Trump's pick for Arizona governor renounced her media past. The conversion made Kari Lake a front-runner
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. — Kari Lake looked directly into the camera with the self-assured gaze befitting an on-screen pro. Like so many times before as a top Phoenix television anchor, she had news to share.
This time, though, she was not appearing on the Fox affiliate that had long employed her — and as her tone shifted from perky to solemn, it was clear why. The industry that propelled her to prominence, she said, had become unbalanced, untruthful, divisive.
"It's been a serious struggle for me," she said, "and I no longer want to do this job anymore."
In two minutes and 33 seconds, Lake torched her decades-long career and laid the groundwork for a new one. Three months later, in June 2021, she declared she was running for the Republican nomination for Arizona governor. But to her legions of supporters, and the colleagues she left, that the conservative alternative to YouTube, was the
