Republican Kari Lake’s 2024 Senate campaign loss to Democrat Ruben Gallego is long behind her — except for the over $1 million in debt her campaign still owes two years later, according to a new Federal Election Commission filing.
Lake’s old campaign committee owes more than $328,000 to Opn Sesame for texting and telemarketing services and almost $278,000 to TAG LLC for “digital consulting & fundraising service.” The remaining over $400,000 in debts for online advertising and fundraising, however, are marked as “disputed.”
The seven-figure debt lingers as President Donald Trump’s nomination of Lake as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica has stalled — she has not yet received Senate confirmation despite the president nominating her in May.
The Lake committee isn’t without cash; it has nearly half a million on hand as of Sept. 30, according to its latest financial statement.
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It’s also still processing a stream of contributions. Since July, Lake’s committee marked about $1,500 worth of this income as “debt retirement,” meaning the money would directly go to paying off the campaign’s debt.
In the last year, the Lake campaign’s total debt fell by around $6,000, according to FEC filings, or about 0.6% of its current debt. Lake did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a Washington Sun inquiry.
Lake, an Arizona news broadcaster before her foray into politics marked by loyalty to Trump, has remained in the president’s close political orbit.
Last year, Trump appointed Lake as the “acting CEO” of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America among other state-run foreign media outfits. In her first year, she oversaw massive downsizing.
In March, a federal judge ruled that both her chief role and cuts were illegal. Trump’s nomination of Lake for ambassador followed soon after.
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