agrees with calls to eliminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to which she responds that “we probably need to consider starting from scratch.”
The then-senator argued, “There is no doubt that we must critically reassess ICE and its role and how it is being managed and the work it is undertaking,” prior to the statement made in 2018.
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The border and immigration remain critical issues in the lead-up to the election. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)
A remark from Gallego in 2017, calling the border wall suggested by former President Trump “stupid” and “dumb” during a House floor speech, is included in the ad. The representative was condemning the Trump administration for attempting to utilize military construction funds to continue wall construction when it was otherwise stalled by Congress.
“Ruben Gallego is a Marine combat veteran whose top priority is ensuring our border’s safety and keeping Arizonans secure, which is why he is diligently working to hire more Border Patrol agents, overhaul our inadequate asylum system, combat fentanyl trafficking, and invest in reliable technology — all to enhance our border security,” a campaign spokesperson informed Fox News Digital in a statement.
“Conversely, Kari Lake is a self-serving liar who will resort to any means to gain power, even if it entails going against a bipartisan, Border Patrol-supported initiative aimed at resolving the border crisis.”
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Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. (Getty Images)
The Harris campaign pointed Fox News Digital to her statements at a recent rally in Georgia, where she assured attendees, “As President, I will restore the border security bill that Donald Trump dismantled, and I will sign it into law to demonstrate to Donald Trump what genuine leadership entails.”
Many have criticized Trump for halting a bipartisan border security bill and hindering it from mustering enough support for passage. However, Senate Republicans have contested this narrative, indicating that many components of the bill were unacceptable. When the bill was put to a test vote in May, two of the three negotiators, Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., voted against it.
Harris has faced criticism for not visiting the border frequently. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Lake similarly contended that the bill failed to secure the border and deemed it a “complete joke.”
Gallego asserted that he would have backed the negotiated bipartisan bill, condemning Lake for her opposition.
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Lake officially secured the Republican nomination for Senate on Tuesday, overcoming Sheriff Mark Lamb. Gallego ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Current incumbent Sinema announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election. She first won the seat in 2018 as a Democrat before changing her party affiliation in 2022.
The Arizona Senate race is classified as “Lean Democratic” by the Cook Political Report, a non-partisan political handicapper, alongside races in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin and Bob Casey are campaigning.
Stay updated on the latest developments from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews, and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
