Comment Former Vice President Mike Pence is endorsing Arizona gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson, a developer long involved in Republican politics, over former President Donald Trump’s nominee Kari Lake, a former TV host who continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen.” The endorsement shows the division in the party between Trump supporters who value loyalty to him above all else and those who want to move on from endless litigation for the 2020 election, including those who are grateful that Pence and other Republicans have prevented Trump’s efforts to overturn the results. Trump and Pence, who are each considering a 2024 presidential run, plan to be in Arizona on Friday to campaign for their chosen candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary. Pence called Taylor Robson “the best choice for the future of Arizona” in a statement provided to the Washington Post. “As Arizona Democrats pursue the reckless Biden-Harris agenda, Karyn Taylor-Robson is the only gubernatorial candidate who will keep Arizona’s borders secure and roads safe, empower parents and build great schools and promote conservative values,” he said. Taylor Robson praised Pence’s conservative credentials and said that he wants to lead as he has. “Modern politics is full of charlatans and fakes, but Vice President Pence is the genuine article,” she said in a statement to The Post. “He never wavered in his conservative beliefs and commitment to our Constitution and left a solid legacy as Governor that I will look forward to.” The endorsement comes two months after Pence and other prominent Republicans rallied behind Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (D), whom Trump targeted for certification in the 2020 election. Kemp narrowly won. But the Arizona primary looks much tighter, raising the stakes for Pence. Friday’s split-screen campaign events will highlight Pence’s breaks with the former president, as he too defied pressure to overturn Trump’s 2020 defeat. Taylor Robson also has the support of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), a longtime Pence friend and ally who co-chairs the Republican Governors Association and similarly drew Trump’s ire for certifying the results of the last election. Analysis: Republicans are getting bolder in their support of Trump Lake and Taylor Robson do not offer dramatically different visions on issues such as the economy and water conservation. Both want the state to take a more muscular stance on border security, for example, and want to end Trump’s border wall. But they diverge in the 2020 election. Lake called the election system “rotten to the core” and claimed, without evidence, that thousands of fraudulent votes were leaked in 2020: “I refuse to stop talking about this until our elected official stands up and does something. We want people arrested, prosecuted and put in jail.” On television In the debate in June, Lake repeated the lie of widespread election fraud and said that Joe Biden “lost the election and should not be in the White House.” He said he would not have certified the Arizona election results. During the debate, Taylor Robson, who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and helped raise $1.3 million for both of his presidential campaigns, agreed that the 2020 election was “absolutely not fair,” but he wouldn’t say they were fake. He cited new voting rules and laws introduced by some jurisdictions amid the pandemic and the so-called big tech and media crackdown on information that hurts Democrats. “All of this combined has led to 78 percent of Arizona Republicans believing that something is wrong with the election,” he said during the debate. “But I’m focused on 2022 because the left is 10 steps ahead of us and I don’t have time to explain what they’re doing.” Taylor Robson said she will accept the results of the gubernatorial election. Lake said in a recent campaign that Taylor Robson’s opponents “may be trying to set the stage for another steal.” Emily Ryan, a conservative political consultant in Arizona, said the governor’s race presents a nationwide battle for GOP identity, with two leading candidates who share many of the same conservative policy positions but represent different governing styles. “There is a part of the Republican Party that is not comfortable with the direction that Trump has taken the party and this kind of politics and is trying to kind of take back control,” Ryan said. In a statement last week, a Lake spokesman disparaged Taylor Robson’s supporters as “Republicans in name only,” one of Trump’s favorite insults. “The RINO establishment is behind Karrin Taylor Robson,” spokesman Ross Trumble wrote in an email. A Pence adviser said the former vice president will visit the border on Friday, along with Taylor Robson and Brandon Judd, who is chairman of the National Border Patrol Council and has endorsed her. Pence will also head to Phoenix, said the adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the endorsement more candidly. Trump is scheduled to appear at a rally in northern Arizona the same day to campaign for Lake and his preferred statewide candidates. Originally planned to visit last weekend but postponed until Friday after the death of his ex-wife, Ivana Trump. The adviser said Pence sees Taylor Robinson as “the most conservative candidate in the race” and is considering an endorsement before Ducey announces his endorsement on July 7. Ducey is in his final year as governor and president of the RGA, those close to both men said. A Pence adviser also noted Lake’s attacks on Pence last month after he visited the border in Arizona. Lake told Newsmax that she doesn’t think Pence has “a chance to win in Phoenix” if he runs for president in 2024 and said many people are “disappointed” with him for his actions. January 6, 2021, when he helped certify the election after pro-Trump rioters attacked the US Capitol. “I think that was something that we as advisers were disappointed by, and it certainly kind of refocused our attention on this race,” the Pence adviser said of Lake’s criticism. Lake, once a Democrat during the early years of President Barack Obama’s first term, is running as an America-first populist in Trump’s mold. He secured his endorsement about a year ago and has spent the intervening time building a passionate base fueled by an embrace of baseless conspiracy theories and divisive culture war issues. including accusing drag queens of being dangerous to children and supporting the placement of cameras in classrooms to ensure teachers do not teach critical curriculum related to race theory. Taylor Robson is campaigning as a more traditional low-tax, less-government Conservative focused on business-friendly policies. He trailed Lake in the polls for much of the race, but has been closing in recently while outpacing Lake by a margin, breaking state campaign spending records. With early voting already underway, Pence’s endorsement could help sway moderate Republicans and independents who have sought GOP ballots, especially in far-flung Phoenix suburbs that have helped settle close contests in recent years. The former vice president has also long been popular with Christian conservatives. Republicans Scott Neely and Paola Tulliani Zen are also vying for the Republican nomination. Some see Pence’s endorsement as dangerous for Taylor Robson, as it will highlight the national currents shaping the race. “Do you really want to take on Trump or do you just want to keep telling your own story?” Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona political strategist whose firm works with Republican candidates, he said amid reports it may weigh on Pence. “And my feeling is that Pence’s endorsement makes it more for Trump.” But for Pence, Coughlin said, the Arizona governor’s race is an opportunity to send a message and potentially participate in a victory. “You think about Iowa,” he said, referring to the state that traditionally kicks off the presidential primary season. “You think about the next two years.” With a possible campaign of his own on the horizon, Pence was he draws Republican candidates across the country and has a foundation, Advancing American Freedom, that supports conservative causes such as abortion restrictions. Pence’s Foundation for the Advancement of American Freedom recently made a six-figure contribution to an ad campaign by the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which will support state-level anti-abortion legislation, according to a Pence adviser. Pence’s tightrope on Jan. 6: Owning his role while courting Trump voters Pence’s endorsement of Taylor Robson marks his highest-profile endorsement since campaigning in Georgia with Kemp, who handily defeated Trump’s top opponent, former Sen. David Perdue. Pence framed the race as a referendum on the direction of the GOP. “When you say yes to Governor Brian Kemp tomorrow, you will send a deafening message across America that the Republican Party is the party of the future,” he told a crowd in the Atlanta area on the eve of the primary. Republican governors across the country, including Ducey, had rallied to protect incumbents from primary challengers endorsed by Trump amid what one former governor called a “personal vendetta tour.” Trump’s gubernatorial picks in Idaho and Nebraska also suffered defeats this year. But the former president’s support remains coveted in GOP primaries and has given House and Senate candidates significant boosts. Pence and Trump have also endorsed Sarah Sanders, a former White House press secretary, for governor in Arkansas. And last…
